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PMA newsletter - December 1998 - January 1999
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Peace Movement Aotearoa Tel (04) 382 8129, fax (04) 382 8173, email pma@apc.org.nz Link to earlier PMA newsletters. |
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News from the office
Kia ora, and a very happy new year to you all. Thanks for the seasonal greetings and cards, very nice ! Things are as frantic as ever here in the office - during November and December we were very busy with alerts and then protests relating to the attacks on the people of Iraq; nuclear weapons testing, as both Russia and the US detonated nuclear devices; the possible purchase of a third ANZAC frigate / F16 warplanes; emerging problems with the Bougainville peace process; and other peace matters.We continued to send out alerts through the holiday period; and are currently waiting with some trepidation for the end of the Muslim Ramadan period, as reports from the US are increasingly indicating renewed bombing attacks on the people of Iraq after that time.
Our thanks to Catherine, Sankar, Bhamini and Lilian for their ongoing help with our work; and to Chris G for the 'what's on' listings for this newsletter.
Spot the odd one out:
" ... a very sad day ..." Kofi Annan, 17 Dec 98;
" ... sanctioned mass murder that is nearing holocaust proportions." Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, Edward Said and Howard Zinn (joint statement), 8 Jan 99;
"The responsibility for the air strikes against Iraq rests with Saddam Hussein." Jenny Shipley, 16 Dec 98.
vigil outside parliament , Wellington, Dec 1998.
Things to do, news and views ...
Urgent ! submissions due
29 Jan - SIS Amendment Bill (see page 2)
31 Jan - Arms Amendment Bill (see below)
Rocket launchers in Auckland ?
You may recall the 'Armed and Dangerous ?' bit in our last newsletter about the government desire to amend the Arms Act to allow foreign secret service agents and others to carry firearms during the APEC Heads of Government (HoG) meeting in Auckland next year.The Bill has moved on to select committee stage, and you can make submissions on it now . You can get a copy of the Arms Amendment Bill from PMA if you contact us by Tuesday 26 January Among the concerns about this Bill is the reference throughout to ... "firearms, airguns, pistols, restricted weapons or ammunition". The 1983 Act specifies 'restricted weapons' as : machine guns, sub-machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers, grenade launchers ... all these to be deployed in the streets of Auckland ?
Then there are the reports from Vancouver (hosts of the last APEC HoG meeting), that the Canadian police were so alarmed by the way Suharto's armed bodyguard was behaving, they had discussed having to shoot the bodyguards themselves if any of them drew their guns. Five of the bodyguards were arrested by Canadian police. Is this the kind of situation we want in Auckland ?
There is no precedent for this amendment - guns were banned at the Commonwealth HoG meeting in Auckland in 1995. The bodyguards of the Sultan of Brunei came armed, and their guns were removed from them at the airport and returned when they left.
The reason for passing this amendment for the APEC HoG meeting is apparently because Clinton won't come here unless his bodyguards are armed - another good reason for opposing the amendment if you ask us !
what you can do
1) Make a submission to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee - write your submission and state on it whether or not you wish to make an oral submission to the committee.
Your submission should be sent to David Sanders, Clerk of Committee, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington or fax 04 499 0486 to reach him by 31 January at the latest. You should send 25 copies of your submission if possible.
2) lobby your MP - you can contact your MP via their local electorate office, or write to them at Parliament Buildings, Wellington (no stamp needed). Don't forget to lobby the list MPs too ! We have a very handy contact list for Cabinet Ministers at PMA which you can have on request.
3) Send Letters to the Editor - to your local and to the nationally distributed press giving your views on this Bill.
Contact details :
Christchurch Press , fax (03) 364 8492, editorial@press.co.nz
Dominion, fax (04) 4740257;
Evening Post, fax; (04) 474 0237, editor@evpost.co.nz
Herald , fax (09) 373 6434;
Sunday Star Times, fax (09) 309 0258; NZ Listener , fax (09) 360 3831 editor@listener.co.nz
NOTE : The first APEC 99 meeting will be held from 2-10 Feb in Wellington - see 'national'
listing in 'what's on' section.
Do you want the SIS in your home ?
Following Aziz Choudry's successful legal challenge against the SIS (Security Intelligence
Service) after they broke into his home, the government has decided to change the
law relating to the SIS.
The 1998 SIS Amendment Bill (which will have its third reading in parliament probably
in March) will give the SIS the right to break into homes and offices and remove
whatever they want. This right will be retrospective. As the 1996 SIS amendment extended
the definition of national security to include 'the international and economic wellbeing
of New Zealand', those whose homes / offices may be broken into presumably now include
anyone who disagrees with the current government's international or economic policy - a considerable proportion of the populace one imagines !
There is still time to oppose the bill, you can get a copy of it from PMA if you contact
us
by
Tuesday 26 January.
For more information on the changes, see the Democratic Rights Defence Fund's leaflet
(enclosed with this mailing) - this provides a succinct summary of the Bill's provisions
and the reason the government has introduced it with unseemly haste at this time.
what you can do
1) Make a submission to the Intelligence and Security Committee - write your submission, state on it whether or not you wish to make an oral submission to the committee (at this stage the Prime Minister's office is saying that oral submissions will probably only be heard in Wellington, but if enough of you ask for them elsewhere then perhaps you will get your wish granted !).
Your submission should be sent to Margot Christeller, Intelligence and Security Committee, 5th Floor, Reserve Bank Building, Wellington or fax 04 473 2789 to reach her by 29 January at the latest. You should send 25 copies of your submission if possible. If you have any enquiries about making your submission, you can telephone her on 04 471 9638.
2) Sign and collect signatures for the petition enclosed with this mailing. Additional paper copies are available from PMA; you can print them off our website, or tel the Green Party (04) 470 6663. Deadline is 5 February 1999.
3) Lobby your MP : the only MPs who opposed the new legislation were the Alliance and Green MPs, plus Deborah Morris and Neil Kirton. All 106 others voted for it. They need to be told that this is not the will of the people.
For contact details, see 2) in previous column.
4) Write to Jenny Shipley and Helen Clarke as the leaders of the two biggest parties supporting the Bill and tell them you do not support their stand on it.
In Shipley's case, you could mention her glowing speech on 10 Dec, speaking about NZ's 'proud' human rights record on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when she stated ... "The Declaration is a living document. It has meaning and significance for successive generations".
In the context of this Bill, you may like to remind her of the text of the UDHR :
Article 12 : No-one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 19 : Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through the media and regardless of frontiers.
5) Send Letters to the Editor to your local and to the nationally distributed press giving your views on this Bill. Contact details see 3) in column 1, page 2
as for those other spies ...
Not only the dodgy activities of the SIS, but also those of the GCSB (Government Communications Security Bureau) are again under public scrutiny as the following summary of reports from the Anti-Bases Campaign shows.
You may recall that the November 1997 ABC national strategy meeting launched a petition which called on the government to abolish the GCSB and to close the signals intelligence bases at Waihopai and Tangimoana immediately. Grounds for the petition were (and remain) the lack of democratic control over the GCSB, and the fact that it primarily exists to serve the intelligence interests of the US and Britain.
At the November 1998 ABC national meeting, the petition with 1373 signatures was presented to Rod Donald at the Waihopai gates. In December the petition was passed on to the Intelligence and Security Committee. The ISC has now invited ABC to prepare a written submission which it will consider before deciding whether or not to agree to ABC's request to be heard by the committee. The submission is expected to be ready in the next few weeks.
As well as preparing the submission, ABC members will have (by the time you receive this) appeared before Bruce Slane at the Privacy Act Review hearings in Christchurch on 20 January. They intend to question his apparent lack of concern on the exclusion of the SIS and GCSB from Privacy Principle no 4.
ABC's November meeting included public tours of Waihopai and a sausage sizzle (with a choice of vege sausages) outside. For a full, fun and fascinating report of the weekend, see the new edition of Peace Researcher , available from ABC, PO Box 2258, Christchurch.
strange spies snippets ...
From Australia - news that a Hobart student discovered Federal government plans, in his local library, to employ hackers to break into 'suspects' personal computers (The Mercury , 15-01-99);
From the US - NASA has banned Furbys from NASA work places. These are fluffy toy creatures which contain a computer chip that enables them to repeat words spoken near them. Apparently staff have been advised to " 'contact their staff security officer for guidance' if they have brought a Furby into headquarters or if they find one in a counter-espionage sweep." (Dominion , 15-01-99);
From the UN - reports (including Washington Post , 06-01-99) that Kofi Annan has obtained evidence that "... UNSCOM directly facilitated the creation of an intelligence collection system for the US in violation of its mandate". What is most surprising about this is the eight years it has taken for it to be publicly acknowledged.
The December bombing of the people of Iraq, as with previous attacks, was protested by people and governments around the world.
The governments of France, China and Russia stated their opposition, but seemed unable to prevent Britain and the US (the other two permanent UN Security Council members) from once more slaughtering people and destroying life sustaining facilities such as hospitals, a rice storage complex, communications, and sewage systems. The Russian government withdrew its ambassadors from London and Washington as a mark of their disapproval.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed his deep regret and stated ... "What has happened cannot be reversed nor can any of us foresee the future. All we know is that tomorrow, as yesterday, there will be still an acute need, in Iraq and in the wider region, for both humanitarian relief and healing diplomacy."
The governments of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan and Germany supported the attack. NZ SAS troops and airforce Orions were not sent on this occasion, although they remain on standby to be deployed to the Gulf. The NZ mass media supported the US line on the bombings pretty much without question - one of the sickest articles being that in the Dominion (19-01-98) 'Punters get whiff of war' on how various attack scenarios would affect the price of oil.
There were daily protests in Auckland outside the US consulate, daily vigils in Wellington outside parliament, and protest at the Octagon in Dunedin. We received reports too of protest actions and gatherings throughout the US, in Canada, England, Scotland, Australia, France and Germany.
(placard at the Wellington vigil)
While the bombing raids have stopped (although reports from the US suggest they could start again at any moment), the killing of the people of Iraq has not - thousands of Iraqis are dying each month from malnutrition and disease as the economic sanctions prevent the purchase and distribution of sufficient food and medical supplies; and leukaemia rates have soared due to the poisonous legacy of the depleted uranium weapons used by British and US forces during the Gulf War.
In the past few days there have been statements from the Clinton administration that they may allow Iraq to sell more oil for humanitarian needs. US groups working to have the sanctions lifted feel there are two main reasons for this change in policy :
- pressure on the US from peace people around the world and increasingly from other
Security Council members (particularly France) to lift the sanctions is having an
effect and has resulted in this move to make the US look good. However, essentially
nothing will change, but they will be able to say even more vociferously that it is Saddam
Hussein's fault if the people of Iraq continue suffering;
- the damage to oil installations and infrastructure from the recent (and earlier)
bombing raids make it unlikely that Iraq will be able to produce sufficient oil
to sell to meet the humanitarian needs of the people.
Iraq petition
We now have around 250 signatures for the 'International Declaration in Opposition to the Economic Blockade on Iraq' and in consultation with ISMAG have decided to extend the deadline to 15 February . Please help with the moves to get the NZ government to abandon its support for the sanctions by printing out the International Declaration in Opposition to the Economic Blockade on Iraq and collecting signatures. Paper copies are also available free from PMA.
Reminder - emergency arrangements for protesting if the bombing starts again are as follows - on the day of an attack: AUCKLAND - meet at 4-30pm outside the US consulate (corner Shortland Street); WELLINGTON - meet at 5pm by the Cenotaph, vigil there every day at 5pm for the duration of the attack; DUNEDIN - meet at 5-30pm, at the lower Octagon. Take your own banner, poster, candles - whatever you need to state your opposition to the bloodshed.
Did you know ... hundreds of tons of relief supplies for Honduran victims of Hurricane Mitch remain in New York because the Pentagon refused to authorise the flights which would transport the supplies in case the planes were needed in the Gulf (Latin America briefs, 29-12-98).
For further information, see PMA's Action Alerts
F16 Foolishness
Speaking of Iraq brings us to that other recent manifestation of the NZ government's sycophantic relationship with the US - the totally bizarre decision to lease-to-buy 28 second hand F16s for around $350 million from the US government which, at the time the decision was made, didn't even own them !
As you are no doubt aware by now, the F16s belonged to Pakistan, who weren't allowed them because the US was upset by their nuclear weapons testing - that's the Pakistan tests, not the US tests we are referring to here. Yes we agree, it is very confusing, hypocrisy IS confusing. The US has now agreed to pay Pakistan back for the F16s so that we can have them.
Did you see the stranger than fiction appearance of Max Bradford on the Holmes show on the night of the announcement - when asked what the comparative running costs (never mind the retooling etc costs) of the F16s as compared with the Skyhawks will be, he replied "I don't know". But he did continue to insist they are 'a bargain price'. How does he know ?
To add to the truly astonishing oddness of this decision, the announcement was made at the time the 'Inquiry into Defence beyond 2000' select committee report was released - the cross-party group which had been hearing public submissions (including many from your good selves) for months. Although we may not agree with all their recommendations, the committee has taken the unusual approach (in NZ's defence history) of actually examining our defence needs realistically, and providing a cohesive planned approach to meeting them. Among its findings, the committee ranked warplanes as the very LAST priority for the NZ Defence Forces.
There is still no clear answer to the question of what the NZ government is going to use these warplanes for. As our previous newsletter pointed out, some at least will be based in Australia - perhaps they could lease-to-buy those ones. As for the rest of them, who knows.
Perhaps the F16 agreement is a scam, only intended to secure Shipley's meeting with Clinton in Washington ? or his attendance at APEC, another of her obsessions ? They really can't be serious about this purchase ... can they ?
Double standards ? surely not
In October the $1.6 million Code of Social Responsibility was finally released to an uninterested public. Many of the government plans which the Code was designed to give credence to had already been implemented - eg Work for the Dole.
People agreeing to Work for the Dole can earn an additional $20 cash - no perks - to bring their community wage up to $164 per week (single person). If they can't or won't work (or WINZ makes a mistake) their community wage drops by 20% for each real or imaginary infraction.
Contrast this with Jenny Shipley's community wage - according to the Dominion (25-11-98), her cash and perks amount to $10,954 per week.
And what do you think about the $500,000 tax payer funded job creation scheme ... to secure the World Bank presidency for Mike Moore ? It is not clear if this figure includes the cost of Jenny Shipley's recent trip to Canada and the US which included lobbying on Mike's behalf.
Young people 'Tell the World'
An invitation from World Voices to young people everywhere to contribute to a book on the state and future of the world. Your contribution will give you the chance to be one of the people selected to attend their conference in London in September, all expenses paid. Deadline for entries is 30 January 1999 , contact PMA or check out the World Voices website http://www.worldvoices.org
Prison labour ban ?
Alas, we are not referring to a ban on prison labour in this country, but rather to the fact that the Corrections Department has admitted it is aware that goods being made by prisoners are being exported illegally (see for example Dominion , 08-12-98). Aside from the other ethical issues involved in using prison labour, it is illegal in Britain, Canada and the US (and NZ !) for goods which are wholly or partly produced by prison labour to be imported.
Fruit and veges for export are being grown at several NZ prisons, and the Trade Union Federation is planning to file a complaint with the ILO about the use of prison labour here for private profit. Contact Michael Gilchrist, tel (04) 384 8963, tuf@tradeshall.org.nz
Monsanto boycott
"Human rights campaigners and environmental activists have launched an international boycott of the multinational company, Monsanto, in protest at its aggressive and irresponsible imposition of genetically engineered crops. Monsanto products include the sweeteners NutraSweet and Equal. For a full list see http://www.monsanto.com/Monsanto/Products/List/." Peace News Dec 1998.
We were going to tell you which Monsanto products are available here, but it seems we can't as we don't have legal permission to copy their list. You will have to go to their website and see for yourself what they are - along with their proudly advertised mutated crops seeds !
An excellent extensive resource for information on genetic engineering here in Aotearoa, is RAGE (Revolt Against Genetic Engineering). You can check out their website at http://www.converge.org.nz/rage/ or you can write to RAGE, PO Box 30-762, Petone, fax (04) 589 0229.
Speaking of nasty multinationals (Monsanto, not Peace News or RAGE) reminds us that the McLibel McAppeal has begun in London.
National Peace Workshops
4 to 7 June 1999
Book this space in your diary now ! This year's NPWs will focus on peace education and youth and be held at Riverside Community.
Bougainville peace process
As reported in our December alert, Joan MacDonald returned from the Sydney conference on Bougainville with the news that the Papua New Guinea parliament did not pass the enabling legislation for the interim Bougainville Reconciliation government in its last session for 1998, and would not be meeting again until July 1999.
The Lincoln Agreement had stated that the BRG should be established on 1 January 1999 (when the Bougainville Transitional Government's mandate ran out) as the first step towards elections on Bougainville in June 1999.
By the end of December, Bougainvillean leaders had decided they would simply go ahead and establish their own interim government to keep the peace process moving to plan; then on 1 January PNG prime minister Bill Skates announced his cabinet had suspended the BTG because it was unconstitutional.
At this point, the reports coming from Bougainville start to conflict. We think what has happened is as follows - amidst death threats, delays, and legal action, Skate has said he will sign the accord to set up the BRG; the BRG constitution has been agreed; the PNG Opposition party is taking legal action to have the accord declared unconstitutional; and currently over 50 representatives of Bougainvillean groups are preparing to meet in Arawa for their first constituent assembly.
Hopefully the peace process is getting back on track, but it is still immensely fragile as the conflicting reports demonstrate. It may be useful for you to write to Don McKinnon who has some stake in ensuring the process does work, asking him to continue to monitor the situation, maintain pressure on the Australian and PNG governments to ensure the process is what the people of Bougainville want and to intervene positively if the process gets further derailed. You can write to him at Parliament Buildings, Wellington (no stamp needed).
Pacific Women Speak Out : for independence and denuclearisation
This brand new publication from WILPF, Disarmament and Security Centre and Pacific Connections is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in learning more about Pacific peoples' lives, aspirations and the disaster brought upon them by colonisation, exploitation and nuclearisation.
"The task is nothing less than leading the world back from the abyss of nuclear annihilation, environmental destruction and military domination".
Here in their own words are eleven indigenous women's stories from Bougainville, Hawai'i, Marshall Islands, Australia, Te Ao Maohi, East Timor, West Papua, Aotearoa and Belau.
The book acts as an update to Pacific Women Speak : why haven't you known ? (1987) and Zohl de Ishtar's comprehensive Daughters of the Pacific (1994).
The book is dedicated to Darleen Keju-Johnson 1951-1996 who died of cancer like so many Marshallese and Pacific women - the poisonous legacy of nuclear tests. As Darleen said "the story of the Marshallese people since the nuclear weapons tests has been sad and painful. Allow our experience, now, to save others such sadness and pain".
As the women's stories clearly show, it is not only nuclear colonialism which has caused sorrow and pain to indigenous peoples.
Available from PMA, $17 each (incl p&p); bulk orders of 10 or more, $10 each + p&p. Cheques should be made payable to 'Pacific Women Speak Out'. The books are also available on a sale or return basis. Any profit from the sale of the book will go to Pacific women's Trusts.
Pacific briefs
East Timor
The Australian government has announced a policy change towards East Timor and said
they will now be pressing Indonesia to 'grant East Timor an act of self-determination'.
Indonesia has condemned the change; as have some activists who say it does not go
far enough. The Indonesian government has said that there may be as many as 18,000 Indonesian troops in East Timor, prompting a statement from Downer (Australian Foreign Minister) urging for a reduction in troop numbers to assist the reconciliation process.
Kanaky (New Caledonia) - Following the referendum held in Kanaky in November, the French parliament has now passed the legislation which allows for the 'gradual but irreversible' transfer of some state powers from France to a local government. Justice, law and order, money, credit and foreign exchange powers will remain with France.
Indonesia
reports are coming in of investigations into the alleged involvement of Mobil, the
US oil multinational, in Indonesian armed forces massacres of local people in Aceh.
British Aerospace will start delivering 16 Hawk war planes to Indonesia in July 1999.
Fiji - PM Rabuka has received no response to his request to the British government for pensions for Fijian soldiers who served on Christmas Island during the atomic bomb tests there in the 1950s. None were given protective clothing, and more than half have since died from cancer.
Australia
we have received messages from Australian groups calling for an international day
of solidarity with Aboriginal people on 26 January, anniversary of the settler invasion
of Australia. The theme of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra this year is -
GENOCIDE IS A CRIME : DON'T JUST SAY SORRY, SAY SOVEREIGNTY. The Australian Campaign Against Arms Trade reports that the cost of the top 20 capital
expenditure 'defence' projects at contract in 1998 is $Aus 16,771.8 million. Otways forest protests are intensifying as the Dept of Conservation and Natural Resources
comes under increasing scrutiny after those protesting their illegal logging activities
were acquitted in court. The manufacturers of Kleenex, Kimberley-Clark Australia will no longer take woodchip from Otways logging as a result of boycotts of their
products. Campaigners point out that K-C continues to take wood from other native
forests however.STOP PRESS !
The statement from the protesters at Ohiwa Harbour has just come in, a rather different viewpoint from that portrayed in the mass media. Copies available from PMA.
Further to ' Bougainville Peace Process' , we understand the constituent assembly has now met.
what's on where ...
International
24 January - Millennium Miracle Minute of Silence. There is a plan for a global minute of silence for peace to be held as the first light of the new millennium touches Aotearoa, this will be webcast and telecast around the world. The first of the 37 planned minutes will be at 7pm on 24 January , emanating out from the Sweetwaters Festival which will be shut down for the occasion. The minutes will then be held in different countries around the world until returning here for 1 Jan 2000. Contact Peace Foundation, tel (09) 373 2379, peace@fps.ak.planet.co.nz
18 to 20 Feb - 'Peaceful Settlement of Disputes, International Humanitarian Law, Arms Control and Disarmament' Asia/Pacific Regional Conference. Contact Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne, Australia. Fax +61 3 9344 9595, haguepeaceconf@law.unimelb.edu.au
1 March - Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day
8 March - International Women's Day
10 March - Tibet Uprising Day commemorating Tibetan non-violent resistance to the Chinese occupation. This year Students for a Free Tibet (NZ) have called the Light For Tibet campaign. Contact SFT(NZ) PO Box 4366, Kamo, sftibet.dunedin@clear.net.nz or sftibet@igrin.co.nz
21 March - 3 April - International Festival of Women's Performance, outstanding women performers from around the world; 21-28 March, Wellington; 1-3 April, Paekakariki 'Te Ao Te Tohatoha Mohiotanga' (a world in which to share knowledge). Contact Magdelena Aotearoa, tel (04) 385 0777, magdelen@actrix.gen.nz
24-25 March - Asia-Pacific regional peace meeting in Hanoi, info from World Peace Council, fax +33 1 4011 5787, mvtpaix@globenet.org or PMA.
11-15 May - Hague Appeal for Peace , international peace conference at the Hague (Netherlands); details and registration booklets available from PMA.
24 May - International Women's Day for Disarmament
1-7 August - Triennial World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education , Hawai'i. Contact 1999 WIPCE Hawai'i, PO Box 6159, Hilo HI96720-8923, fax +1 808 969 7932, wipc@hawaii.edu
National
28 Jan - Pakaitore anniversary.
29 Jan - SIS Amendment Bill submissions due.
30-31 Jan - East Timor Solidarity Network national meeting in Wellington. Contact Joe, tel (04) 385 7545, eco@reddfish.co.nz
31 Jan - Arms Amendment Bill submissions due.
Say 'NO to APEC' in Wellington
2-10 Feb - APEC Senior Officials Meeting in Wgtn. Protests being organised by APEC ACTION ! Tel 04 498 2500, sarah@students.org.nz
3 Feb - 'What is APEC?' public meeting with Jane Kelsey, Moana Jackson and others; Aziz Choudry on 'APEC and the SIS' , at 7.30pm, St Johns Church Conference Centre, Cnr Willis and Dixon Streets, Wgtn.
4 Feb - 'Confronting APEC: Alternatives to the neo-liberal agenda' Seminar, 9.00am to 4.00pm, Student Union Building, Victoria University. Send name, address, reg fee ($20 org, $10/$5 individual) by 30 January to APEC Monitoring Group, PO Box 9716, Wellington, or tel (04) 385 0579.
APEC 99 - the $45 million mistake.
6 Feb - Waitangi Day, 158th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty. Wellington - Tenths Trust day of activities in Frank Kitts Park. Network Waitangi Wellington will be travelling to Waitangi, contact Anne (04) 472 6425, as will NFIP Tamaki Makaurau , contact Joan (09) 360 8001.
8-9 Feb - presentation of SIS Amendment Bill petitions to parliament and submissions on the bill - more details from PMA.
13 Feb - The global society: issues and challenges for New Zealand , Massey University at Albany. Contact the convener Dr Anne de Bruin, Department of Commerce, Massey University - Albany Campus, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, Auckland, tel (09) 4439633, fax (09) 4439732 A.M.DeBruin@massey.ac.nz
Asia Development Assistance Facility Training Workshop s on Monitoring and Evaluation of work in Asia. 22-23 Feb in Wellington, 25-26 Feb in Christchurch, 1-2 March in Auckland. Contact ADAF Training, Development Resource Centre, PO Box 12440, Wgtn, fax (04) 472 3622, drc@apc.org.nz
Riverside Music Festival Promoting Peace
6 March, 12 noon - 8pm
Featuring local performers - bands, soloists, actors, poets and more - games, food and craft stalls. Any peace groups interested in bringing along or sending material on current peace issues; and interested people, groups, or performers or who feel they have something to contribute to the festival, please contact : Jessie Francis, Riverside Community, RD2 Upper Moutere, Nelson.
Gender & Development Training. 10-11 March in Auckland, 17-18 March in Wellington, 24-25 March in Christchurch . Contact CID, PO Box 12-470 Wgtn, fax: (04) 472 63 74, cid@clear.net.nz
National Peace Workshops 4 to 7 June 1999
Book this space in your diary now ! This year's NPWs will focus on peace education and youth and be held at Riverside Community.
local listings
Tamaki Makaurau / Auckland
22 Feb - Anti-racism/Treaty workers meeting, Tamaki Makaurau region, 7pm at 5 Seymour St, Ponsonby.
Wellington / Whanga Nui a Tara
1 Feb - Tauiwi women's Treaty discussion group , 7pm at Wellington Women's Centre, 56 Victoria St.
24 & 31 Jan, 7 & 14 Feb at 11.45 am on ACCESS 783AM - listen to Peace Report, Des Brough interviewing Alyn Ware on issues and challenges facing anti-nuclear activists in the new millennium. Contact Peace Council, PO Box 703, Wgtn.
2-10 Feb - APEC Senior Officials Meeting in Wgtn - protests, meeting and seminar, see 'national' listing.
Upper Moutere
13 Feb - Top of the South Peace Groups at Riverside Community, RD2 Upper Moutere, 10am for a cuppa, 10-30am for meeting, bring lunch to share.
Nelson
9 Feb - Nelson Peace Group meeting , 5-30pm at Kite Shop, tel (03) 547 4779.
Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the PMA Working Group or members.
Copyright Peace Movement Aotearoa 1999. Permission is given for written material to be used by groups and individuals sharing our aims and objectives as long as sourced material is credited to its original source and unsourced material is credited to PMA. Unsourced graphics and photographs can not be reproduced unless permission is given by PMA.
Link to earlier PMA newsletters.
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