INDEPENDENT NEWS

Free Zaoui For The Next Flight - Peters

Published: Tue 7 Oct 2003 09:58 AM
Free Zaoui For The Next Flight - Peters
Rt Hon Winston Peters is calling for the release of so-called refugee Ahmed Zaoui from Paremoremo prison if it is causing mental health problems and asking that he be sent back to where he came from to New Zealand.
Mr Peters said that Zaoui could end his suffering from psychological problems by applying to return to Malaysia and he was sure that New Zealand taxpayers would be willing to pay his airfare.
“It is puzzling why Zaoui came to New Zealand to seek asylum when there are many Islamic countries he could have gone to. We are a nominally Christian country and are therefore infidels in the eyes of fundamentalist Muslims.
“It would be best for everyone, Zaoui included, if he returned overseas to a society he felt comfortable in. It is difficult to understand how he could be assimilated here – especially when he has been linked to groups that no one in their right mind would want within their country’s borders.”
Mr Peters also questioned the costs of the hospitality extended to the Algerian and asked whether the Government was going to pay the costs of all his witnesses and supporters coming to New Zealand for a hearing next month.
“Thousands of New Zealanders who paid taxes all their lives can’t get adequate healthcare but the Government is prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an individual who came here on false papers with a dubious story.
“Get your priorities right Prime Minister,” urged Mr Peters.

Next in New Zealand politics

Protest March Against Fast-track Bill Announced For Auckland
By: Greenpeace
Wellington Mayor Responds To Housing Minister’s District Plan Decision
By: Wellington Office of the Mayor
Modernising Census – Stats NZ
By: Stats NZ
Therapeutic Products Act To Be Repealed
By: New Zealand Government
Interim Financial Statements Of The Government Of New Zealand For The Nine Months Ended 31 March 2024
By: The Treasury
New Zealand Sign Language Week An Opportunity For Anyone To Sign
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media