Kia ora, this 'what's on' has new listings added since the one circulated earlier this week.
25 May 2000
********************** NATIONAL - WHAT’S ON **********************
*** INTERNATIONAL ***
~ Messages of solidarity to the Fiji vigil - since last weekend many women and men from a wide variety of organisations
have come together every day from 12 noon to 2pm at the Anglican cathedral in the centre of Suva in protest against the
violent hostage situation at parliament house. They come together for reflection, prayer and a silent vigil. Fiji
women’s organisations have taken this important initiative. You can send messages of solidarity and support to the daily
vigil, the messages can be sent via the National Council of Women or the Fiji Women's Rights Movement
*** NATIONAL ***
~ 12 JUNE - ‘Peace and Security in the New Millennium: How Can New Zealand Contribute?’, Monday, from 9 am - 5 pm, at
Legislative Assembly, Parliament. Programme co-ordinators: Robin Halliday and Ian Prior for Abolition 2000 and IPPNW.
Programme and registration form available from , please note - you must register to attend because of parliament’s security arrangements. ~ 6 - 8 JULY - ‘Treaty
Conference 2000 and beyond’, to be held in Tamaki Makaurau / Auckland, contact Betsan Martin or Ingrid Huygens The Enrolment form and Conference Programme are now available at
~ 3 - 9 JULY - National Gathering of the Student Christian Movement, to be held in Dunedin this year - includes
leadership skills training conference, the AGM, and men’s and women’s retreats. For more information contact
~ 17 - 19 NOVEMBER - ‘Poverty, Prosperity, Progress’, DEVNET conference, to be held at Victoria University, Wellington.
Confirmed keynote speakers so far are: Michael Edwards, currently the Director of the Governance and Civil Society
Programme at the Ford Foundation, author of various publications including ‘Future Positive: International Cooperation
in the 21st century’; Dr Charles Waldegrave, a New Zealand based social science researcher who has conducted many
studies in the areas of poverty in the community and poverty level indicators; and Manuka Henare, Maori Studies Lecturer
at Auckland University with extensive experience with NGOs and Maori development. We are now receiving abstracts from
prospective presenters. The final deadline for abstracts is the 31st May 2000. Conference papers will be published just
prior to the conference as well as being made available on-line from the Devnet website. For further information,
contact Gitanjali Bedi at or visit the website
***** LOCAL *****
*** AUCKLAND
~ FRI, 26 May - Peace Rally against Ethiopian Invasion of Eritrea, march will start at 12 noon at the Queen Elizabeth
Square (assembling from 11 am) and will disperse at Aotea Square at about 1pm. The march will call upon the New Zealand
government, the United Nations and the Organisation of African unity to condemn Ethiopia's invasion and its futile
attempt to resolve the conflict through military means. Organised by the Eritrean Community Of New Zealand - see end of
this ‘what’s on’ for a copy of their press release.
~ MON, 29 May - Human Rights Network meeting, Auckland Region, from 5-30pm to 6-30pm, at the office of the Race
Relations Conciliator, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Norwich Building, 177 Queen Street (cnr Durham Street West).
~ TUES, 30 May - Auckland Abolition 2000 meeting, 12-30pm at the Peace Foundation office, tel (09) 373 2379.
~ SAT, 24 June - WILPF Winter Solstice Lunch, 12 noon , at the Friends Meeting House, 113 Mt Eden Road. All welcome,
good food and entertainment !
*** LOWER HUTT
~ TUES, 11 July - Dame Laurie Salas speaks about ‘UN Reform’ and Kofi Annan’s Millennium Forum, to the Waiwhetu / Lower
Hutt Peace Group meeting, 8pm at the Waiwhetu Uniting Church Hall, 6 Trafalgar Street, Lower Hutt, all welcome. For more
info contact Arthur Quinn, tel (04) 567 0533.
*** WELLINGTON
~ FROM THURS, 25 MAY for one week - The Paramount Cinema on Courtney Place will be screening the documentary ‘Tibet -
The Survival of Spirit’ for one week only at 2-15pm, 6-15pm daily, except for Sunday when screenings will be at 12-30pm
and 6pm. $1 from each ticket sale will go into a fund to help refugee nuns and monks resettle in monasteries in India
after their ordeal of escape from oppressive Chinese rule in Tibet. ‘Tibet - The Survival of Spirit’ written and
directed by Clemens Kuby. “In a dramatic way and with breathtaking landscape shots director Clemens Kuby shows the life
of monks and nomads in Tibet. Filmed undercover in 1988 over a period of two months, the team was camouflaged as
tourists and visited some of the most revered sanctuaries, Johkang Temple, and the former seats of His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, the Potala Palace and Norbulinka. Scenes of Lhasa changing into a modern, polluted Chinese town, the
presence of Chinese soldiers and eyewitness accounts of torture and imprisonment reinforce the call from Tibetans and
human rights groups around the world for Tibetan self-determination.” Technical Data - colour - 100 minutes - 16mm.
Organised by Wellington friends of Tibet, for more details about the film please contact the Paramount on ph (04)
3844080.
~ FRI, 26 May - Critical Mass, leaving Civic Square around 2pm. Bikes are the main form of expression, but all are
welcome - the only rule is no cars allowed! There is a secret prize for the best costume. This is being organised by
ecoaction, the environmental group at Victoria Uni and we want to make this a monthly event (starting at 5-30pm for
subsequent rides). Any questions phone Kerryn (04) 4758619 or
~ SAT, 27 May - demo outside Golden Gate Egg farm in Pauatahanui Road (between Porirua and the Hutt Valley), meet on the
corner of Mulherns Road and Pauatahanui Road at 12 noon, or meet at Trades hall, 126 Vivian St, Wellington at 11am if
you need a ride. Golden Gate Egg Farm is the biggest battery egg farm in the Wellington area. It is part of the henhouse
eggs co-op. Thousands of hens suffer in tiny cages in this farm. The aim of the demo is to get some media coverage of
the battery hen issue. Check out to have a laugh at their website, for more info phone Wellington Animal Action on (04) 385-6728, PO Box 6387, Te Aro,
Wellington.
~ SAT, 27 May - Cambodia Trust AGM and special fundraising dinner at the Angkor Restaurant ! AGM is at 4-00pm at the Law
School (old Parliament Buildings); dinner starts at 6-30pm, tickets are $35 and are available from the Angkor Restaurant
tel (04) 384 9423, Niborom tel (04) 388 1712, and Ian tel (04) 386 1084 - for more information about the AGM, contact
Ian.
~ MON, 29 May to FRI, 2 June - Women's Festival at Victoria University, including performances by women artists, poets,
dramatists, political forums and comedians. The audience is open to men and women, but the festival aims to promote
women's continuing activity in performance and therefore the performers are all women. For more info contact Dayna
Berghan, Women's Rights Officer, Victoria University, tel (04) 473 8566 x 834,
~ THURS, 1 June - Wellington Peace Lunch Forum - an informal lunch time session to exchange peace news, bring your
lunch, your leaflets, your news and views, tea and coffee provided, 1pm to 2pm on the first Thursday of each month at
the PMA offices, Rooms 16 and 17, Trades Hall, 126 Vivian Street, Wellington. If you are not able to attend in person,
or live outside Wellington, you can send leaflets, notices, whatever you want to share to the lunch forum via PMA, PO
Box 9314, Wellington, tel (04) 382 8129, fax (04) 382 8173,
~ THURS, 8 June - the CTU is running a series of "drinks and debate" on the second Thursday of each month. In June, the
plan is to run a session on East Timor as the ACTU has been very active in solidarity with the people of East Timor and
it is hoped to stimulate more action among NZ unions. The next meeting is at 5.30pm, Thursday, 8 June in the PSA
Penthouse, 11 Aurora Tce, just off The Terrace. It is expected that Jorge Teme, who is studying at Massey and is the
CNRM representative in New Zealand, will report on the situation in East Timor, from where he has just returned. We hope
to learn of the latest developments in East Timor and what we can do to help.
~ THURS, 8 June - ‘Defining Boundaries Workshop’ - for people in voluntary agencies, 9am to 12 noon, numbers limited,
organised by Wellington Community Law Centre and Wellington City Council Community Development Advisors. For more info
contact: Community Development Advisors, Wellington City Council, PO Box 2199, Wellington, tel (04) 499 4444, fax (04)
801 3124. You must indicate your interest in attending the workshop by 25 May.
**************************************** Peace Rally against Ethiopian Invasion of Eritrea
**************************************** Media release
25 May 2000
The Eritrean community of New Zealand has called for a march for Friday 26 May, 2000 to protest Ethiopia's invasion of
Eritrea, displacing one million civilians. Most of the displaced are farmers from Eritrea's breadbasket region of
Gash-Barka , just before the harvest season.
The march, which will start at 12 noon at the Queen Elizabeth Square, assembling from 11 a.m. and will disperse at Aotea
Square at about 1 p.m. The march will call upon the New Zealand government, the United Nations and the Organisation of
African unity to condemn Ethiopia's invasion and its futile attempt to resolve the conflict through military means. We
are asking for an immediate assistance to the victims of this aggression, and help bring about a peaceful end to this
murderous conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The current Ethiopian regime has been squandering more than one million dollars a day on the war for the last two years
rather than using it to feed the more than 12 million Ethiopians facing starvation today. The new Ethiopian offensive
has substantially compounded the humanitarian crisis in the region. In addition to the millions of victims of famine
throughout the region, there are more 600,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean civilians who were displaced as a result of
previous offensives in the border conflict between the two nations. The more than 100,000 Ethiopian troops who are 43
kilometres deep inside uncontested Eritrean territory are looting the displaced farmers' meagre resources as they
advance toward populated centres that are being pounded incessantly by air raids, which may soon deny critical food
airlift route to the one million displaced Eritreans.
The Eritrean community of New Zealand calls upon the New Zealand Government and the rest of the international community
and all peace-loving peoples to condemn Ethiopia's invasion of Eritrea and help alleviate this new wave of human crisis
the invasion has caused.
>From the Eritrean Community Of New Zealand, tel/fax. 09 2966089, mobile 021 474 005.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Peace Movement Aotearoa the national networking group for peace people PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa / New
Zealand. tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173, website < http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/> Internet Peace Gateway <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>