Howard the Target of Anti-War Protest

At a Global Peace and Justice Auckland Forum last evening the following protest activity directed against the visit by Australian Prime Minister John Howard was decided:

· Saturday 8th March - Protest at 2.00pm (following the International Womens' Day March - from Aotea Square at 12noon) at the new Australian High Commission - Howard is due to open it at 2.30pm

· Saturday 8th March. Protest from 6.30pm at the Sheraton Hotel. Anniversary Dinner for CER - Howard and NZ businesspeople.

· Sunday 9th March - from 9.15am at the Sheraton Hotel. Howard and Helen Clark will be having a bi- lateral meeting from 10am.

Further protests will be added once further visit details become available.

People at the meeting were disgusted that the Prime Minister of New Zealand thinks more of an isolated Australian warmonger who has built his leadership on lies (children overboard saga), racism (refugees) and threats of brutal violence (500,000 Iraqi people predicted to be killed or injured as a direct result of plans to invade Iraq according the World Health Organisation) than she does of the feelings of the big majority of New Zealanders who are utterly opposed to Howard's plans to invade Iraq.

We believe Helen Clark should withdraw the invitation to Howard. The situation is not unlike an invitation to Hitler to visit on the eve of his invasion of Poland.

"The sickening hypocrisy of a man who detains Iraqi refugees in desert concentration camps while preparing to wage war to “liberate” the Iraqi people needs to be exposed in the clearest terms"

Next Anti-War Mobilisation

The meeting also decided the next mobilisation of Aucklanders against the war will take place on Saturday 22nd March - 12noon from QE2 Square at the bottom of Queen Street.

This is around the time the US plans to invade Iraq and we hope a strong show of opposition to the war will push Helen Clark to change her "we won't support the war" stance to "we are opposed to this war".

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