"IT'S WAR". When NZ troops are committed to war we usually see headlines like this screaming from the front pages. Leaders of the US government have admitted that they are still at war with the people of Iraq. Frequent guerrilla attacks in Iraq have not distinguished between British, US, and UN contingents. The war is not over.

This month the Labour Government has committed NZ troops to legitimise and aid this illegal occupation, and progress the possibility of trade talks.

'No troops for trade' and 'Hey hey Helen Clark, no troops to Iraq' were the calls of protestors outside Defence force headquarters today.

'We are here to highlight the gross hypocrisy of the Labour Government and Helen Clark, in particular. Only months ago, she condemned the war on Iraq, now she is sending troops to support the army of occupation.' said Peace Action Wellington member Valerie Morse

'The troop deployment will cost us $10 million. If the government really wanted to help the Iraqi people, they would send medical aid. Instead, they just wanted to grease up to the USA for a free trade deal'

Peace Action Wellington is demanding an end to NZ support for the US wars on the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Helen Clark claims we will be providing humanitarian aid in Iraq. The question is why are we sending soldiers? There is no shortage of trained Iraqi engineers who, given the resources, could work to reconstruct their own country. But providing resources to Iraqis won't give Clark the political dividend she is seeking.

You may have read recently that the unelected Iraqi Governing Council has announced that Iraq is now completely open to privatisation.

It is no surprise that the Labour Party is aiding in the privatisation of Iraq with guns, when it privatised New Zealand’s assets in the 1980s.

We are not only becoming part of an illegal and immoral occupation. The NZDF soldiers are going to the same area where large quantities of highly toxic depleted uranium saturates the environment, as a result of coalition bombing. It is believed that depleted uranium causes deformities in children born to parents exposed to it.

Helen Clark is putting the lives of NZ military personnel and their families at risk.

Meanwhile, Iraqi doctors who live in New Zealand can’t raise enough money to go to Iraq to aid their own people. There are a 101 other ways that New Zealand could help the Iraqi people in the reconstruction of their country, the first is to tell Bush ‘US OUT OF IRAQ! END THE OCCUPATION!’

What can you do?

- Write to your local MP about the dangers of depleted uranium

- Next election don’t vote for war parties

- Email peacewellington@hotmail.com to find out more about Peace Action Wellington

PEACE, JUSTICE, & SELF-DETERMINATION

For more information, please contact Valerie Morse at 383-9315 or valerie.morse@paradise.net.nz

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