Oppose the warship visit; oppose closer ties with US military

Press Release: Peace Action Wellington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peace Action Wellington is opposed to the upcoming US warship visit, and the ongoing building of military ties with the United States of America to bolster their illegal wars. We join Auckland Peace Action in their mobilisation of public opposition to this.

"The visit of a US warship for the first time in thirty years signals the US government's need for outside involvement and our government's disturbing support for joining US wars," says Peace Action Wellington spokesperson James Barber.

"The nuclear free issue is important but what is more important is the US military's long history of gross human rights abuses. Their atrocities at Abu Ghraib, for which commanders were not held accountable, and the state sanctioned torture of prisoners of war at Guantanamo Bay are easily enough reasons to cut all military relations with the USA."

"The USA caused the current crisis in the Middle East, through their illegal invasion of Iraq which killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. The ongoing US backed war in Syria and Iraq against ISIS is similarly killing and displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians while perpetuating the conflict."

"Also, the USA is continuing a drone war in countries where there has been no formal declaration of war, this has killed thousands of innocent civilians and only served to fuel tensions in the region."

The USA is also maintaining its "neither confirm nor deny" policy about its warships and so they do not meet the precedent set in 1985 by the then Labour government.

Peace Action Wellington is joining Auckland Peace Action in organising public opposition to the warship visit and the international arms fair of which it is part. Peace Action Wellington has a decade long history is resisting war and militarisation. Today protestors were in court facing charges from last year's weapons conference.

ENDS

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