ITS WAR: New Zealand goes to the combat zone

'New Zealand will become part of the army of occupation in Iraq with the deployment of troops set to leave on Friday' said Peace Action Wellington member Valerie Morse

'The Government said it was opposed to the war on Iraq. Now that very same government is sending troops to support the war on Iraq. New Zealand soldiers will be armed with rifles and machine guns and will be serving under British command. The United States Commander-in-Chief of Land Forces in Iraq Lt. General David McKiernan stated unequivocally that 'the war is not over.' We have not been invited by the Iraqi people or any sort of legitimate Iraqi government. Until that happens, we will be part of the occupying army. No other reasonable conclusion can be drawn.'

'The government claims we will be providing humanitarian aid in Iraq. The fundamental question is why are we sending soldiers? If we are truly concerned about the people of Iraq, then with the $10 million we are spending on this military action we could be offering direct medical aid or civilian assistance.'

'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 (DU) were dumped on the civilian population and they will suffer from exposure as a result.'

Peace Action Wellington is calling for an immediate end to all New Zealand support for the US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. There will be a public demonstration outside of the New Zealand Defence Force Headquarters on Thursday, 25 September at 12 noon.

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