Waitakere Urges Others To Support Peace

Waitakere City is calling on all Councils in New Zealand to support an anti-war stance in Iraq.

In 1998 Mayor Bob Harvey was awarded a UNESCO “Cities for Peace” prize, in recognition of leadership in promoting safe communities. He was only one of eight mayors in the world to receive the award, and last night his Council decided unanimously that it should “stand up and be counted” as war between the United States (and its allies) and Iraq looms.

Last night Waitakere passed the following resolutions:

1. That this Council strongly supports the New Zealand Government’s stance and urges the United States of America to pursue diplomatic measures in its attempts to ensure that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction.

2. That this Council urges the members of the United Nations Security Council to support the continuation of the current arms inspection process being conducted in Iraq.”

It’s views will be passed directly to the United States consul in New Zealand. Waitakere has also sent a letter to all other Mayors asking them to put similar resolutions to their Councils.

The stand was the idea of New Lynn ward Councillor Greg Presland.

“Some of our citizens want us to concentrate on the basics such as roads, rates and rubbish but the reality is that if war commences in Iraq, because of the interconnectedness of the world we live in, Waitakere will be affected. At a moral level, I believe that war is wrong and that diplomatic measures that spare the lives of potentially millions of civilians should continue. I am also worried that war will not solve world terrorism but make it worse as a new class of potential martyrs are created.”

“Waitakere City declared itself nuclear free in 1986, and has flown the Nuclear Free Peace flag for over a decade. This is another moment when it is time to take a stand for peace. As civic leaders we feel that it is important that we take a position and support the government on the world stage.”