27 July 2016

Media Statement- for Immediate Release

Disabled New Zealanders Hold Vigil for Murdered Disabled in Japan

The murder of 19 disabled Japanese people in their beds by a man who thought disabled people should be killed has left disabled New Zealanders aghast, and tonight they will hold a vigil for them at Wellington’s Frank Kitts Park at 5 -6 pm.

“The killer said it was better if we disabled people disappear, and that is an obscene, hate filled statement to make about a quarter of the population” says co-manager of the Disability Clothesline Wendi Wicks.

“We utterly reject this statement and uphold the value of all disabled lives, as spelled out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)”.

“They are our colleagues, and their lives matter too. We care what has happened to them and we will remember those killed or injured in a place known as the Lilly Garden, 25 miles west of Tokyo tonight.”

All are welcome to come and add their tribute at this gathering, co hosted by the Disability Clothesline and People First New Zealand, Nga Tangata Tuatahi.

ENDS