RAM ­ Residents Action Movement
Media release on Voices of Peace
13 July 2007

GEORGE GALLOWAY
British Respect MP & world peace campaigner

'I am delighted to speak in Auckland against Islamophobia'

"I am delighted to be invited to speak in Auckland against the rising tide of Islamophobia. Racism against Muslims is the accompanying factor of George Bush's so-called War on Terror," said British Respect MP & international peace campaigner George Galloway.

Expelled from the British Labour Party for opposing the US war in Iraq, Mr Galloway shot to world fame in May 2005 when he testified before the US Senate to reject allegations of taking money from Saddam Hussein to help Iraq break American trade sanctions. During his Senate appearance the left-wing British MP turned the tables on pro-war politicians by charging the administration of US president George Bush with war crimes in Iraq.

The politically-inspired allegations against Mr Galloway were finally laid to rest in March 2007 when the London Metropolitan Police and the British Serious Fraud Office announced that he had no case to answer.

Mr Galloway is speaking at two Voices of Peace meetings in Auckland on 27-28 July hosted by RAM, the Residents Action Movement. These meetings are open to the public and entry is free. (Meeting details below.)

"Demonising the peoples of the Middle East who resist Western rule leads inevitably to demonising their co-religionists who live in the West," said Mr Galloway. "The result is racism and bitter alienation among young Muslims, providing the very breeding ground for nihilistic acts of terrorism which the war is purportedly waged to reduce."

"Islamophobia is also the smokescreen for the failure of US imperial policy in Iraq and the wider Middle East. It is rising along with the savage death toll in Iraq ­ of Iraqis themselves and of American and British troops"

"We will not end this new racism unless we end the wars of aggression that breathe life into it. That's the message I will be bringing with me to New Zealand. And, from what I know of the country, I anticipate a warm response," concluded Mr Galloway.

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VOICES OF PEACE
AUCKLAND MEETINGS
GEORGE GALLOWAY will be addressing these two meetings:

TOWN MEETING
7.30pm, Saturday 28 July.
Auckland Girls Grammar School Theatre.
16 Howe St (off Karangahape Rd).
The three other speakers are:
- JAVED KHAN, president of Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ.
- PAUL BUCHANAN, international security analyst & director of the Working Group on Alternative Security Perspectives at the University of Auckland.
- GRANT MORGAN, organiser of RAM ­ Residents Action Movement.
Limit of 800 seats, so those interested are being advised to get there early. NO DOOR CHARGE. Donations will be accepted.

UNIVERSITY MEETING
6pm, Friday 27 July.
University of Auckland.
Venue to be confirmed.
The three other speakers are:
- NIBRAS KARDAMAN, young Muslim woman & representative of the Working Together Group.
- STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE of the campus organising group.
- GRANT MORGAN, organiser of RAM ­ Residents Action Movement.
NO DOOR CHARGE. Donations will be accepted.

Both meetings OPEN TO THE MEDIA.

WORKSHOPS
There will also be Voices of Peace workshops where topics touching on Islamophobia can be discussed together by Muslims and non-Muslims. George Galloway will give the introduction.
2-5pm, Sunday 29 July.
Fickling Convention Centre, 546 Mt Albert Rd, Three Kings.
Limit of 250 participants, so those interested are being advised to get there early.

ENDS

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