Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day
service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and
urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in
Palestine.
People dressed in white with visible Palestinian keffiyeh scarves laid
silently on the ground – evoking images of the rows of body bags in
scenes from Gaza. They were accompanied by a banner which read ‘No NZ Complicity in war and genocide. Free Palestine’.
Almost 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli
military since October 2023. Rather than taking concrete action to stop
the genocide – such as boycott of Israeli goods and services, or
sanctions on the Israeli government – the New Zealand Government has
refused to grant visas to Palestinians desperately trying to leave Gaza,
made empty statements about a ceasefire and deployed troops to the Red
Sea, where supporters of Palestine are stopping Israeli ships from
passing while the genocide continues.
Valerie Morse, one of the participants, said: “From the New Zealand
ANZAC Mounted Division’s massacre of Palestinian civilians in the
village of Surafend in 1918 to the Red Sea deployment in 2024, Aotearoa
New Zealand has a lot to answer for in Palestine. Our action today was
about solidarity with Palestinians, and about calling our government to
account – we must do everything we can to stop this genocide. This day
should be about honouring the dead – whether soldiers or civilians – by
putting a stop to war and genocide.”
Peace activists also drew attention to the NZ government’s intention to
join Pillar Two of the US-led nuclear military coalition AUKUS, with
ministers meeting with Bonnie Jenkins, the US representative overseeing
the alliance earlier this year. Jenkins’ public talk was interrupted by
pro-Palestine and anti-war protesters. The deployment of NZ troops to
the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian also signalled the
government’s intention to draw closer military ties with the US.
“We are nuclear free because of the peace activists before us, let’s
keep it that way – we support the Stop AUKUS campaign. We don’t want to
be part of any US or Israeli imperial wars. Free Palestine!”
