Just days before the Prime Minister Helen Clark is due to sign a free trade agreement with the Chinese state, demonstrators will take to the streets in Auckland and Wellington to protest the government's continued silence over the brutal Chinese occupation in Tibet and violent repression of human rights activists and trade union organising.

Auckland: Meet Aotea Square, Queen Street, 12noon, Saturday 5th April.

Wellington: Meet Frank Kitts Park on Jervois Quay, 12noon, Saturday 5th April

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uckland Call Out: Auckland March for Free Tibet not Free Trade

SUPPORT ANTI-FREE TRADE MARCH APRIL 5 CALLED BY GLOBAL PEACE AND JUSTICE AUCKLAND AND UNITE UNION

Meet at Aotea Square, Auckland, 12noon, Saturday 5th April

The Prime Minister has left New Zealand on a trip which will include the signing of a free trade agreement with China in the second week of April. Global Peace and Justice Auckland and Unite Union are organising a protest march to take place shortly before the FTA is signed.

The proposed FTA has wide implications for New Zealand. It will cause the further loss of quality jobs here (particularly in the manufacturing sector) following the lost of hundreds of thousands of such jobs when tariffs were first slashed in the 1980s.

The proposed FTA also comes at a time of intense struggle by the people of Tibet against Chinese occupation. Chinese and multinational corporations are active in exploiting minerals in the region while the Tibetan people live under a brutal occupation.

Meanwhile Chinese workers continue to work in slave-like conditions of long hours for pitiful pay while Chinese and international businesses make handsome profits. The only way this exploitation is possible is through violent, repressive state control of Chinese workers such as a ban on workers organising independent trade unions.

The march will call for:

“Free Tibet – not free trade”

“Save jobs in New Zealand – Support workers rights in China”

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ellington Call Out: Raise your voice for Tibet

Tibet Rally: Saturday 5th April, mid-day @ Frank Kitts Park on Jervois Quay, Wellington.

It is only a few days until Helen Clark signs the Free Trade Deal with the Chinese Govt. Aotearoa / NZ has a unique opportunity to do something positive for Tibetans.

It is only a few days until Helen Clark signs the Free Trade Deal with the Chinese Govt. Aotearoa / NZ has a unique opportunity to do something positive for Tibetans.

We want to give Helen Clark a clear mandate that she should speak up strongly in China and call on the Chinese Government to:

• Free Tibetans that have been imprisoned for protesting;
• Allow a UN delegation and foreign media into Tibet unchaperoned;
• Engage in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama to find lasting solutions to the situation in Tibet.

Peaceful, friendly event. Wear something orange (colour for remembering Tibet). Bring your friends, family, and a picnic. There will be speakers, music and activities. Hear about what is really going on there and what we can do from Wellington.

Events organised by the Tibet Solidarity Network, Friends of Tibet Wellington, and concerned Wellingtonians. Contact 027 314 2884 or tibetan (at) email.com for more information. Check out this website for more info on Tibet: www.phayul.com or any other world news sites.