From: Peace Action Wellington
Date: 11 April

The NZDF is preparing to send another round of troops off to Afghanistan to contribute to the on-going occupation of the country by US and NATO troops.

"Phil Goff would have us believe that the NZDF is all about peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan. But six years on, there is no more peace or stability in Afghanistan than there was when the US started bombing the country" said Peace Action member Valerie Morse.

"When you consider that there are more than 20,000 US troops in the country, it is really not surprising that there is continuing conflict. The New Zealand troops are effectively there to support the US-puppet government in Kabul and to prop up numbers."

"The government has done a good propaganda job convincing New Zealanders that NZDF deployments to Afghanistan are necessary and beneficial. If we
look behind the rhetoric, it is easy to see that this is just another battlefield in Bush's imperial war of conquest. Clark and Goff want to be sure to stay on the right side of the US by offering up troops. It is a sick bit of double-speak."

"Goff's revelations of SAS involvement in handing over Afghanis to the US military is evidence of NZ's complicity in the subjugation of the local
population there."

"When will the Labour government realise that supporting US wars of aggression only support terrorism, not stop it? Thousands of Afghani people have been murdered in bombing raids and unprovoked assassinations since 2001. Genuine peace and stability can only be achieved when the
occupation ceases."

Peace Action Wellington is committed to stopping the involvement of New Zealand troops in overseas wars. For more details, check out
www.peacewellington.org

Troops leave from Ohakea Air Force Base, near Levin, on Thursday at 9am.

ENDS