Protesters Charged for RIMPAC Demonstration
Inside New Zealand’s Defense House
Peace Action Wellington / Scoop Independent News

WELLINGTON (June 26, 2924) — Peace activists today staged a dramatic action inside Defence House in Wellington, in opposition to the deployment of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) troops to the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises. Two protesters were arrested and were dragged through the lobby of Defence House to a waiting police van.

Ten activists staged a die-in at the security entry points to the offices of the NZDF, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Ministry of Defence. Additional peace activists gathered inside the building and at the building’s entrances with banners and signs demanding an end to Aotearoa New Zealand’s participation in RIMPAC.

“We are calling on people around the country to let the Minister know that we want an end to all NZ participation in RIMPAC,” said Valerie Morse, member of Peace Action Wellington and one of the participants in the die-in.

“In particular, we are horrified that the NZDF will be training alongside the Israeli Defence Force, which is responsible for the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The situation in Gaza is beyond despair; it is total devastation with 40,000+ dead from a relentless killing machine. That the NZDF is now going to learn from and share work with this same organisation is just sickening,”

“The NZ government claims to support international law, yet it is ignoring the International Court of Justice that requires all states take all reasonable steps to prevent genocide through urgent steps ensuring Israel complies with the ICJ’s provisional measures. It is absolutely right and reasonable that New Zealand refuse to train with a country involved in an active genocide. It is the very least we could do given the circumstances.”