More investigation of bases

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32862, 10 March 1972, Page 8

More investigation of bases

The next “foreign military base” in New Zealand to be investigated by students and radicals will be the United States Navy Antarctic support force base at Harewood, said member of the Washdyke-Mount John committee and the Canterbury University Students’ Association at a press conference yesterday.

“We are against the part the base plays in the: United States Air Force Military Airlift Command and also against the communications system at the base being used for military purposes, said Mr O. Wilkes, one-time student and honorary scientific research officer for the committee and the Students’ Association. Members said that he had not yet obtained sufficient documentation of evidence about military uses made of facilities at the base to make public what they believed was going on there, and therefore would not stage protests against it yet. “It is next on our list for investigation,” said G. Wells. Mr J. Crichton, president of the Students’ Association and Mr M. Horton, president of the Progressive Youth Movement, also answered questions at the press conference. Organisations included in the protest planned at Washdyke and at Mt John this week-end include student associations, the Socialist Action League, the Communist Party of New Zealand, the Seamen’s Union, Nga Tamatoa Council, the Socialist Community Party and the P.Y.M.

“We have to rely on students and radical organisations because other groups are only gradually becoming aware of the principles involved in having foreign military bases in New Zealand,” Mr Wells said. “Non-alignment” The organisations involved believed that New Zealand’s policy should be one of nonalignment; there should be no foreign military establishments in New Zealand. The student representatives at the meeting said they thought it was wrong in principle that New Zealand universities should accept grants or contracts for research for military purposes from either foreign or New Zealand military establishments.

The speakers said that New Zealand universities might find themselves in the position of some United States universities that had brought themselves into disrepute because of research for military purposes. To questions, the speakers said they knew of no evidence of a New Zealand university being held in disrepute because of research financed by military grants; nor did they know of any “classified” research being undertaken at New Zealand universities. The speakers said thev considered they had already made considerable advances by showing clearly to the public that the satellitetracking station at Mt John was a military establishment engaged in United States

Aerospace Defence Command work. They were making submissions to the Canterbury University council so that it might now disclose the terms of the lease to the United States Air Force of university-controlled Crown land. Generally speaking, the sciences staff at the university were so busy with their research work that they did not bother to concern themselves with the principle involved in accepting grants for military research. The speakers said they expected 300 to take part in the protest, including students from Auckland. Waikato, Victoria and Otago universities. The Canterbury association’s executive last year voted $lOO in support of the campaign. Other universities have also contributed. The public are invited to listen to speeches at the university town site at 9.30 a.m. on Saturday; about 2 p.m. at the Washdyke headquarters of the tracking station, and on the Sunday about 11.30 a.m. at Mt John.