Public pawns of Govt?
New Zealanders were being used as pawns by the Government in its attempt to weaken the peace movement, a co-leader of the Values Party, Dr A. L. Wilkinson, has asserted.
The Government was one of several governments, including those of Britain and the United States, which were trying to “divide and
mislead” the public over the peace issue, Dr Wilkinson said. The United States Government needed regular, publicised visits by its nuclear warships to New Zealand and Australia to quell public concern within its own country.
In a call for New Zealanders to oppose the visit of the United States’ war-
ship Texas, Dr Wilkinson said that the Minister of Defence, Mr Thomson, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Cooper, were acting as mouthpieces for President Reagan by justifing the visit of the Texas.
“New Zealand must assert itself as a credible voice speaking for the Pacific nations, not as a United States puppet,” he said.
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Press, 2 August 1983, Page 8
Word Count
161Public pawns of Govt? Press, 2 August 1983, Page 8
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