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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:08 pm Post Subject: Greens want an inquiry into the role the Waihopai spy base
I came across an article this afternoon on stuff.co.nz that briefly talked about the Green party wanting an inquiry into the purpose of the Waihopai base. It has now, just this evening, disappeared from their site and a quick search didn't bring anything up.
However, scoop.co.nz now has some interesing articles relating to this suggested inquiry. An Australian intelligence expert Andrew Wilkie currently visiting this country and has been warning NZ against warming up to the US intelligence system. It seems to have prompted the Green party into some questioning;
Quote:
Mr Donald says the Greens want an inquiry into the role the Waihopai spy base played in US-led invasion of Iraq.
"Andrew Wilkie's comments confirm what we have long suspected: that information gathered by the Waihopai spy base is automatically sent to the United States. The only justification for Waihopai would be if it were under complete New Zealand control and if it operated exclusively in New Zealand's interests.
"However, David Lange admitted in Nicky Hager's book Secret Power that, as Minister in Charge of Intelligence Services, he was not told the truth by his officials about the purpose of Waihopai. Mr Lange said, 'This raises the question of to whom those concerned saw themselves ultimately answerable'.
"New Zealanders should be very uneasy about the role Waihopai might be playing in supporting US foreign policy that we so disagree with."
I see there is going to be a protest by an organisation called Anti-Bases Campaign (ABC) in Blenheim and at the Waihopai spy base on 21 January.
Quote:
Anti-war activity will commence in Blenheim at SEYMOUR SQUARE, 11 a.m, Saturday, January 21. Activities in the Square and other places in central Blenheim will be followed by a visit to the Waihopai spybase itself at 2 p.m. Information will be provided on the function of the base and there will be a peaceful protest, calling for its closure. Speakers, either in Blenheim and/or the spybase, will be: Jeanette Fitzsimons, Green Party Leader; Keith Locke, Green MP; John Minto, of Global Peace and Justice Auckland; and Murray Horton of ABC.
The activities are also to commemorate Rod Donald who was a tireless campaigner against the spy base.
Quote:
The weekend's activities are dedicated to the memory of the late Green Party Co-Leader, Rod Donald, who had campaigned tirelessly against the spybase for the whole time that he'd been an MP. After his tragic death, we received a posthumous message that he had planned to join us again this time.
We are a Christchurch-based group with links and members all over Aotearoa/New Zealand. We concentrate on the foreign military and intelligence installations in New Zealand. There are three - the US "Deep Freeze" military base at Harewood (Christchurch Airport); and the "NZ" intelligence gathering installations at Tangimoana (Manawatu) and Waihopai (Marlborough), which are simply outposts of American Intelligence. We have specific demands on all three – that Harewood be demilitarised; and the others closed ASAP. We demand the abolition of the NZ Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), which operates Waihopai and Tangimoana. We have built up information on the whole gamut of the ongoing US-NZ military and intelligence relationship.
Seems like they've been around for more than 20 years. More information about them can be seen at their web site here:
"As long as we have Waihopai, we are targets for terrorism and nuclear attacks," said Hone Harawira, MP for Tai Tokerau and Maori Party Spokesman on Disarmament, "and guess what - we're not even allowed to know what goes on in there."
Waihopai is the American electronic gathering base located just outside Blenheim. It is run by New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) for those parties involved in the super-secret UKUSA Agreement.
" It has two satellite dishes which intercept a huge volume of phone calls, telexes, faxes, e-mail and computer data communications, from our Asia/Pacific neighbours; unfortunately for us, it also snoops on all communications in New Zealand as well. It then forwards the material to the US National Security Agency (NSA) " .
Joined: 05 Nov 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:33 pm Post Subject:
Perhaps the present Government is no longer in the loop...? In other words, maybe the original deal is no longer known or accessible to present day and recent governments. Maybe the bases are simply allowed to exist, no questions asked.
I seem to remember something from Nicky Hager's book Secret Power, that some of the installations, when set up, had no NZ employees and were staffed by foreign personnel - no one really knowing much about what was going on... I'd have to check my facts on that though...
