Well done you kiwis!
*Thousands unite to send anti-GE message to Government
*Protests aim to persuade NZ to keep ban on genetically engineered food
---
Thousands unite to send anti-GE message to Government
New Zealand Herald, 11.10.2003
[amazing image of sea of protesters with big Madge banner out front]
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3528347&thesection=news&thesubsection=general
                 
Some 9000 protesters marched through the centre of Auckland today to show the Government the groundswell of opinion against genetic engineering.

Campaigners rallied around the country in a last ditch attempt to convince the Government it should keep GE restrictions in place.

Chanting and waving banners, the protesters accused Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Government of running a dictatorship and ignoring the fears and voices of huge swathes of the population.

Shouting "We want to be GE free" it took about two hours for the long line of protesters to march up Queen Street.

The banners said things like "What part of 'no one wants it' don't you understand" and  "keep your hands of our genes" and "don't cell us out".

Geraldine Donovan, 62, said it was only the second time she had protested in her life. The other time was during a march against GE last year.

"I feel so strongly about this I had to join others who feel the same way.  I just can't believe the government's going to do this when the majority of the country really want it to be GE free."

David Stott brought his 11-year-old son along for the march to protest against GE.

"My son has to live in the world that we create, he should have a say."

Near Aotea Square a brave pro-GE group carried banners saying "You see hurting, I see helping" and "It's my body I'll eat GE if I want to".

At one stage an anti-GE protester ran up to the men and ripped down one of the banners before being warned away by the police.  Otherwise police reported no major problems in the march, which started at noon and blocked off Queen St for about two hours.

Organisers of the anti-GE marches today said the Government is being given a firm message about public opinion of the issue.

Protesters marched in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth and Timaru against the lifting of the moratorium on the commercial release of genetically engineered organisms.

The moratorium is due to expire at the end of this month.

The march in Auckland, the third in the city in three years, was organised by Greenpeace, Mothers against Genetic Engineering (Madge) and the Auckland GE-Free Coalition.

Greenpeace spokesman Steve Abel said the thousands who turned up were part of a "history-making event".

He said the aim was to send "a clear public message" to the Government to not lift the moratorium.

Meanwhile, Green MP Sue Kedgley said it wasn't too late for the Government to introduce legislation to extend the ban.

She said Labour was ignoring the wishes of the majority of voters in not doing so.

"People all over New Zealand are saying, why are they doing that.

"Why are they turning their backs on public opinion and their own members."

- Herald staff and NZPA
---
Protests aim to persuade NZ to keep ban on genetically engineered food
AUCKLAND (AFP) Oct 10, 2003
http://www.terradaily.com/2003/031010204541.8f7ww64h.html

Organisers of protests around New Zealand Saturday hope Prime Minister Helen Clark's government will be convinced by the strength of public opinion to maintain a ban on the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms.

Demonstrators are due to march in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth and Dunedin against the lifting of the moratorium on the commercial growing of such organisms, mostly agricultural crops, at the end of October.

The marches, also planned in many smaller towns around the country, are a last-ditch attempt to persuade the government to extend the ban by at least a further five years.

Steve Abel, spokesman for environmental watchdog Greenpeace -- one of the groups joining the protests -- said the thousands turning up to march up Auckland's main street from noon were part of a "history-making event".

He said in a statement the aim was to send "a clear public message" to Prime Minister Helen Clark not to lift the moratorium.

Alannah Currie, spokeswoman for another participant, Mothers Against Genetic Engineering [Madge], said Clark had "got this issue wrong".

"There will be people there marching who have never marched in their lives, we will not go away, this is only going to get bigger," she told the New Zealand Herald Saturday.

New Zealand musicians Friday added their voice to the anti-GE message, donating songs to the Hang on Helen CD, which will be given away to people who send a "Hang on Helen" postcard to the Prime Minister.

Anti-GE protesters stripped naked outside Parliament this week, while Madge members turned up topless inside Parliament last month to protest against the lifting of the GE moratorium.

Some 69 percent of New Zealanders oppose the government's decision on the grounds that not enough is known about the long-term consequences of altering the genetic composition of plants, according to a recent Herald-Digi poll.

Go to a Print friendly Page

Email this Article to a Friend

Back to the Archive