The Green Party says New Zealand has put its relationship with the NATO security alliance ahead of saving lives in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday announced $5 million would go to a NATO fund for the purchase of “non-lethal military assistance” such as fuel, rations and first aid equipment.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, is a security alliance including the United States, Canada and 28 European nations.

Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman told RNZ the funding appeared to be a “diplomatic nod” and could have been put to better use.

“It looks like we’re trying to be part of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ — so to speak — when that’s not actually our best contribution,” Ghahraman said.

“That $5m could have gone to aid where it would immediately be saving lives … versus us ticking-the-box of being in the NATO circle while giving very little by way of actually helping people in this conflict.”

Ghahraman said Ukrainian refugees were desperately in need of food, blankets, medicine and shelter.

‘Contending with covid’
“They are contending with covid at the same time they’re living through a European winter — millions upon millions, displaced in refugee camps or in need of resettlement.”

To date, New Zealand has contributed $6m in humanitarian aid, mostly through the Red Cross. The government has also created a special visa to assist Ukrainians to join their relatives in New Zealand.

Speaking at a media conference on Monday, Ardern said the “extraordinary measures” to help Ukrainian forces were in direct response to requests from Ukraine.

Asked to explain the pivot from humanitarian aid to military assistance, Ardern described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a massive disruption to the international rules-based order”.

The Defence Force will also donate surplus stock of 1066 body armour plates, 571 camouflage vests and 473 helmets to Ukrainian forces.

ACT leader David Seymour said New Zealand’s contribution was “pathetic” and should include direct weapon support.

“How long do we want to be the weakest link in the West? We have to answer the call and provide what we have to help these people defend their homes.”

Send missile launchers
Seymour said New Zealand should immediately send Ukraine its supply of Javelin medium-range missile launchers.

“They’re not doing much here — I haven’t seen any Russian tanks in New Zealand lately — but they could do a lot over there,” Seymour said.

Ardern said directly providing weapons would be a “fundamental change” in the country’s approach to the conflict, but the option remained on the table.

She noted New Zealand did not have a large supply of such equipment.

National Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee told RNZ the government’s response, so far, was appropriate.

“The circumstances here are very different than anything we’ve had to deal with before,” Brownlee said. “We should be doing our bit.”

Providing firepower
Brownlee said the option of providing firepower could potentially be considered “further down the track”.

“Our contribution would be so small compared to that from the United States or Great Britain,” Brownlee said.

“Whatever we do, clearly we’re going to have to operate through NATO and their connections into Ukraine to make sure that whatever assistance is given does get to the right place.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Vanuatu Red Cross Society (VRCS) is one of the first humanitarian organisations to intervene and support the volcano internal refugees who were victims of eviction order at MCI on the road to Blacksand last week.

Emma Mesao, senior branch officer of SHEFA Red Cross, said the organisation dealt with the lives of people, and they responded to natural disasters.

While the eviction was not a natural disaster, people’s living and welfare had been affected.

On Thursday, a team was deployed to the area to assess the situation and identified two priority needs, including shelter and water.

The Red Cross distributed two tarpaulins and two jerry cans to each household. More than 60 households received their share of emergency supplies.

Mesao confirmed that when distributing the supplies, they had also encouraged the people to boil water before drinking to avoid other health issues.

Relocated to other settlements
Most of the families have relocated to other settlements.

Many of them went to Blandiniere Stage Three, and Crystal Blue Area.

Others went to other areas within the peri-urban areas of Port Vila, including Blacksand and Erangorango.

The Red Cross team visited all the areas to distribute the water containers and tarpaulins.

Speaking on behalf of the families at MCI, Lai Sakita, thanked the Red Cross for providing the families with the tarpaulins and jerry cans.

These emergency supplies would allow the people to set up temporary shelters while they resettled.

SHEFA Provincial Government Council, through its National Disaster Management Office officer supported VRCS in the logistics, during the distribution rollout.

He said these families were victims of the ash-fall from Tanna’s Yasur volcano.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Indonesian state is causing a renewed humanitarian crisis in West Papua. Three young West Papuan men have been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya Regency, and hundreds of residents have now fled the area in fear.

Indonesia must urgently allow the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua, says the leader of a “provisional” Papuan government.

The authorities in Jakarta have been blamed for “causing a renewed humanitarian crisis”.

Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua provisional government, said in a statement that three young Papuan men had been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya regency.

Hundreds of residents had now “fled the area in fear”.

Wenda also called on Pacific nations to pay close attention to what was happening in West Papua.

The three men, Janius Bagau were, Justinus Bagau and Soni Bagau, were alleged to have been tortured and killed on February 15 in a health centre where one of them was receiving treatment after being shot in the arm by a soldier.

Amnesty statement of concern
Amnesty Indonesia has issued an urgent statement of concern over the killings.

“Fearing more acts of violence, at least 600 men, women and children have been displaced by the military’s actions, seeking shelter in a Catholic compound,” said the statement.

“They join over 50,000 West Papuans internally displaced by Indonesian operations since December 2018. Over 400 have died from a lack of medical treatment and supplies. Indonesia is ethnically cleansing my people.”

Wenda said that people displaced by the operations would have no access to healthcare.

“They cannot tend to their crops. The children cannot go to school. In the middle of a pandemic, Indonesia continues to kill us West Papuans and force us from our homes by our thousands.

“The Indonesian state has imposed martial law, using the covid-19 crisis as a cover to conduct military operations.

“As the West Papua Council of Churches, the four Protestant denominations in our nation, put it in a statement on February 5, ‘The Land of Papua has become a military operation area’.

International monitoring
The ULMWP provisional government demanded that Indonesia immediately allow the international community into West Papua to assist civilians affected by military operations. It said:

• Indonesia must allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua to conduct an investigation into the human rights situation, in accordance with the call of 83 international states; and
• Indonesia must invite the International Committee of the Red Cross into West Papua. The Red Cross was banned from entering in 2009.

“Regional leaders must pay attention to what is taking place in West Papua,” said Wenda.

“Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands Forum: Indonesia is hiding behind claims of ‘sovereignty’ to crush my people.

“This is not an ‘internal matter’, this is a question of military occupation and colonialism.

“Our right to self-determination under international law is bullet-proof. Indonesia has lost the moral, political and legal argument, and has turned to the last thing it has left: brute violence.

“We need urgent action to protect my people.”

The people of #WestPapua have spoken. We need the UN to oversee a free and fair referendum, once and for all. #Indonesia pic.twitter.com/UVfdIJDXHy

— Free West Papua (@FreeWestPapua) February 23, 2021

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz