You are on page 1of 20
ISSN 1110896, Registered at Wellington BO as a Magazine. Published by CAFCINZ, PO Box 2258 Christchurch, New Zealand, FOREIGN CONTROL VE We Tt CAMPAIGN AGAINST FOREIGN. CONTROL IN NEW ZEALAND August. 1986 History ~The Police Version... The Drinking.Man's Guide to the Vietnam War..... David Caygill. Drongo! Poofter Basher Kills Commos Too......++ Annual General Meeting. .....4+..eeeeeereceeeeeee our New Name. . eerie tethers eee Here is the (Very, Very) Late News....+...se000+ Subs Doubled.........+ The Loser Pays........ Why ‘Transhorder Data Flows Are Not Boring... SUBS ARE DUE © SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE SUBS ARE DUE The material in this issue may be reprinted provided the source is acknowledged. A copy would be appreciated. i AISTORY — THE POLICE VERSION A sure sign of encroachim; old age is said to be tht policemen keep looking younger. It's definitely old age when the deeds of your own dim distant past become the subject of an academic thesis by a policeman. ‘The academic policeman has told us, “indirectly, that he wants none of his research essay reproduced or published. We beg to differ - the public gets little or no unvarnished comment from rank and file cops; his subject (the protest movement) is one of legitimate public interest; his sources include those unavailable to other researchers who aren't policemen and the period covered (the Vietnam protests of the 60s through to the calling off of the '73 Springbok Tour) is long enough ago to be history. But in deference to his sensibilities, we will not publish his name, its title, or which university he was at. If you want further details, write to us at Box 2258, Chch. the fact that I am a policeman may cause my objectivity to be questioned. This dis~ advantage, if ‘that is what it is, is far outweighed by the advantage of being able to refer to valuable material within the police filing system, to which other researchers may not have access..,." He establishes his protestor credentials by detailing two mid-60s university actions he took part it. He has actually preserved some history of the protest movement that. may no longer exist. “Other valuable! material, such as the police file onthe Woodbourne demonstration (1971) has been destroyed. When the ‘police computerised its index system, a major purge was nade of stored material, especially pre-1974, and especially in Auckland, “The historical significance of) many files wag not appreciated and many others were burnt after having been rejected, surprisingly, by government archivists, In an effort to fill some of the gaps that “exist in my résearch, I have spoken with @ umber of people, including both serving and retired policemen, severalof whom were present at the Agnew demonstra tion (1970), Some of the serving members, especially those who have worked ‘undercover’ for their own reasons have asked me not to reveal their identify,....." One appendix exemplifies the police mania for statistics (eg there's some poor bugger in Cathedral Square getting stabbed every 4 minutes). Jt lists every. demonstration, on any subject,: in the various police districts ir the relevant period. It lists the date, numbers, the organisers, its purpose, and the number of arrests. It includes some’ curious observations eg. a footnote to a 1969 Progressive Youth Movement (PYM) Auckland demo on Vietnam says "For some reason members of: this demonstration left the march to heckle a Girl Guide parade". It includes original source material eg another appendix thoughtfully reporoduced "The Mad Bombers Handbook" from Christchurch's own early-/0s underground mag, "Ferret" (the editor was convicted because of the. article). The Communist Party will. be, pleased that the author liberally quotes its "People's Voice", and apologises for not quoting more. The opening chapter, on demonstrations and the media, is 1960s sociological claptrap. "Por those who participated in demonstrations, the media and particularly television, was the medium by which their protest was perpetuated. It became the raison d'etre For most demonstrations". This is one of The Great Abiding Myths, alongside of: Black Africa Only Picks on NZ; and NZ Is A Great Place To Bring: Up Kids. It's crap ~ we're protestors and we didn't climb 1500 metres up Black Birch to protest at the US Naval Observatory in February, in the faint hope that TV might record our altitude sickness. To prove his liberal credentials, 2 chapter is devoted to the legitimacy and validity cE protest. Tt claims, showing @ policenan's bias, thet protest is not an effective way of influencing people. It's on safer ground discussing the 1960s law and order backlash against protestors (how's this for e priceless quote from an MP? "My constitu- ents wish to shop in Queen Street without being molested by unkempt, uncouth, undisciP);. ae unimpressive and in many © ats in London, Paris and Chicago. useless louts"), There are long discussions of It starts getting interesting when it gets down to NZ specifics, starting with Auckland University protests in 1956 at the on-campus activities of SIS agent David Godfrey. llere the academic in the author clashes with the policeman: "The police were not dealing with objectionable, hote! crurks, but with credible, articulate and intelligent people, intent on achieving an objective and prepared to take advantage of a developing situation to further their cause..., For their part, in this incident the New Zealand police were naive to the point of being fngenvous. Tt was to be expected, given the ethos of the university, those who valued academic freedom, without having to accede to State approbation, would object to Godfrey's extra-curricular activities. There is nothing on the police file to indicate that they appreciated this, or even realised what Godfrey was up to. They treated this denonstration es an ‘incident’, " Godfrey was expelled by university authorities; the police considered they'd been used by the students to further political ends. It proceeds rapidly through 1967 protests at the visit of South Vietnamese Premier, Niguyen Cao Ky, to the 1968 demo at the opening of Parliament, Holyoake's 1969 election meetings, the Anzac Day protests, the Auckland bombings. Tis section reveals the police desire to explain everything in strictly personal terms. The famous/infamous 1967 demon~ stration outside the US Consul's Auckland house is a prime example. Here, a police inspector was chucked over a cliff, not once but twice. The police view of why that heppened was apparently thet one of the PYM leaders present had been dismissed from the yolice just two days previously, by the very same inspector, and that was the moti~ vation for the ex-cop's brother to give the inspector a double heaveho. (No mention of the arrested protestors being made to run a gauntlet of cops, by the way). Another police priority in demonstrations is to find leaders: "During a series of demonstrations in the early 1970s, some bad feeling developed between the Christchurch police commander, Gideon Tait, and Gwen Wilkes, a demonstration leader. In the same series of protests rather than take forceful action against a group of disgruntled demonstrators, the police alloyed control.to remain with and accepted, the assurances of the protest leader, Tim Shadbolt. One thet occasion the police commander commented: ‘As usual he (Shadbolt) was as good as his word'." (Anyone who has seen Owen Wilkes explain, in the documentary “Islands of the Enpire", how he got the ugly gash on his face at the 1973 Harewood demo, will reulise thet Tait's attitude towerds him went beyond mere dislike.) There's a whole chapter on the 1970 police riot outside Auckland Intercontinental Hotel, during the visit of 0S Vice Presicent Agnew (remember the famous "NZ Herald" headline: "Police Wade Tnto Crowd). This recognises the validity of demonstrating against a "target", rather than simply marching, cp and dovn Queen Street. An explanation is offered for the police running amok: "What was obvious was that the policemen outside the hotel on the might of January 16 were a very frustrated, tired and angry body of men, This is no excuse for unprofessional conduct tut may, nevertheless, explain it....... Those who were present remember the heat, the weariness, the noise, the constant abuse, and above all, being spat on..... The rank and file policemen were upset and frustrated. As one of then said "We had taken it for two days, We had had enough. When we were told to move them we were raring to go’ o (The writer can only offer the personal experience of one who was there. Before he had @ chence to even think about spitting on any: policeman, he'd been punched in the face by one.) Tre author offfers an interesting personal comment about the 1970 demos against the Ml Black tour of South Africa. "On June 12, 1970, just 5 months after the visit of Spiro Agnew, police action in dispersing a demonstration again resulted in a breakdown of disciplined comand. A protest in Wellington against the departure of the All Black tean for a tour of South Africa became, at times, little more than a running brawl. During this demonstration, the police tried to disperse a crowd sitting in and blocking Willis Street, an action that deteriorated into @ series of individual fights between policemen and protestors (I was involved in one of them)". Be From then police tactics changed. "From late 1970 there was a tendency to use pre~ emptive methods of control,... (which) involved the more accurate and intensive gathering of intelligence..." And now there are sone revelations. "By September 1970 the police had contacts with at least 4 people who regularly attended PYM meetings and those of other protest groups, and were advised by them of what had been discussed and decided. In addition, by late 1970, an undercover policeman had joined the PYM in Auckland. We worked closely with PYM leaders and not only assisted in the publishing and distri— bution of their magazine ‘Rebel’, but wrote material for it. So good was his cover that he was once "picked up' by agents of the SIS and taken to their Auckland office. When he arrived he was amused to see his own photograph, long hair and moustache, on a staff noticeboard, bearing the caption 'Who is this man?!" Thanks for the confirmation of informers, spies, and undercover cops, mate. No mention of the alYeged stress of undercover work here. Tt all sounds like good fun. There's even one ‘of those Only In New Zealand stories. "Prior to the Woodbourne demon= stration in 1971, an off duty police sergeant found a PYM leaflet blowing across the grass in the Domain in Auckland. He had his wife ring the telephone number written on it and some accommodating person at the Resistance Bookshop gave her a full summary of what was being planned". The final chapter is devoted to that 1971 Woodbourne demo, the 1972 Mr John one, and the 1973 Harewood one, Here is where we square the circle. The writer was actively involved in organising all three; CAFCINZ grew out of CAFMANZ (Campaign Against Foreign Military Activities in NZ), which grew out of the ad hoc committees which organised these. The US Air Force's Project Longbank has long since Mt RNZAF Woodbourne. "Not much happened at Woodbourne, yet for the police it was an important event. It was the first of the combined police/military operations in denonstration control... Over 300 police/ air force staff were engaged". Police were picked who were neither too young nor too old, and a prohibited zone was established around the base. The academic policeman concludes that everybody was satisfied ~ the police preserved order, the demonstrators made their point and got national publicity with no aggravatfon. Mt John, as we all know, was a very different story. The police desire to deal with ‘leaders’ broke down. "At Woodbourne, while the demonstrators were together as a more or less cohesive unit, the elected leader, Tim Shadbolt, had forestalled radical action and confrontation with the police by skilled leadership, appearing suffictently militant to satisfy those marching but not so militant as to provoke a response from the police”, (You've got the police vote, Your Worship). But no so at Mt John. "Throughout this period the police tried to create a climate whereby identified protest leaders would be fesponsible for the demonstration itself and for the actions of individ~ val protestors..... Demonstration organisers could no more be held liable for the criminal actions of other individuals than senior policemen would accept liability for the criminal acts of their subordinates. The doctrine of responsibility without liability, for those nominally in charge, has long been accepted in New Zealand, even at senior government and ministerial level". (How true). "Still it is significant that the violence occurred during and after an attempt to disperse a sedentary group.... The police were always on the back foot at Mt John....." Police attacked protestors with dogs and boots; protestors demolished the access road (the USAF has quit Mt John too). A law and order frenzy erupted. "In a later report the inspector recommended to the police department ~ 'that the public be made aware that sterner police action will be necessary, lere I visualise the use of tear smoke, police batons and police dogs'" (shades of South Africa. Actually, police dogs were never used agsin in demos, not even in the wildest moments of 1981). Policemen con~ Plained to the hierarchythat official policy towards demonstrators was too soft. No danger of that with the late Gideon Twit, then commander of the Christchurch police district, He wrote to the Commissioner in 1972: "I feel that a firmer approach could now be adopted without the risk of adverse publicity". We got his big chance at Harewood in £973. 4, “Many expected the new Labour administration, which had swept to power with an impressive majority, to be more 'liberal' than its predecessor, morelikely to take a stand against the American’ military in Mew Zealand. Those who believed this were to be disappointed, for little changed, The new government's attitude towards demon strations could scarcely be distinguished from that of the defeated National government Tf there was any change it was to more strongly support the police. Police (431) outnumbered protestors; RNZAF helicopters were used for mobility and to drown out speeches; a huge prohibited zone was established around Christchurch Airport. "It seems that police intelligence had penetrated CAFMANZ and was aware of this committee's organisation, its finances, and’ the information it possessed". Police broadcast messages in code, to avoid interception on the police band radios; the "Mad Bombers Handbook" was studied, with a note "THIS THREAT MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY" (police emphasis). Toit sent in his men to punch, knee, kick, and trample the protestors. As he wrote in his book "Never Back Down": "Those who did''not. move - voluntarily ~ were pushed back, or fell over, trampled on if they did not move fast enough... I could see real terror on their faces", The author concludes: "The police considered ‘their operation a complete success... The tactics used at Harewood were a major departure from those used at previous demon- strations and the police always held the trump card. But, as many were to point out, 80 they ought to have. He confirms suspicions that Harewood was used as a dress rehearsal for that year's proposed Springbok tour. “In.mid~1972, not long after Mt John, and with the Springbok tour spectre haunting the future, a number of senior police officers had spent some Lime overseas in the US and Europe, studying methods of demonstration control. From their reports and fron local experience the new tactics used at Harewood were devised and a programme of intensive training planned for the months January to May 1973. This ‘training could have been for no other reason than to prepare for the rugby tour due to commence in late May 1973. The demonstration at Harewood in March 1973 was an ideal place to se how the new methods worked...” "He (Tait) was very disappointed in the decision to cancel the tour..." It's worth remembering that Kirk called off the tour on law and order grounds, not because of any moral objection to apartheid. A quote from the author's overall conclusion. "Sometimes in history an act occurs that has an effect on future events that is not appreciated at the time. One such act, and perhaps the most significant event described in this essay, occurred on the desolate slope above the Mt John observatory in 1972, when a high school boy from Christchurch received facial injuries” (he was actually kicked in the face by a dog handler, suffering a broken jaw)..... "But had that high school student not lost a tooth (1!) on Mt John, it is probable that that protest would not have ended as it did. If Mt John had been as peaceful as Woodbourne, would the police then have been able to justify the severity of the tactical exercise at Harewood? And if they had not demonstrated to themselves how successful their new tactics could be, would they then have had the confidence to recommend to government in 1981 that they could control the disorder that the tour was bound to create and ensure that it continued? All this is speculation. Yet the police do act as agents for government policy and in 1981 it was government policy that the tour proceed, whatever the cost. And if the police had used only tact, tolerance and restraint in 1981, the Springboks would not have got past George Bolt Drive" (ie Auckland Airport). laying the near civil war events of 1981 on what happened on a Mackenzie country hill- top 9 years previously is stretching credibility rather too far. But we've quoted from this essay extensively because it establishes facts, unavilable elsewhere, and because it demonstrates the police interpretation of history (particularly its own), and illustrates the workings of the police mind. It affords a rare look at the other side of the mirror. When will the academic policemen start writing about 19817 SHC ERS 5. ‘THE DRINKING MANS GUIDE TO THE VIETNAM WAR Watchdog has exhautively chronicled our 99% unsuccessful attempts to winkle anything out of the NZ bureaucracy on NZ's involvement in the Vietnam War. Our long and tedious struggle, using the Official Information Act, even merited a major "Press" feature in 1984, But like any self-respecting guerilla army that relies on its enemy for weapons supply, we tuke information from whence we can get it. Thus we come to the beer advertisement, admittedly the unlikeliest place we've yet found. You may remember the dim mists of 1985, NZ performed a’world~shattering feat ~ it beat Australia in a cricket series, in Australia. And it wasn't one of the Las Vegas style one day series either. This was real cricket, possibly British imperialisn's most useful legacy to the world. To celebrate this victory, one of the brewing chains ran a series of full page newspaper ads entitled "Great Moments in NZ Sport". These ads consisted of reprints of newspaper accounts of the aforesaid Great Moments. ‘The relevant ad featured a 1974 inmings by Glenn Turner, professional cricketer and anateur bon vivant. What has the Vietnam War got to do with good old. Glenn? (Good God, these paranoids will be accusing Richard Hadlee of body-lining Colonel Gadaffi next.) Sleep easy sports fans, Glenn Turner is ‘not being held responsible for the Vietnam War. Why, they don't even play cricket there, and that explains a lot. lo, in that’ reprint of a 1974 "Press" was @ headline that’ caught our eye. "PM Kirk ‘hreatens to Release Vietnam Papers". The threat was nade in a Parliamentary debate. Did this mean that the late Norian Kirk had done all our work for us a decade ago, and’ the stuff was just lying around waiting tobe collected? We rushed off a letter to-Foreign Affairs. The reply (21.1.86) reads: "We have studied the Hansard record of the statements made by Mr Kirk in the House on March 13th 1974 in the context of a debate on the retention,of New Zealand military forces in Malaysia and Singapore. Tt is clear that Mr Kirk's comments were impromptu and were intended to embarrass the Opposition. As the Opposition did not take up the challenge issued by Mr Kirk, no papers were in fact released." “You also asked which "Vietnam Papers" Mr Kirk was referring to. We do not know the pecific papers he had in mind, but according to Hansard, Mr Kirk said: ‘Well, any Cine the Opposition likes to make the challenge we will publish the whole of the Vietnam papers in this country". The Lange Government is committed to open government (ie open slather for financial speculators.) CAFCA urges Lange to repeat Kirk's offer to publish the Vietnam papers. Go ahead and challenge him, Jim. Make our day. rican the International Monetary Fund in Human Terms © the LIM.F — PARTICIPANTS AT THE BRETTON EXPERIENCE TEMPORARY BALANCE oF WOODS CONFERENCE IN 1944 PAYMENTS. PROBLEMS. DESIGNED THE UME THE LM.£ LOANS CARRY CONDITIONS purpose TO PROMOTE THE INTERNATIONAL — WHICH IMPROVE. THE. INVESTIAENT FLOW OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT CLIMATE FOR MULTINATIONALS AT 8Y OFFERING LOANS TO THE EXPENSE OF THE POOR. MEMBER COUNTRIES THAT F method~ Selene J Sa FOREIGN TAKEOVERS OF DOMESTICALLY OWNED BUSINESSES imagines, i of evcatual INCREASED | Poutricac TENSIONS, © Leonard Rifas 7-83 Reprinted from “Mulitnabioral Mouiter” 1g. to Dresser's computerised data bank, Drosser-France's engineers lack vital information to, build the mace-to-order compressors that account for about three-quarters of the company's business.” (Quoted by Schiller, p63.) If these industrialised economies resent it, the effects'on the majority less indus~ trialised countries may be devastating: a Brazilian study commented: +s. transborder data flow links are act only used to move data inter- nationally, but afso to shift such information resources as managerial and engingering skills; computer power, technology developments, data-base managenent systems, specialised software and intelligence in general. Given the prevailing global distribution and odministration of information and skills, transborder data flows tend te facilitate their concentration in developed countries... If projected linearly, this could lead in the tong Tun, to an intellectual impoverishment of the societies of developing countries." (Quoted by Schiller, p63.) And when asked by the computer journal, "Datamation": "What is the role of techno- logically. advanced countries in the development of informatics in Latin American nations? How could North-South relationships be improved?", the Chilean president of ECON, the national computer compeny, replied for his own nation as well as other states present (Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina): " think that the question should be reformulated because at the moment the role of the developed countries is in the hends cf the sultinational companies. That is to say, it is not the country that plays the role, but rather the multinational company operating in our countries that plays the role." These are the themes of the book "Information in the Crisis Economy" by Herbert I Schiller, quoted above. ‘The book is a short one ~ only 130 pages ~ and is short on examples. Much of what Schiller says cannot be disputed ~ but he presents little evidence in this book for his assertions. lis style can politely be described as ‘academic. (What do you make of this senience: “At the international level, limits are also set in which tochnico-economic arrangements prefigure. the subsequent infornational-cultural activity." But as an antidote to the advertising hype and blatant nonsense which too often passes for analysis of where computers and international comminictions are leading us, this book is well worth reading. s CAFCA regularly receives bulky publications from the United Netions "Center on Trans~ national Corporations": reports on transnutionals in particular industries, and trans- nationals in genera}. A whole series is entitled"Transborder Data Flows". When yet another volume of this series arrives we collectively gulp and file it away in case someone can explain it to ug one day. Schiller bas. now explained.” de manannneH "Ea marae VE Wy Caan, | ere | ASB (| Ii oh Ss ey | ' | F gesua | Rees | : 1 (cid 6. DAVID CAYGILL CAFCINZ had, and CAFCA continues to have a firm policy of not divulging our mailing list. We've declined to supply it to worthy groups like Greapeace for worthy causes. We take its confidentiality seriously. But the time has come to make an exception. For several years (not continuously) David Caygill, Christchurch City Councillor, Labour MP fof St Albans, Minister of Trade and Industry, Associate Minister of Finence, has _been a subscriber to “Watchdog”, and thus a financial. member of CAFCA. Eagle eyed readers of our 1985 AGM minutes would have noticed that one item on the agenda was discussed in committee (yes, we can be petty bureaucrats, too). The upshot of this was the lengthy analysis of Caygill's economic utterances that appeared in "Watchdog 51", Step two was to secure Caygill's response to it, and publish the correspondence. We wrote to him on January 18, enclosing @ copy of the "Watchdog 51" article, and the CAFCINZ charter, to remind him what we do and don't stand for. ‘This was sent to his Christchurch home address ie the one on our mailing list. On April 14, we wrote a reminder note, again to his home. This elicited a reply from a Ministerial Assistant, at Trade and Industry ~ they had no record of our January original. Could we send it again - "our policy is to answer all correspondence”. This was duly sent ~ to Parlie~ ment. Still no reply, not even an acknowledgement. of that was to resolve to send him ano! final reminder. This was: sent on June 27, The 1986 AGM discussed Caygill again, xonce again partially in committee. The upshot once again to Parliament. te At the time of writing, we have still received neither reply nor acknowledgement. It is now 6 months since we wrote. For the record, here is the letter we sent to the Honourable David Caygill MP, “Watchdog” subscriber, on January 18. Dear David Caygill, As a ‘subscriber to our newsletter, "Foreign Control Watchdog", you will have alzpady received our December 1985 issue containing this article. However we are specifically ‘sending it to you and asking for your comments, because we regard your speech, and indeed the Government's attitude to foreign investment, very seriously indeed. We don't make 2 habit of engaging Ministers in political and philoso~ phical discussions, but you fall into a different category. You are now, and have been in the past, a subscriber to "Watchdog". We remind you that our subscription slip ‘says: "I wish to subscribe to your newsletter ‘Foreign Control Watchdog’ and join CAFCINZ", However we ‘are ‘not a political party and therefore do not expect our subscribers/menbers to subscribe to a set of specific policies or else. Our membership would cover a broad political spectrum. (We enclose our charter, which, although outdated in some aspects, is a very clear indication as to what we do and do not support). So why are we sending you a "Please Explain" letter? Because unlike the other 99% of our membership, you are in a position to implement economic policies, policies that are’ incompatible with everything CAFCINZ stands for in relation to foreign investment (not to mention the broader context of the Government's laissez faire economic policies). How can you reconcile an independent foreign policy with this open slather policy towards multinationals? More specifically, how can you personally reconcile the two quotes from you that open this article? We expect a substantive response, and intend to publish the corres- pondence in "Watchdog". Yours sincerely, Murray Horton, Secretary. Cie ity ee c oe SotRasetes Se ese for tnd ents oF ret gerat rg z tral, Pease heck 5 4 fences wen 8 aes Vokes og | Change Fe Mighr somes {f- eet] [Bidence] Press overdrive butty pel oe Insert ar ia a. DRONGO! POOFTER BASHER KILLS CONMOS ‘TOO! Geoff Braybrooke, Labour's chief poofterbasher, doesn't beat about the bush. No, he beats the shit out of the bush, to save the nation from buggery in the shrubbery. Losing his seat holds no fear for him - he'll happily become a toilet attendant. But what does he do in his spare time? Well now we know. He watches Sylvester Stallone videos, which as everybody knows, can be injurious‘to your mental health. Geoff has always been the odd one out in Labour - 12 years in the Army, including a year in Vietnam, Obviously Geoff wishes his Vietnam was had been more like Rambo's. How else can we explain this story ("Star" 30.5.86 - "MPs kill claim false"), During the Parliamentary debate on the Violent Offences Bill, Jim NcLay (who?) asked if bows, etc. would be included in the definition of firearms. Braybrooke interjected: "What about crossbows? I have used them in Vietnam. TI have killed somebody with them in the service of the Queen". MeLay (who's fad the odd arrow sticking out of his back in the past) replied: "He (Braybrooke) served, to my knowledge, as a medical officer in South Vietnam, and thus in the ordinary course of events, it would not be expected that he would be engaged in hostilities". Braybrooke admitted: "After I had said it I regretted it, because it was not true, I only sadd it, if you like, as a burst of enthusiasm, shall we say, and I regretted it afterwards". (Interesting to describe a clain of having killed someone as a "burst of enthusiasn"), He went on to explain that what he meant was that he'd seen others, eg US Special Forces, use crossbows in Vietnam "to very deadly effect", Oh the shame. Here'was Geoff having us believe that his Vietnam war was that of Sylvester Stallone end all the time it was really just that of Alan Alda. A medic! Those boys and girls in MASH better watch out if Geoff ever shows up at the 407th! "I shot an arrow in the air. It fell I know not where". What's that sticking out of your head, Geoff? And on the subject of violent crime, here's our contribution’ to Christchurch's current obsession (produced, directed and written by the "Star"). A recent report told of a number of men needing hospital treatment after being stabbed in a pub fight. They were soldiers, the stabbers were bikies. Gasp, horror. Hold the front page. But wait. Witnesses and the publican told of a large group of soldiers attacking a smaller group of bikies. And obviously coming off worst in hand to hand combat. Nobody was charged; the publican banned the Army from his pub and said bikies were welcome. Oh dear, the story died a quick unnoticed death. We are still waiting the headlines, editorials and fullpage advertisements demanding that our pubs be made safe from the Army. sree Hagley House, Hagley High ne Apologies and minutes of 1985 AGM. aa Treasurer's Report (Terry Moon). Despite having spent approximately $1500 in the past year, our bank account st{11 contains approximately $1000. Bill Rosenberg reported on sales and rentals of “Islands of the fimpire" video. 3. Chairperson's Report (Christine Bird). Detailed activities + Labour Party Conference pickets on economics and defence, Sutch anniversary seminars on economics and SIS, Black Birch direct action, purchase of US computer database, USIS official opening picket,. submissions on Maui gas, NZNFZ Bill and Defence Review (with personal appearance), official information requests in NZ eg from Overseas Investment Commission and in the US eg State Department. documents on NZ. 4 CDH Report. Bob Leonard reported on its 1985/86 activities. (Subscribe to "Off Base" ~ Ed). 5 Election of officers. Unchanged. Christine Bird - Chairperson, Murray Horton ~ Secretary. Terry Moon ~ Treasurer. 6. Name change. From CAFCINZ to CAFCA (Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa. ib ‘The AGM went into committee to discuss the position of David Caygili. After prolonged discussion, it was resolved to write to him again, giving him a last chance to reply. ‘This correspondence to be published in the next "Watchdog" and to be made avaliable to the media, (See article in this issue for a full explanation of this -Ed). 8. Subscriptions. Doubled to $10 pa. Reasons ~ increased costs (it's our sole income). _ Agee tour will be our biggest ever expense. Agee's Australasian tour. Discussed details. (See appeal this issue ~Bd). 10. Discussed establishing Christchurch branch of OASIS (Organisation to Abolish the SIS. To be pursued further. ‘ Afver general business, we viewed Tony Currie’s 1984 video of Owen Wilkes in Australia. Total attendance ~ 16. seroma OUR MEW MAME "You've Gone the Maori, Way" This was the comment fron one disgruntied member, explaining why he was refusing to renew his "Watchdog" sub. Fortunately he was in a minority of one, All three options that we asked members to vote on, incorporated Aotearoa instead of New Zealand. One preference stood out clearly from the other two. Our new name is CAFCA ~ CAMPAIGN AGAINST FOREIGN CONTROL OF AOTEAROA. For economy reasons, we are continuing to use our existing stocks of "Watchdog" front pages and letterheads (we've given the secretary a rubber stamp to play with), “Watchdog's" title is unchanged. Please address all letters, cheques, etc. to CAFCA, We thank all our members who wrote to us, rang, or approached us personally on this matter. We received votes from all over NZ and as far away as Australia and West Germany. Thank you all. semana Lo. ie (VERY, VERY) LATE NEWS in 1983 CAFCINZ decided, as its first major test of the new Official Information Act, to Lry Lo acquire a swag of documents from various Government departments on New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War. To cut a very long story very short, we got nothing (oxeept_a retyped, sanitised version of a MOD report). ‘This bureaucratic stonewalling of 20 year old official material led to an excellent feature in the "Press". Simultaneously \we decided to pursue US documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Catch 22 of all such legislation worldwide is that you have to first have something in order to know what ta ask for. Oux original source was @ 1965/66 annual report from the US Embassy in Wellington to head office. It was written in such extraordinarily incriminating language that its very release by us (in 19B1) generated its own news story (and another excellent "Press" feature). ‘This report identified two specific documents of Jinterest to us ~ a US Information Service “Country Plan, New Zealand"; end a State Deportient "Guidelines for Policy and Operations ~ New Zealand". The USIS kinghie us - it wanted $US900 (check the exchange rate), said there would be at least a 6 month delay and no guarantee that it would agree to declassify anything. We appealed for a waiver of fees ~ it's still pending. State started by adopting a standard bureaucratic ploy ~ denying all knowledge of what ye were asking for. Confronted by a copyof the original 1965/66 report identifying the "Guidelines" by name, it stopped playing den. It also stopped everything else. In late 1985 (2 years after we first wrote) it sid it had found two documents that seemed to fit the bill, BUY we couldn't have them, on national security grounds. We had 60 days to appeal. ‘The letter had been posted surface (by nuclear warship?) and took nearly 5 months to reach us. We appealed - airmail. Up to this point, this has all teen throughly covered in previous "Watchdogs". Out of the blue, in late Ayzil 1986, we received the two documents (free of charge). The accompanying letter told us thet the Appeals Review Panel had decided to release a densored version of each to us, and that despite the passage of time, the panel's final decision was that the censored piccos contained “information concerning foreign relations or activities of the US, the disclosrre of which in each case cquld reasonably be expected to cause damage to US national security". If we want to take it further we have to go to the US Court system, The guy wasn't Kidding when he referred to the passage of time ~ ond is dated 1962, the other 1966. Nevertheless they are vritten in plain English, are political documents (not Lechnical ones), and are weil worth reading for an inside US analysis of NZ in the 608. We can only guess at what's been blacked ont (every page is stamped "Secret", and there is @ warning that the docunents are covered by US espionage laws. Where cuts have been made is revealing ~ anything to do with making NZ's military materiel compatible with that of the US is cut; material has gone from sections on Pacific defence planning, and NZ's “special relationship" with Western Samoa. There's a sentence deleted after the words "Encourage and support New Zealand activities in the Antarctic"; likewise there's a deleted sentence(s) after "The NZ Security Service has the primary responsi- bility for internal security". Sometimes just a few words have gone: sometimes a whole paragraph (eg of the 15 "Lines of Action” in the 1962 document, no 1 has been deleted in irs entirety). So if you want to know if Kiwi Keith was on the CIA payroll, we can't help you, But there's plenty of goodies left. Between them these two "Guidelines" total approximately 50 pages, and there's no way that that much material can be analysed, let alone digested, in an article of this legnth. Buy your own copy (see below for details). Several major trends emerge ~ "New Zealand is a staunch and reliable ally of the US"; As such the US was prepared to go to the extent of being ready to supply emergency economic aid to NZ in the event of Britain's ql. entry into the EEC severely disrupting the economy. From the viewpoint of 1986, it is ironic to read "Our relations with New Zealand are at a thoroughly satisfying level at present". From the present, it is also intriguing to see ANZUS referred to as a "reserve treaty". NZ could be a useful factor in the West's dealings with the "Afro-Asian” world "Its advanced ‘welfare state' structure can serve as an exanple of democratic social organisation for the emotionally anti-capitalist among the Mro-Asians". (This lofty patronising tone characterises both "Guidelines" ~ there ate innumerable other examples). The language is refreshingly honest (it wasn't written for publication). Objectives include “Active New Zealand support in implementing the terms of the Antarctic Treaty in a manner consistent with US interests; ....dccess to such New Zealand sites as are found desirable for the establishment of US facilities in the fields of scientific researcii and operations, military communications, and projects of @ similar nature" More general objectives include: "fhe reaching of young and potential leadership in all circles in New Zealand to further their understanding and, support of US policies and to counteract Communist propaganda efforts, in order to encourage a pro-US orientation when they occupy positions of actual leadership; at the same time, an attempt to infle ence those young people who might seek to frustrate the achievement of US objectives". Policy is bipartisan ~ "We should be careful, in the selection of exchange visitors and in other invitations to NZ leaders, not Lo give the impression that we favor the National Party over: the Labor Party". The subheadings of the "fines of Action" tell their own story:, "Encourage on increased US participation in manufacturing ventures in NZ encourage the removal of remaining deterrents to US exports to NZ; encourage NZ to purchase, military eqyuipment in the US, offering credit on favorable terms to. the extent necessary: encourage NZ trade union leaders to increase their contacts with their American counterparts and their participation in Free World labor affairs". The most bizarre subheading is "Build up the internal and external prestige of the NZ Government" are worth quoting in full, by way of conclusion, One objective i "Keep US staffs to @ reasonable minimum at the Operation Deepfreeze base and any future US facilities in NZ, making full ... and well publicized use of qualified NZ personnel whenever possible. The Deepfreeze base at Christchurch is the only large foreign govern ent, facility ever established in NZ during peacetime. Ungccumstomed to the presence of foreign establishments on their soil, the NZ Government and populace are more susceptible to impressions created by such facilities than would be the case in countries where they are commonplace. In addition the small size of NZ urban centers and of the services available therein limit the capacity of many areas in the country to absorb a sudden population influx without strain and incidental irritation. The quantity of US personnel assigned to duty in NZ in connection with Deepfreeze and any future projects should be kept under constant. review to insure that personnel and facilities do not exceed actual requirements. . And now to a favourite US obsession: "The Communist Party (CPNZ) is accorded legal recog- nition. Tt has achieved some local and international notorietyas a result of its strong support for CommunistChina in the ideological dispute with the USSR, despite # limited hardcore membership (approximately 500) and negligible support at the polls (.26% in 1963). Jt is a working class party with few intellectual pretensions and its primary effort is directed towards the lzbor movenent where Comunicsts are active in attempts to stimulate anti-US sentiment, However, leftist sentiment is not uncommon in some university circles which are susceptible to the Communist Line, primarily in the form of and opposition to US actions and motives in areas of confrontation with aggressive Communist countries, an attitude which is reflected in some elements of the Labor Party. The relatively small scale of the CPNZ also encourages a generally apathetic press and public attitude towards pro-Communist activities within NZ which contributes to @ some- times less than clear appreciation of the issues at stake. The Party has shown surprising strength in generating anti-US feeling, particulerly with regard to Vietnam. Its activities in this regard call for sericus consideration in planning our information efforts 12. "Overtures from both the Soviet and Chinese Communist parties to the CPNZ have increased the stature end activity of the CPNZ, particularly in its relationships to the Conmunity Part of Australia, the Communist Party of Australia-Marxist Leninist, and the Communist Party of Indonesia...” "...,There are no NZ affiliates tothe Communist work labor camp, NZ labor is, however, a prime target for the CPNZ and several unions are dominated or infiltrated by Communists who take every advantage of a general rank and file apathy to propose positions against US and Free orld policies.” So there you are, all you aging Vietniks. It was all a Communist plot. That gives a small taste of these documents, which cover @ whole sweep of subjects, Some observations show perception eg "Phe absence today of significant racial conflict more reflects lack of contact and competition that it does the exercise of conscious tolerance, much less a satisfactorily integrated society..." But most of it is like the above “analysis” of widespread opposition to the Vietnam War ‘This is what our Imperial Proector thought of us 20 years ago. This is how our masters Jaid out in writing what they wanted of NZ. We don't intend to leave it there ~ our original Freedom of Enformation Act request to the State Department requested all such "Guidelines" up until the present. We refuse to believe that such documents magically stopped in 1966. ‘They may have a slightly different title, but we want them. Its taken us nearly 3 years to get the 60s stuff ~ when will we see the 1986 version? If you would like a copy of the complete 1962 and 1966 State Department "Guidelines for Policy and Operations - New Zealand” (censored) send $5 for photocopying and postage to CAFCA, Box 2258, Christchurch. Tf you'd Like a copy of the 1965/66 US Embassy report, say so and include an extra dollar. SerSEEEEEN wet ast Vpn Test an Wecthaic? The AGM voted to double "Watchdog" subs to $10 (it will be $15 for two copies, $20 for 3-5 copies inclusive). The reasons are: increased costs; it is our sole source of income (no Christmas appeals from us, folks); more money means a better quality "Watchdog" (better paper, photos, graphics); we are sponsoring an.overseas speaker at not inconsiderable expense. Phis, increased sub is due now for 1986/87. WHAT A PLEASURE “To GeT BKK TB HE = 14. THE LOSER PAYS (And now for something completely the same in politician's replies) Minister of Finance Parliament Buildings jelLington Dear Mr Douglas, In Light of your recent policy announcement of a new "user pays" approach for Government departments, we are interested in how this will apply to 3 specific departments. They are: the NZ Security Intelligence Service, the External Intelligence Bureau, the Government Communications Security Bureau. Our specific questions, in relations to each one, are: 1, Who are the users? 2. What do they pay for? 3. How much do they pay? This is @ formal request under the 1982 Official Information Act. Yours, ete Murray Horton, Secretary. (The Gaply — see over...) "WELL YES, THE C.LA.DID Pot ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS ON VARIOUS POLITICAL LEADERS, BUT THERE WAS CERTAINLY NO RARM INTENDED!. PRIME MINISTER 30 June 1986 Mr Murray Horton PO Box 2258 CHRISTCHURCH Dear Mr Horton Your letter of 31 May has been transferred to me, as the responsible Minister, under section 14 of the Official Information act. The answers to your questions on the NZ Security Service, External Intelligence Bureau and Government Communications Security Bureau are as follows: 1. The Government of New Zealand is the user served by all three agencies. The Government pays in the case of the SIS for the exercise of the responsibilities set out in the SIS Act and in the case of EIB and GCSB for the collection and analysis of information relevant to New Zealand's foreign policy and external interests. In the case of EIB the Government paid a total of $894,000 in 1985/86. ‘The SIS's budget for the same year was $5.448m. It is the long-standing practice of the Government not to disclose the budget of the GCSB as provided for in section 6(a) of the Official Information Act. Yours sincerely a Geoffrey Palmer Acting Prime Minister PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND. 16, 20RR DATA FLOWS ARH NOT BORING Book Review: "Information and the Crisis Economy" by Herbert I Schiller If money is the life blood of transnational corporations, then "information" is the electric pulse of their nervous system. Without it they cannot control their empires, transferring profits, resources and-capital to the country currently offering the greatest return, Computers end international telecommunications are the nervous system sending the informaiton to the brain - headquarters in New York, Tokyo, London... Without computers, the modern transnational would be unable to expand its control and its profits. "ALL “American Express" business-insurance, paysent systems, asset management international banking end securities ~ could not function without rapid, reliable global communications. In 1981 for example, company on-line (computer) systems: = processes 310 million Anerican Express Card transactions and 360 million Visa and Master Card transactions; ~ authorised daily 2°0,090 of those transactions from throughout the world within an average Tesponse time of five seconds; = processed more then 350 miilion Anerican Express Travellers cliegies sold by more than 160,000 benks and other selling outlets around the world; ~ completed 56 million insurencs premium and claim transactions; automatically executed approximately $10 billion a day in international banking trans-ctions... Overall, company technical resources encompass nine major information processing centres, six worldwide data and timesharing (computer) network groups, 70 large computer systems and 229 smaller computer systems for a combined processing capacity of 170 million instructions per second. (Quoted in “Information in the Crisis Economy" by Herbert I Schiller, Ablex Publishing Corp, 1984. “transborder data flovs" are the flow of information through the international tele~ conunication networks. ple or money crossing borders mist pass through customs. But information crossing borders is virtually uncontrollable. As the above American Express example shows, this information can be vital to a nation's economic health ~ it will incivde actual financial transactions, financial statements, reports from branches on their profitability, their cost structures, their stock levels. Some of this information may not be avilable even to the company’s local managers ~ information their local computers provide could lead to the closure of their branch ‘ofitable for the owners back in Metropole. and its removal to a location more Because teleconmunications are so vital to transnational control, transnationals are now showing an uncharacteristic concern for freedom of communication. They oppose any international agreements that would allow control or monitoring of these inter- national communications systens. The overhelming volume of use of these systems is by transnationals. So the transnationels are concerned, not about freedom of the news media, or individual privecy, but freedom for themselves to control their empires. The freedom they want io from interference by the governments and of the countries in which they have their investments. fs T3M executive John Rankine told a US Congres~ sional Committee in 1980: will address these questions from the perspective of a corporation dependent upon informetion flow. IBM does business in over 120 countries. We are, therefore, very dependent on a free flow of information in order to maintain our operations worldwide, We need this flow of information in order to communi=- 1. worldwide engineering design and manufacturing information as well as to inform our customers about technical changes and improvements to our products, on which in turn their operations depend. It is alsonecessary for us to match engineering, technological and marketing support skills with user requirenents.... We must have the ability to move financial and operational information among our various orgenizations as freely as possible. Finally, we must interact continuously with international banking and transportation facilities, such as airlines; which, in turn, also depend on a free flow of information to conduct their operations." “Free flow of information” has joined "free Trade" and "Free flow of Capital” as one of the commandments of international profit making. (If the Russians did it, it would be called "spying".) One of the more insidious transnational extensions to the "free flow of information" is to the "free flow of advertising". ‘The World Press Freedom Committee, which "draws its membership from some of the largest and most influential North American media combines" met in Telloires, France in May 1981 with other Western media interests. The group declared: "We believe that the free flow of information is essential for mutual understanding and world peace." However, "free flow" cannot exist, according to these media owners and editors, without a “free press”. And a free press, still according to the wisdom of this group, depends on the financial support of advertising. “We acknowledge," the Talloires ficclaration states, “the importance of advertising as a consumer service and in providing financial support for a strong and self~ sustaining press. Without finencial independence, the press cannot be independent." (Quoted by Schiller on page 57.) And Reagen naturally follows this commercial view of freedom: in a letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives in September 1981, he “strongly supported" and "conmended the attention of ali nations" to this declaratign. Of course ‘the transnationels control more than tedious commercial information. Increasingly public information is becoming a commercial arena ~ through control of the news “media, advertising agencies, and entertainment industries. Because inter national audiences mean greater advertising revenues, transnational television, radic, magazine and newspaper corporations ere beginning to dominate the media everywhere. ‘The Rupert Murdoch enpire is just one example ~ stretching from the barricades of London to Independent Newspapers (Dominion, Truth, Evening Post, New Zealand Times, ...) here in New Zealend. Producers of entertainment are being dominated by the megabudget pulp of the likes of Dallas and Falcon Crest. Such programs are cheaper to buy ~ and attract greater audiences - than anything a local producer can put together. Canada and France are just two wealthy capitalist countries that are worried by the cultural effects and degradation of their sovereignty brought about by "Free transborder data flows". For example, the Clyne Committee was set up by the Canadian minister of communications in 1979 to study the implications of international tele communications for Canadian sovereignty. Its conclusions: "He see communications as one of the fundamental elements of sovereignty and we are speaking of the sovereignty of the people of a country... We urge the Government of Canada to take immediate action to alert the people of Canada to the perilous position of theit collective sovereignty that has resulted froti the new technologies of telecomnunicatigns and informatics." France felt the effects directly when the US government tried to block European firms from contracting to complete the Euro-Siberian gas pipline. "All Dresser (Dresser Industries Inc.) had to do to comply with Reagan's embargo was to chonge the entry key to a computer in Pittsburgh on August 26 (1982), the Gaythe sanctions took effect. That effectively barred Dresser's French subsidiary fron access to the technology it needs to complete orders it has on the bocks and to compete for new ones.... Without access

You might also like