By Victoria Main
New Zealand News from The PressFebruary 24, 2000
Wellington - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has praised New Zealand as a champion of world peace in an accolade that will strengthen Prime Minister Helen Clark's arm in scrapping the F16 fighter-plane deal with the United States. Ms Clark wants to cancel the previous government's order for 28 fighter planes and make peacekeeping more of a priority for New Zealand's limited defense budget.
Mr Annan told guests at a State lunch at Parliament yesterday that New Zealand had played a prominent role in shaping the UN's charter and had been an active, exemplary member State. He cited New Zealand's "tireless work" for nuclear disarmament and its role in brokering a Bougainville ceasefire. "New Zealand is one of the world's champions in the culture of peace," he said.
His visit coincides with United States Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun's fresh warning that her country would consider cancellation of the F16 deal as a promise broken by New Zealand. "A bargain is a bargain. A deal is a deal. Hopefully promises made are promises kept," Ms Moseley-Braun said on Tuesday.
Opposition defense spokesman Max Bradford welcomed the ambassador's comments. He said that the shape of the defense force under the Labour-Alliance coalition was becoming disturbingly clear. "The Government's intention is to disembowel our defense forces and to convert them into a purely peacekeeping operation," Mr Bradford said.
Ms Clark told a press conference that during talks with Mr Annan he had thanked New Zealand for its help in East Timor. "He's expressed his appreciation to New Zealand for the very considerable contribution we've made for a country of our size in East Timor.
"He's also taken the opportunity to thank us for the work we've been doing in Cambodia on de-mining." Mr Annan, asked about the New Zealanders in East Timor, said "we appreciate their professionalism and their efforts in the field". He said the East Timor operation was an example of how countries could work together to mount a swift reaction to a situation. "If we had got to East Timor three or four months later than we did, we can all imagine the situation we would have found," he said.
Mr Annan also suggested that peacekeeping, which this week came under UN control, could be necessary for longer than the two years initially agreed by the Security Council. "We'll leave when we're done. I don't know whether we're going to do all that needs to be done in two years or that some adjustment has to be made by the Security Council," he said.
He urged New Zealand entrepreneurs to bid for the reconstruction work in war-ravaged East Timor that will be funded by $500 million in aid donations. "The money is beginning to flow and we are going to tender for infrastructure and refurbishment work," he said.
Asked about his plea for help in establishing a civil service, schools, and hospitals in East Timor, Ms Clark said Associate Foreign Affairs Minister Matt Robson would put a paper of recommendations before the Cabinet before long. "While the devastation in East Timor is obviously extreme, on the other hand it is a very small country. "So the scale of what has to be done is probably commensurate with the resources that New Zealand and other small countries have given," she said.
Mr Annan also called on Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys and Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton. Today he will visit the Waiwhetu Marae at Lower Hutt. He will meet senior government ministers, defence chiefs, and Opposition leader Jenny Shipley before leaving tonight.
