NZ Engineers back Canadian plan to inspect US weapons

The New Zealand-based organisation of professional engineers, Engineers for Social Responsibility, today offered financial support to New Zealand citizens wishing to join the Canadian-led weapons inspection team planning to visit the United States.

A Canadian organisation, Rooting Out Evil - a coalition of peace groups - has said that in the new year they will be sending a team of volunteer weapons inspectors into the United States of America.

In a recent press release, the coalition announced that they ".. have selected the US as our first priority based on criteria provided by the Bush administration. According to those criteria, the most dangerous states are those run by leaders who:

1) have massive stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons;

2) ignore due process at the United Nations; 3) refuse to sign and honour international treaties; and 4) have come to power through illegitimate means."

The Coalition stated that the current US administration fulfills all these criteria. And so, again following Bush's guidelines, Rooting Out Evil is demanding that his administration allow immediate and unfettered access to international weapons inspectors to search out their caches of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

Rooting out Evil says that if the USA refuses to comply, they will assemble as many volunteer weapons inspectors as possible at a major border crossing between the US and Canada and attempt to cross into the US on a mission of peace."We will be greeted on the US side by Americans who favour true global cooperation, an end to weapons of mass destruction, and a regime change in the US at the next election."

ESR is offering up to $1000 towards the costs of New Zealanders joining the weapons inspection team, and will encourage other groups to do the same. Information about ESR is at , and about Rooting Out Evil is at . ESR may be contacted at PO Box 6208, Wellesley Street, Auckland.

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