Rt Hon John Key

Prime Minister

Parliament Buildings

Wellington

 

Dear Rt Hon John Key,

 

Your speech at the United Nations general assembly a few weeks ago, about New Zealand's anti nuclear stand, and the call for destruction of nuclear warheads, has got to be commended.

 

You appear to take great pride in speaking about New Zealand's anti nuclear staance to the world but, succeeding New Zealand governments, including your own, have refused to recognize and compensate crew members of the two naval frigates that were sent.

 

New Zealand's anti nuclear stand started in 1972 with Mr Jim McLay who attended the world court in The Hague, put forward New Zealand's objection to the French government testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific. he French government refused to accept the world courts decision on ceasing these tests. In 1973 Norman Kirk, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, sent HMNZS Otago followed by HMNZS Canterbury to Mururoa Atoll to draw the world's attention to these senseless acts. This is the start of New Zealand's anti nuclear stance.

 

900 sailors witnessed the British nuclear testing in 1958/1959. Only 130 survive today, and finally they now have the right to sue the British government/Defence department.

 

Do the Mururoa Veterans' have to decrease in numbers before anything significant happens?

 

Of the 510 personnel that went to Mururoa atoll on these two naval frigates, 175 have already died, most of them by cancer related or dadiation related diseases. Many continue to suffer today with radiation related diseases with little government help. I have surveyed 300 Mururoa Veteran survivors and 60% of them are suffering from radiation effects within their bone marrow which in turn is lowering their blood platelet count which in turn is leading to heart disease, Strokes, cancer of the bowel, kidney failure, leukaemia, Thyriod diseases, and the list goes on. Much more than the presumption list that is laid out by the so called "Expert Panel" or what has been copied from the United States "Veterans' Affairs Department".

 

When is New Zealand again, going to be a world leader in it's stand against nuclear weapons as well as compensating and recognizing those that were forced to witnessed, these senseless acts.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Peter Mitchell

President Mururoa Veterans' Society