NZ government must apologise to the people of Vietnam

Peace Movement Aotearoa (PMA) has written a letter to the Vietnamese Ambassador which expresses regret at New Zealand’s participation in the Vietnam War and calls for the government to apologise to the people of Vietnam. The text of the letter is included below. The Vietnam War was an unjust and unjustifiable war. More than 2 million Vietnamese civilians died, many more were maimed, and the physical environment was destroyed by massive bombing raids and poisoned by chemical weapons - the lethal legacy of unexploded munitions and toxic chemicals continues today. The NZ government has never apologised to the people of Vietnam, although it has apologised to Vietnam war veterans and their families for the failure to care for them during and after the war. Letter to Vietnamese Ambassador in New Zealand, on the occasion of the Tribute 08 in Wellington, 30 May 2008: It is thirty three years since the war in Viet Nam ended, yet we know that Viet Nam is still feeling its effects. We citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand wish to express our sincere regret for New Zealand's participation in the war and for the suffering inflicted on the people of Viet Nam. We look forward to the New Zealand Government formally apologising to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in the near future - an apology is long overdue." Socialist Worker-New Zealand is a signatory to the letter. For more information visit the PMA website http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/tribute08.htm