Waihopai
Verdict - A Victory for Peacemaking
Jim
Consedine
I would
like to call out to the consciences of those who form part of armed groups of
any kind. To each and every one, I say: stop, reflect and abandon the path of violence!
Pope
Benedict XVI, 1 Jan 2010
It was a moment to savour. Two hours after
retiring, the jury in the trial of the three Catholic Workers – Fr Peter
Murnane OP, Adi Leason, Sam Land - who deflated a dome at the Waihopai spy base
near Blenheim in April 2008, returned to a packed courtroom with their
verdicts. It took less than a minute to read them. Not guilty on all counts.
The applause was spontaneous and immediate.
Sustained for several minutes, it was renewed as the jury were dismissed and
left the courtroom. They had played a critical part in this historic decision
to acquit. In the history of New Zealand law, there has never been a decision
made that in certain circumstances a higher moral law existed and should
prevail over the enscribed legislation of a nation. These circumstances had
been accepted by the jury as prevailing when the three peacemakers acted and
damaged the equipment and temporarily put the antennae out of actions.
The defence had wanted to argue that the damage
done to property was small compared to Ôthe greater goodÕ achieved by their
action which could save lives. This Ônecessity defenceÕ was ruled out by the
judge because the defence could not show specific individuals who were damaged
by the information from Waihopai. What was allowed was a defence from the
Crimes Act of Ôclaim of rightÕ because the trio believed sincerely they had the
right to act as they did. The judge held they did not have that right but
agreed that there was evidence that they truly believed they did. Hence the
moral argument that followed and the need to show the state of mind of each
defendant at the time of the action. The result was lengthy personal testimony
from each defendant.
It is a verdict that the Crown will not appeal.
Outside the courtroom on the third floor of the
building, the large number of supporters of the three men linked hands in
prayer and sang, thanking God for the verdict and acknowledging GodÕs presence
and active help. Give peace a chance
and kumbaya, anthems of the peace
movement worldwide, rang out around the building, followed by prayer. Then it
was off downstairs to the waiting media scrum. Peter later distinguished
himself by making a guest appearance on the TV7 live show, Backbencher, screening from a packed bar opposite parliament full
of boozy patrons celebrating St PatrickÕs Day.
Party
Time
And then it was party time out at Te Puawai o te Aroha, the Catholic
Worker farm at Otaki, home to Adi and Shelly Leason and their seven children.
Corks were popped, music played, jokes and stories told as more than 60 people
packed into the farm house and gave vent to their pent up feelings of joy and
celebration. Speeches were made, acknowledging those who had made it all happen
and put the infrastructure in place around the trial. A special moment came
when Adi stood to thank Shelley for her love and support (words he had earlier
spoken on national TV to a million viewers!) and he danced her around the
kitchen as they sang a love duet. It was a lovely moment, treasured by all
present.
Speeches were also made to thank those who had
travelled great distances, including the strong contingent from the Hokianga
led by Aunty Raina Paniora, their kuia, and including about a dozen children
still at nappy and slightly beyond stage. Their presence in court had had a
humanising effect on all, including the jury and other court officials.
A special acknowledgment was made to the
Australians who had made it over the ditch to support the trial. Jim and Joseph
Dowling, their friend Cully Palmer from Queensland, Bryan Law, who blogged on Scoop each day, and Ciaron OÕReilly,
whose evidence about other Ploughshares acquittals in Dublin, England and
Scotland had been important on the penultimate day of the trial.
As midnight approached, many made their way back
into Wellington while the farmhouse continued to rock into the wee small hours,
concluding what had been a truly memorable day.
The
Trial
Indeed it had been a memorable fortnight. To
have up to 100 peacemakers gather, most of them actively Christian, to witness
to a trial involving a confrontation between the non-violent power of Christ
and the violence and power of the state lock-stepping in tune with the war
plans of the US military and its allies, is a pretty special thing to do.
Two days prior to the trial, a shrine featuring
icons of saints like Mohandas Gandhi, St Francis, Oscar Romero, Phillip
Berrigan, Franz Jagerstatter, Dorothy Day, Dietrich Bohoffer and others was
established in Katherine Mansfield Park opposite the US Embassy. It remained
for 10 days. Candles were lit and regular prayer was held morning and evening
there, concluding with a Taize vigil each evening at dusk. People prayed for
the victims of war and the success of the trial
One feature made a defining difference to this
trial. The presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable. A spirit of family,
peaceful co-operation, sharing, feeding of hungry mouths at appointed times,
prayer at frequent intervals, the creation of community. Everyone noticed it
– and many remarked upon it. .
This presence was reflected in the huge help the
Marist priests gave in providing marae-style accommodation to about 40
travellers at Emmaus House near the US Embassy. Many social justice folk from
Wellington dropped by to offer support. The wonderful Urban Vision young people of Wellington were everywhere supporting
the trial and proving help to the community of the willing. These evangelical
Christians certainly have some energy and great generosity of spirit and
imagination. Catholic Workers and their friends and families came to support
three of their number on trial. Collectively they all formed a community of the
willing, peacemaking People of God, witnessing in the central city, a stoneÕs
throw from parliament, the centre of state power.
This court verdict was backed by prayer from
religious communities, parishes and individuals across the country. In the
courtroom, Catholic Worker kuia Aunty Raina Paniora faithfully prayed her
rosary as a spirit of community, peaceful co-operation, sharing, song, humour, prayer
and family was formed around the trial. The jury had to be affected by the power
of the Spirit present.
The
Evidence
Those present in court heard how Waihopai is
part of the five nation network of global surveillance called the Echelon
system, which is implicated in the mass murder of civilians in several
countries. Waihopai helps provide intelligence to the warmongers. There was
evidence available to link the Echelon network and Waihopai with the deaths through
aerial bombardment of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, including countless
children. All are innocents caught up in a war not of their own making.
Waihopai, while nominally a NZ agency, is part of
the US military machine run from the Pentagon. Communication with our
government is limited to a 30 minute meeting each year which does little more
than rubber stamp the budget. In his time as PM, David Lange had little knowledge
of its activities, even though he was supposed to be in charge of it.
In particular an affidavit from Katherine Gun
who worked for British security was telling. Early in 2003, she leaked a memo
showing how the network of spy bases including Waihopai was being used to build
pressure for a war on Iraq. The leaked memo was from Frank Koza, head of
regional targets at the US National Security Agency. It requested surveillance
on the diplomatic communications of key UN Security Council members who were
undecided regarding their support for a UN resolution favouring the US invasion
of Iraq. The New Zealand Government were opposing the invasion. Thus Waihopai
was being used to undermine the NZ position. In addition, Koza wanted
information on the domestic communications of non-UN Security Council members
with particular reference to their negotiating positions on various
international treaties.
There were some lovely lighter moments during
the trial. In the predawn darkness on the morning of the action, Adi, the
subsistence farmer, waited for a crucial cell phone call as to where to go
next. When it didnÕt come, in frustration he rang to be told by Peter, ÔI sent
you a text an hour agoÕ. Adi asked, ÔwhatÕs a text?Õ On another occasion when
the Crown prosecutor objected to Peter speaking about Isaiah, the judge
reminded him that Isaiah was not on trial, then added, Ôbut maybe he should
be!Õ Peter also clarified with the court that he was a ÔfriarÕ not a ÔfryerÕ as
in fish and chips.
The
Media
The mainstream media, largely absent from the
trial except for the opening and closing sessions, reacted with surprise to the
verdicts. This is not surprising as the daily diet of corporate media reports promotes
war and western business interests. They rarely hear or publish an alternative
voice. This propaganda is all pervasive. The jury in this instance heard a
different story and found it so convincing that they acquitted. Had the
mainstream media been present for the duration of the trial (only on-line Scoop, and two documentary makers
covered the trial fully) they would have more than likely voted to acquit as
well.
The evidence was compelling. The Waihopai base
is an integral part of intelligence gathering for the US war machine and
responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians in foreign wars. Trying to
stop the killings by damaging property was a right and just moral choice,
consistent with Catholic moral teachings.
The corporate media therefore missed the
opportunity to ask key players the hard questions which flowed from this trial.
They generally dealt with it at an emotional and superficial level. This
included their unchallenged acceptance that damage done amounted to S$1.2
million, a figure regarded by the defendants as ludicrous. Virtually no effort
was made to understand why three mature and deeply caring men would place their
freedom on the line to try and expose the sinister work this base does. There
has been little further scrutiny as to the role of the base, and virtually no
follow up to frightening evidence presented to the court. The media seem to not
want to know.
Speaking
Truth to Power
One of the most impressive things about the
evidence given at the Waihopai Ploughshares trial was the way each of the three
defendants was able to give an integrated in depth presentation of deep biblical
insight along with the ChurchÕs teachings on justice issues related to their
case. They were able, in a very articulate way, to present teachings from the
two major streams the Church teaches from on major issues – Scripture and
Tradition.
This wasnÕt the usual flimsy sentimental stuff
of the tabloids who know little of the Church teachings on social justice.
Biblical teachings from both Testaments of the Hebrew scriptures were presented
in the context in which they were written all those centuries ago. Powerful
words were spoken in this public arena as to the dream of God contained in the
vision of Isaiah for the human family to live together justly and nonviolently
and not go to war and not waste precious resources on warmongering. The
Beatitudes of Mathew and Luke form the basis of each of the defendantsÕ kaupapa for living justly in our time
and were presented as such. Hence
they were able to speak of the voluntary poverty, simplicity of lifestyle and
the struggle for justice which emanates from these biblical injunctions.
There was also evidence of the poverty,
malnutrition, disease and needless death perpetrated by the ongoing business of
war in which New Zealand plays a tiny but vital part. There was evidence of the
sinful waste of resources in a world where 30 000 children die each day from
hunger - partially perpetuated by the billions of dollars spent on armaments
each year. There was evidence of
the damage done for tens of thousands of years into the future by the use of
Depleted Uranium in Iraq and the deformities it has produced in the bodies of a
current generation of thousands of children born since 1990.
They were able to show how the Echelon network
of spy bases around the world, of which Waihopai is one, form an integral part
of the war on the poor through providing ÔintelligenceÕ to the military. This
can lead to further war action through bombings, shootings, and the destruction
of homes, livestock and crops. They testified how these wars and the
infrastructure which supports them including Waihopai use resources which, in
moral terms, Ôare stolen from the poor who have nothing.Õ (St Basil, 4th
century) They were able to state clearly and in context the official teachings
of the Church on these issues and enflesh those teachings in relation to real
victims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Suddenly these werenÕt just the theories of
remote papal statements and bishopsÕ letters but real live situations with
origins right in our own backyard.
That realization is what gave their testimony such power. That is the
testimony which won over the jury to their unanimous verdict. That was the
testimony that the corporate media, government officials, Church leaders,
talkback hosts, editorial writers and politicians were not on hand to hear.
No wonder there was a mixed and often uninformed
reaction to the verdicts.
The acquittal is a significant victory for
peacemakers and the power of non-violent direct action. Such action is taken
usually only when all other avenues have failed. It indicates a radical love of
neighbour, as Jesus commanded. In this case defenceless neighbours devastated
by war and violence not of their making.
The jury recognised this. They acted
accordingly.