RUSSIA BANS FURTHER 36 NEW ZEALANDERS FROM ENTERING, BRINGS NUMBER OF BANNED TO NEARLY 200
Russia has published a list of 32 New Zealanders who have been banned from entering the country, including six regional mayors, 11 journalists and three professors, for what it calls a “Russophbic agenda”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the move was in response to the politically motivated sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities introduced by the New Zealand government.
Several mayors are on the list, including New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holden, Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith, Nelson Mayor Nick Smith, Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise and Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau.
Alongside them are several journalists including freelancing war correspondent Tom Mutch and former Herald editorial writer John Roughan.
University of Canterbury lecturer and Herald columnist Jarrod Gilbert said he doesn’t care that he has been sanctioned and it showed the pettiness of the Russian state.
“I wouldn’t spend a dollar supporting the Russian state while they are invading a sovereign territory and nor should anybody.”
Southgate said she found the news “perplexing and confusing” and “won’t be giving it a moment’s more thought”.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the travel ban came as a surprise but he wears it as a “badge of honour”.
“I suspect it’s a bit of a tit of tat,” he said.
“Everything about President Putin is an antithesis of that I have whether they be for democracy, human rights, for free speech and the respect for other countries’ borders.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said, “Considering Wellington does not intend to renounce its anti-Russia policy and continues to approve new sanctions, the work to update the Russian stop list will be continued.”
In March 2022, then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta released a list of Russian government officials and others who were banned from entering New Zealand.
Last month, the government announced a new tranche of sanctions against 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said: “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“New Zealand condemns all entities and individuals providing this military support,” Peters said.
“As part of this new tranche of sanctions, New Zealand is targeting individuals and entities who are involved with the transfer of weaponry from the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea] into Russia, for use against Ukraine, as well as Iranian actors involved in the provision of military assistance to Russia.”
Peters said the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia facilitates its illegal war in Ukraine.
“These sanctions also target those facilitating the forced relocation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine.
“In continuing to facilitate the deportation of Ukrainian children, Russia is seeking to advance its objectives in invading Ukraine, including efforts to undermine Ukraine’s identity as a sovereign country.”
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on allegations they facilitated the forced deportation of thousands of children from Ukraine to Russia.
With this announcement, New Zealand has imposed sanctions on more than 1,700 individuals and entities since the Russia Sanctions Act entered into force in March 2022, along with a range of trade measures.
The latest New Zealanders banned from Russia:
Centre for Defence and Security Studies Professor John Battersby
NZDF mission to the UK to train Armed Forces of Ukraine contingents Major Matt Blake
36th Parallel Assessment Chief Executive Paul Buchanan
RNZ Journalist Charlotte Cook
RNZ Producer Michael Cropp
RNZ Reporter Rachel Heyler Donaldron
Ministry of Defence Defence Policy Department Director Bronwyn Evans-Kent
Stuff Reporter Charlie Gates
University of Canterbury Sociologist Jarrod Gilbert
Stuff Reporter James Halpin
NZDF mission to the UK to train Armed Forces of Ukraine contingents, Major Tony Harris
New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holden
NZDF mission to the UK to train Armed Forces of Ukraine contingents Major Thomas Kelly
Blogger Peter Macky
Deputy Secretary of Defence, Capability Delivery Sarah Minson
New Zealand Herald Photo Journalist Tom Mutch
RNZ Journalist Russell Palmer
RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson
Ministry of Defence International Branch Head Kathleen Pearce
The Post Journalist Tom Pullar
Victoria University of Wellington Professor Jane Patterson
New Zealand Army Colonel Duncan George Roy
New Zealand Herald Journalist John Roughan
RNZ Reporter Katie Scotcher
Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate
NZDF unit on a mission to the UK to train Armed Forces of Ukraine contingents, Major Josh Sullivan
Ministry of Defence Chief People Advisor Melissa Thorn
Mahi for Ukraine spokesperson Kate Turska
Ministry of Defence International Department Director Sophie Vickers
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise
Ministry of Defence Assistant Secretary Acquisition Huntley Wright
Ministry of Defence Strategy Management and Assessment Deputy Secretary Anton Youngman
2024-06-28T19:53:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd