Warbirds Over Wānaka display of deadly jets sparks backlash

Photo: RNZ Plans to showcase F-22 Raptor fighter jets at Warbirds Over Wānaka have drawn condemnation from a former Doctors Without Borders worker, who says the display legitimises US military force and weapons used to kill civilians. Two Lockheed Martin aircraft will take part in the Easter show, flown by a United States Air Force demonstration team. Grant Kitto said a strike from a US Air Force gunship - also built by Lockheed Martin - killed his colleagues in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in 2015, at a Doctors Without Borders hospital. Forty-two deaths were reported, including 14 staff, in what the US Air Force later conceded to be a mistake. "US forces fired 211 shells into the hospital," he said. "There were 105 patients in the hospital, 140 international and national staff, 80 were on duty - and the attacks took place despite the fact that the MSF [Doctors Without Borders] had provided GPS co-ordinates multiple times to the US Department of Defence and local forces.". The F-22 Raptors were widely considered the most lethal fighter jets ever built and putting them on show in New Zealand was not appropriate, Kitto said. "Admittedly, they're amazing bits of kit, but they're amazing for the wrong reasons," he said. "It's not appropriate, in this day and age. "It's emboldening and it's endorsing, and it's encouraging the US forces." Co-director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, Richard Jackson, said there was a difference between historic aircraft involved in conflicts "decades ago" and weapons of war still having an impact internationally. "It seems odd that - at the moment when the United States is engaging in tremendous international aggression, attacking different countries, intervening in Venezuela to take oil, threatening to take Greenland, supporting Israel's genocide [a description used by some international observers, but contested by the Israeli government], and so on and so forth - we would invite people from that military to come to New Zealand and display their military wares in a way that kind of celebrates the technological prowess that they have in this area," he said. Lockheed Martin had been accused of violating human rights and causing a great deal of harm to civilians, Jackson said. The company did not respond to RNZ's requests for comment, but said on its website that a respect for human rights was at the heart of its work. "We do have to ask questions around are we encouraging, are we accepting, are we signaling our agreement with the way in which these weapons are used?" Jackson said. "Are we glorifying them to some degree, admiring them in certain respects, without acknowledging the serious harm that they cause in many parts of the world and the misuse to which they're often put?" Bringing two fighter jets to New Zealand also came with an immense environmental toll, he said. "There are huge environmental implications of this. These machines are responsible for huge amounts of carbon emissions and, at a moment when we're beginning to really face the climate crisis, I mean, is it environmentally responsible to be engaging in these sorts of activities?" Taking concerns to supporters Kitto said he had written to supporters of the show to share his concerns. One of them was Christchurch Airport, which will serve as the base for the F-22 Raptors during the event. An airport spokesperson told RNZ its role was "simply providing operational support to a flagship South Island event enjoyed by 65,000 people that injects over $40 million into the local economy". "In doing so, we are not endorsing any political position," they said. Kitto also contacted Queenstown Lakes District Council, which was one of the principal sponsors of Warbirds Over Wānaka. Mayor John Glover wrote back, noting that the decision to provide the event with $25,000 was "specifically to support a waste contractor to reduce some of the environmental impacts". "That decision was made by a panel that included elected members and it is worth noting that, at the time of the application, the F22s and Lockheed Martin weren't in the mix," he said. However, Glover agreed to meet with organisers that week to discuss the concerns. "The success of the Warbirds event demonstrates its broad appeal and many would say it is not an endorsement of militarism per se, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be open to listening to other points of view or recognise that, at some point, geopolitical actions may impact social licence," he wrote to Kitto. "A key question for this event is how to balance a celebration of aviation, its history and a commemoration of those who have served in conflicts against the danger that the harsh realities of war are minimised or potentially morphed into a thrill-seeking experience that normalises war." Wānaka-Upper Clutha ward councillor Niki Gladding said being contacted by Kitto about the F-22 Raptors had shifted her perspective on Warbirds...

Warbirds Over Wānaka display of deadly jets sparks backlash

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