Jacinda Ardern hits Call for boycott back at reporter
NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has clapped back at a reporter who questioned whether her reasoning for meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is because they are close in age.
Ms Marin, 37, is presently in the Pacific country and held a joint news conference with Ms Ardern, 42, on Wednesday.
“A lot of people will be wondering are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and got a lot of common stuff there, when you got into politics and stuff, or can Kiwis actually expect to see more deals between our two countries down the line …” a Kiwi reporter asked his PM.
Ms Ardern cut him off before he could continue.
“My first question is I wonder whether or not anyone ever asks Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age,” she said, referring to the former US and former NZ prime ministers who are both 61.
“We of course have a higher proportion of men in politics. It’s reality. Because two women meet, it’s not simply because of their gender.”
Ms Marin added with a laugh: “We are meeting because we are prime ministers.”
She is the first prime minister from Finland to visit New Zealand. The talks between the leaders focused largely on the war in Ukraine.
They also discussed the “gravely concerning” situation facing women and girls in Iran, Ms Ardern said. Other topics addressed were trade opportunities and climate change.
Ms Marin is Finland’s youngest leader in history and garnered worldwide attention in August after videos of her partying were leaked on social media.
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THE Pacific Conference of Churches is calling for a boycott of all Indonesian products and programs by the Indonesian government, until Jakarta allows a visit to West Papua by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The church said this is needed to investigate reported human rights abuses — including torture, extrajudicial killings, and systemic police and military violence.
Reverend James Bhagwan, the general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, said the call for a boycott comes in response to the lack of political will by the
Indonesian Government to honour their commitment to the visit of four years ago.
He said they know the Pacific is a market for Indonesian products, and they hope by mobilising consumers it will show that Pacific people stand in solidarity with their sisters and brothers of Tanah Papua.
The UN Human Rights Council’s 41st Universal Periodic Review last month raised concerns about rights violations in the West Papua region, and also called for a Human Rights Commission visit.
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