The Mayor of Christchurch has penned a letter to the leader of the Mayors for Peace network, urging other world mayors to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

Addressed to the Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace Kazumi Matsui, Phil Mauger sent the letter on Armistice Day this past Saturday. 

“It was supposed to be the War to End All Wars, but as we know it was not,” he wrote. 

“We recognise the norms of international law such as the Geneva Convention, and a state’s right and obligation to defend itself from aggression. At the same time, we also condemn the massacre of innocents and the taking of hostages”. 

He noted one of the primary purposes of the Mayors for Peace network was to strive to solve “vital problems for the human race,” such as starvation and poverty, the plight of refugees, human rights and abuses, and environmental degradation. 

He urgently called for the support from mayors around the world in the Mayors for Peace network to call for an urgent ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages, the establishment of safe areas to protect innocent civilians living in the Gaza strip, and the exercise of restraint and priority to the protection of civilians. 

“No peace, no enduring peace can be secured by war. It can only be the result of mutual understanding, recognition and respect for each other,” he wrote. 

“Let us then commit to peace and unite together for the peaceful resolution of conflict in the midst of this violence.” 

The letter was shared to X (formerly Twitter) by Christchurch-based advocate Donna Miles, who thanked Mauger. 

On Sunday, the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) called on outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and PM-elect Christopher Luxon to join France and other countries in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

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• Watch: Hundreds of Auckland protestors call for ceasefire in Gaza

At the weekend, hundreds of protestors took part in rallies around the country demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

Hundreds of Dunedin protestors gathered in Dunedin to call for a ceasefire in Palestine. Photo / Ben Tomsett 

Close to three hundred people gathered in Dunedin to march on the Octagon, while at the opposite end of the country, hundreds also gathered at Aotea Square in Auckland. 

PSNA Dunedin spokesperson Rinad Tamimi, who spent her childhood in Gaza, said she had seen the numbers attending the Dunedin rallies double each week. 

Across the Atlantic, an estimated 300,000 marched at a pro-Palestine rally in London that same day. 

Last week, around 100 pro-Palestine protesters covered the lights at Auckland Museum with red and green cellophane and illuminated the building in the colours of the Palestine flag last night.