Jul 7, 2005, 6:01 GMT
Wellington - New Zealand's Anglican bishops spoke out Thursday against a scheduled tour of Zimbabwe by the national cricket team next month, saying the extent of human rights abuses in the African nation must be challenged.
In a statement, the bishops acknowledged the team faced heavy financial penalties from the International Cricket Council (ICC) if they cancelled the tour, but said the moral costs of going outweighed those considerations.
The New Zealand government, backed by Australia, has written to the ICC urging it to ban all games with Zimbabwe, but cabinet minister Jim Anderton has admitted the letter was likely to be ignored, largely because most of the 10 full-member nations had dubious security and human rights records.
"As politicians we know how to count, and we know that the majority is not on our side on this," Anderton said.
After talks with government ministers on Wednesday, Martin Snedden, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, the sport's national governing body, appealed for public understanding. He said the financial penalties for pulling out of the tour would be crippling.
The government has confirmed it will block a return tour of New Zealand by Zimbabwe at the end of the year by refusing the players entry visas.
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