A Rotorua man's plan to hold a march against New Zealand soldiers dying in Afghanistan has been scaled back after heavy criticisms from war veterans.
Pupuru Knight started a Facebook page on Monday titled Bring Our Soldiers Home with the aim of growing support for a protest march to bring "soldiers home safe to their families not in a box".
He said if the page received support in the way of 50 "likes"' he would go ahead with the march. He generated enough support within a matter of hours.
However, a returned soldier posted her view about the peaceful march criticising the idea.
"I am an ex-soldier who loved my life in the Army.
"I am unable to understand how marching to bring our soldiers home honours their memory. The idea of having a march to bring our soldiers home to me feels misguided ... Not one soldier has been forced to go to Afghanistan," her post said.
She said the protest "devalues what it is to be a soldier".
"Soldiers are not robots we have personal options ... at the end of the day every soldier that deploys overseas does it of their own free will.
"May I ask that should you march would you consider not doing it around any Military Camp."
In reaction to the posting, Mr Pupuru changed the Facebook page title from Bring Our Soldiers Home to A Tribute of Love to Our Heroes.
"This page was never intended to offend anyone in anyway. We have received some negative responses to our ideas," he posted.
"So I have changed the name and description and I ask that anyone's opinions and ideas within this page be respected."
A date is still to be set on the Facebook page for a peaceful protest march.
Mr Knight could not be contacted by The Daily Post for comment.
Rotorua Returned and Services Association secretary manager Rolly Rolston agreed that pulling troops out of Afghanistan did not honour those who had been killed.
"Just pulling out the troops makes it pointless.
It is tragic that lives were lost but they went to do a task which they were very good at and it would not be honouring to them by demanding troops be pulled out."
He said people died in World War 11 but the soldiers did not go home because of it.
"If you did a poll over there I bet no one would want to come home."