Hi all,
for anyone wanting to send a message to the current government
over the violent and inappropriate actions of the police during the
WEF protests, Steve Bracks' email address is
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
I hope you can all spare a few minutes to condemn the brutal
tactics used by police on peaceful protesters this week. They are
no better than the previous Kennett govt in this regard.
A copy of what I have sent is below.
Thanks,
Toni
Dear Mr Bracks,
I was one of the many thousands of people who protested outside
Parliament House when Jeff Kennett was first elected - we knew
that Victoria was in trouble. I was then one of the hundreds who
peacefully demonstrated at Richmond Secondary College and saw
first hand the intervention of the State and the violent use of the
police for political purposes. Our fears about the Kennett govt. had
been realised. We thought we would never see such inappropriate
use of force again following the public outcry and vindication from
the Ombudsman. We were obviously wrong.
I was again one of the thousands who cheered to see Kennett go
down at the last election, I had to keep pinching myself to believe
that it was real. I thought Victoria had finally 'turned the tide'. I was
wrong.
The Labor government since coming to power has not been the
Party it promised to be. One year on our hospitals are still in crisis,
our children are still cutting school because they are sick of
travelling out of their neighbourhoods to overcrowded classrooms
fronted by demoralised teachers. There are people still dying from
preventable overdoses because there are no safe places for them
to inject and this week we once again saw the inappropriate use of
force by the State.
I condemn you Mr Bracks for congratulating the Victoria Police. I
condemn you for dismissing the protesters outside the Crown
complex as being 'misguided' and 'ill-informed', we are neither. We
are human beings who wish to live in a world where our humanity is
recognised over and above the search for profit, and we certainly do
have a coherent vision for the future despite the media claiming
otherwise. Just speak to anyone who was there and they will tell
you what sort of world they wish to live in.
We did not deserve to be battoned into submission just because
we have a dissenting view to the majority. I have yet to see any
evidence of provocation deserving of such a heavy handed response
by the police. Marbles and other small objects may have been
scattered on the road in an effort to disrupt mounted police efforts,
this hardly calls for the trampling and bludgeoning of unarmed,
seated, peaceful protesters. As for the throwing of urine filled
balloons, this is just unsubstantiated nonsense. The stench would
have been apparent to any who were present and it was decidedly
absent from any of the blockades that I was personally a part of.
I was there for much of the three days. Most of that time was spent
in an almost carnival atmosphere filled with hope and optimism for
our future. Unfortunately the jubilation has been severely marred by
the brutal violence perpetrated by your men and women in blue.
The only reason you could be congratulating them is if they were
following your orders. If this is the case you are no better than
Kennett and his thugs and I am sure once the evidence has been
examined that the Ombudsman will agree. The case of a woman
being run over, reversed over and then run over again!!! by a police
vehicle which then drove off!! was one of the most sickening things I
have seen. I hope that the appropriate charges of culpable driving
will be laid against the driver. I'm sure that any drunk driver would
say that they were too afraid to stop at the scene of an accident
too - this is NO EXCUSE for failing to render aid to an accident
victim.
Again, I condemn you for supporting the brutal and unnecessary
actions of the police over the course of the WEF and assure you
that it will not be the last time that people try to stop such
undemocratic, unaccountable, unelected 'delegations' from meeting
to decide our fate.
Regards,
Toni Bloodworth.
....................................................................
(03) 9903 9528
Monash university, Dept. Pharmaceutics,
Victorian College of Pharmacy
381 Royal Pde, Parkville, Vic 3052, Australia
....................................................................
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