LL:ART: Govt launches net crackdown
Govt launches net crackdown The Australian AUGUST 20, 2003 The federal Government plans to outlaw using the internet for offensive and menacing purposes, proposing new laws that could mean two years in prison for activities like organising or advocating violent protests through the internet. A joint statement from Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston and Justice Minister Chris Ellison said the new laws were part of a crackdown on e-crime. People using the internet to advocate or facilitate violent protests, for example by spreading information on methods of violently disrupting international meetings and attacking police officers protecting such gatherings, including those using the internet to harass or menace others are amongst those who could be prosecuted under the new offences, the statement says. Other targets would include those using the internet to encourage criminal acts. The new laws are part of a package of legislation that will tackle other offences including child pornography and the rebirthing of mobile phones. The legislation will also introduce criminal penalties for placing material on the internet that would be regarded by reasonable persons as being, in all the circumstances, offensive. However, the new laws will include specific exemptions for internet service providers and content hosts where they do not have knowledge of the content of the material that they transmit or host. Under current laws, it is an offence to use a telecommunications service in a way that would be considered by a reasonable person as offensive, or with the result that another person is menaced or harassed. The proposed legislation would extend the provisions to cover the internet, which is not covered under existing legislation. The new offence will carry a penalty of two years imprisonment, double the punishment for an existing offence, the statement says. . -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:DDS: please could you put this out on your list
We here in Adelaide are starting a womens' support group for the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta Senior Aboriginal Women. There's already one in Melbourne which holds information stalls, sells bush medicines and jewellery made by the Kungka Tjuta Women, puts on fundraising events and is helping to organise the gathering in September (details below). If you're interested, the first meeting will be on Wednesday 20th August @ 6 pm upstairs at the Fleet Street Cafe, 162-170 Pulteney Street in the city. If you can't come to the first meeting but are intested in being involved in the new Adelaide Kunkgas feel free to email Fiona @ [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Robyn @ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Details about the Iranti Wanti campaign are on their website @ www.iratiwanti.org The Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta are a group of Senior Indigenous Women based in Cooper Pedy who have long spoken out against Roxby Downs and the radioactive waste dump. Their active opposition against uranium issues is informed by personal experiences of surviving the 1950s Maralinga atomic tests and living with the legacy of the radioactive fall out. The Kunkga Tjuta Women received some public recognition for their campaign against the proposed waste dump when they were presented with the 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize in April this year. The Kungka Tjuta Women are inviting all people to attend a gathering on their land so that we can hear their stories, experience their country and learn ways of helping them protect it. It's at the end of September and there's a copy of their invitation below. The time to get further involved in Irati Wanti is now. The Federal Government recently used its land aquisition powers to take control over the waste dump site and is now talking construction of the waste dump within a year! Also the 50th anniversary of the first and devastating nuclear tests on mainland Australia is coming up in October. It would be good to generate widespread acknowledgment of this anniversary, highlight its legacy and show the connections with the present. See you Wednesday evening. cheers, Fiona and Robyn KULINI KULINI `Are you listening?' 10 Mile Creek Bush Camp Coober Pedy, South Australia Sept 29th Oct 1st 2003 INVITATION TO ALL FROM THE KUPA PITI KUNGKA TJUTA Senior Aboriginal Women of Coober Pedy, SA. Kungka Tjuta, Wati Tjuta, Tjitji Tjuta, tjukur kulila nyinakatinyi. Many women, many men, many kids, sit down all together and listen to the story. Wangka irati, wangka Maralinga talk about the poison, talk about Maralinga. We are going to have a big camp, meeting here at 10 Mile Creek Bush Camp. Come to the meeting and help us. We are going to speak about the waste dump the poison. Come to Coober Pedy. The poison is going to come back, like Maralinga, just sneak in. They are going to do the same thing here and not let anybody know. They are going to sneak in. The Government has to listen to us. We are going to stand up and fight - strong. And you fellas have got to help us. Kulini Kulini, they gotta listen that Government mob. Kulini Kulini, we're tired. Come and help us. Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta Background Brief All of us were living with the Government used the Country for the Bomb Everybody got sick. 2003 marks the 50th anniversary of the first nuclear bomb detonated at Emu Fields by the British Government. Totem 1, tested on October 15th 1953 only 280km north of Coober Pedy, produced a dense radioactive cloud that travelled far beyond the `testing range'. Members of the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta and their families are survivors of this testing program and the nuclear legacy is becoming increasing evident in every new generation. Fifty years later the Federal Government is pushing ahead with their plan to establish a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia's far north. Same country. Same people. Same poison. Enough is Enough. This cycle must end now. Come and support the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta in their courageous struggle. This is an invitation for all. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:INFO: Nominate Andrew Wilkie as Australian of the Year
Forwarded message: Please circulate this information to other like minded people/organisations: Mr Andrew Wilkie, the former senior intelligence analyst who resigned from the Office of National Assessments (ONA) in protest at John Howard government's deceit over information relating to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism, has been nominated for the Australian of the Year Award 2004. According to the Australia Day Council, nominating someone for the awards is the greatest honour you can bestow upon them. If you feel that Mr Andrew Wilkie makes you proud, please support his nomination by providing a written reference for Andrew. This should be sent to: Australian of the Year Awards 2004 National Australia Day Council Old Parliament House King George Terrace Parkes ACT 2600 Please include the reference number 2103 in your letter. For any information on the Awards, please visit www.australianoftheyear.gov.au, or call 1300 655 193. = Join the Labor Council's Activist Register to find out about labor movement and social movement events. Go to http://www.labor.org.au/activist = Amanda Tattersall Special Projects Officer Labor Council of NSW ph (02) 9264 1691 ph direct (02) 9286 1624 m 0409 32 11 33 f(02) 9261 3505 e [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lvl 10/377 Sussex St Sydney 2000 The Walk against the War website is: www.nswpeace.org Our phone number is (02) 9267 8122. To subscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
LL:INFO: Make your concerns obvious!
It was suggested at today's APC meeting that a good way to make your concerns re the threatening war obvious is to wear a BAND AID pinned to your shirt / dress, along with your purple ribbon - and perhaps write the word Iraq on the band aid. People will probably ask you why you are wearing a band aid - giving you the opportunity to explain your concerns, and the fact that the band aid represents the great injury which war will do to masses of people. Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) or (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (+61-8) or (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com .. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Vote now in ABC poll on war
ABC poll: Do you believe there is a case for war against Iraq? http://www.abc.net.au/news/poll1/vote/ Present vote stands at : Yes = 19% No = 81% Add your vote now! Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) or (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (+61-8) or (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com .. -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Get your child's school to take part
All Australian schools are invited to take part in the following competition: http://www.peacecourier.com/schools.htm The Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. presentsSCHOOLS COMPETITION 2002 Present your answer to the following question: HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE ? PRESENT YOUR ENTRY in one of the following forms: · An essay (max. 500 words) · A poem · A PowerPoint presentation · Artwork · Or any form that can be emailed Note: One boy's and one girl's entry per classroom, chosen by the students and including a brief comment as to why they chose them. Email your entry to APC by the end of Term 3, 2002 (Tasmanian entries by the end of Term 2) Email: [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] N.B. There is NO entry fee. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges, and the winners notified. PRIZES:To be presented on October 24, 2002 United Nations Day Reception Yr 2 $20 cash + $30 book voucher Yr 3 Yr 5.$30 cash + $40 book voucher Yr 6 Yr 9.$50 cash + $50 book voucher Yr 10 Yr 12 .$100 cash + $50 book voucher Schools of winning entries 'On a Paper Crane' Teacher's Kit (the story of Sadako in Hiroshima) SEE THE APC WEBSITE AT: www.peacecourier.com/schools.htm Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDS: Invitation to Adelaide Forum -
You Are Invited to this Important Forum NOWAR Public Forum Saturday, October 27, 2001 2:00pm 5:00pm Pilgrim Uniting Church Hall 12 Flinders Street, Adelaide The NOWAR Group is conducting a NOWAR Public Forum on Saturday, October 27th, 2001 at the Pilgrim Uniting Church Hall, 12 Flinders Street, Adelaide. The objective of this forum is to explore and discuss the issues, legality and consequences of the War Against Terrorism. The Forum will specifically explore Australia's position, and the consequences for Australians. This presents a unique opportunity for concerned individuals and groups to better understand both global and Australian perspectives about a war that is being waged against an unseen enemy and has the potential to extend to many other countries. The Forum will address these topics: 1. International Justice, Not War. This topic will address the legality of the current war, the impact on both humanitarian and criminal law, the role of the United Nations Security Council. 2. The Current War in the Context of American Foreign Policy. This topic will review history of consequences of American foreign policy, history and the strategic importance of Afghanistan. 3. Global Peace through Economic and Social Justice. This topic will explore some of the root causes of terrorism in terms of economic and social injustice, and the alternatives to war. 4. In Defense of Democratic Rights. This topic will explore both the democratic process in Australia and the US (and how these processes have been abandoned in the declaration and support of war).It will also review the current threat to civil liberties in terms of anti-terrorist legislation being introduced. 5. No Racism. This topic will explore the consequences of racism, and how this current war is promoting racism. Australia's unique advantage in terms of a multi-cultural society, and the current risk to that harmony, will also be covered. 6. The Bigger Picture Some Questions to Explore. This session will highlight the unanswered questions, and encourage participants to seek the answers to those questions. We are particularly keen to encourage journalists and media to attend, as we believe that most journalists are interested in pursuing the truth. Please feel free to attend and to participate in the forum discussion. For more information about this important event, please contact Candice Trevor on telephone 8342 4636 or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDS: APC / NOWAR / Blackwood Uniting Church : upcoming events
Saturday 20th October - Australian Peace Committee (SA branch) monthly meeting 1pm - Left Bank coffee shop - cnr. Pulteney and Pirie Streets Adelaide All welcome - (no requirement to buy food or drink) Saturday 27th October - NOWAR (Network Opposing War and Racism) Seminar 2pm - 5pm Pilgrim Uniting Church Hall - 12 Flinders Street Adelaide All welcome - Information / updates / discussion Saturday 27th October - Blackwood Uniting Church Gathering for Peace 8am - 4pm An opportunity to pray and talk about the current world situation All welcome - for details contact 8278 5490 or 8278 8308 Sunday 4th November - NOWAR RALLY 2pm - rally at Victoria Square, march to Parliament House All welcome - bring banners / candles / ribbons / friends Info: Kathy 8212 6706 or APC 8332 3461 Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) or (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (+61-8) or (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDV: Rally for Peace - Sat. 13 Oct - Victoria Square
Dear Friends, Please find herewith a notice about a Rally for Peace to be held next Saturday, 13 October. ***I hope that you will be able to forward this widely through your networks. I can send you a leaflet of the event as an attachment if you wish - but hesitate to do that without first having your agreement. With best wishes Irene Gale ~ NO WAR -- STOP MISSILE DEFENCE RALLY FOR PEACE on OCTOBER 13th October 13 is the International Day to Stop the Militarization of Space via the controversial US 'Missile Defence' program known as 'Star Wars'. In the light of the events of September 11 it is now the next mobilization against a retaliatory war. War will not bring security from terrorism. Only justice can do that. The events of September 11 show that Missile Defence will do nothing for global security. However, it will lead to an arms race in space and may re-ignite the global nuclear arms race here on earth. Islam is not the enemy - War is not the solution SHOW THAT YOU WANT PEACE on SATURDAY OCTOBER 13th RALLY at VICTORIA SQUARE at 10.30am for a MARCH to PARLIAMENT HOUSE NOWAR -- NETWORK OPPOSING WAR AND RACISM NOWAR is a network of union, peace, environment, church and community groups in Adelaide who are working together to achieve peace and justice in the world. · No to war · No Australian troops, no support for war · No racist scapegoating · Defend democratic rights · International justice not war · Seek global peace through economic and social justice Organising Meeting: Thursday, October 11, 6pm, United Trades and Labour Council (11 South Terrace) E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Discussion group: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~ ON the DAY BOMBING STARTS -- GATHER at 5pm at PARLIAMENT HOUSE STEPS, NORTH TERRACE ~ ~ Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) or (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (+61-8) or (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR: Call for pledge from political parties
ALL POLITICAL PARTIES ARE CALLED UPON TO PLEDGE that they will not institute conscription for overseas service without first holding a referendum of the Australian people which receives a majority vote endorsing such a move. Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) or (08) 8332 3461 Fax: (+61-8) or (08) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web site: www.peacecourier.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Vote for war? No way!
Vote for war? No way! Channel Nine's Sunday program is doing a survey on whether Australians support sending retaliatory troops with the USA military. John Howard has pledged Australian troops - your sons and daughters, husbands and wifes, sisters and brothers - without seeking public approval...without even referring to the Australian people - how do you feel about that? Please register your vote. Yesterday it stood at No: 35%; Yes: 65%. To vote, go to: www.ninemsn.com.au/sunday At the right hand side of the page you will see the poll. Click the box to register your vote and you will then see the current figures. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Please take action ASAP
Take Action ASAP Channel Nine's Sunday Program started a poll vote Do you support Israel's policy of 'targeted killings' of Palestinian militants? The results so far were 61% Yes and 39% No. If you are not happy of this result visit the site on the following URL address to submit your vote. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/default.asp -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
Letter from Canada - why not here too?
The following letter from Canada sounds like a good idea - if the whole world turned off all the power which could feasibly be turned off for those three hours, then a quiet and 'powerful' message would roll around the globe (and the environment would take a deep breath!) even if it's winter here. ROLL YOUR OWN BLACKOUT THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER JUNE 21, 2001 THURS EVE, 7-10pm worldwide, all time zones As an alternative to George W. Bush's energy policies and lack of emphasis on efficiency, conservation and alternative fuels, there will be a voluntary rolling blackout on the first day of summer, June 21 at 7pm - 10pm in any time zone (this will roll it across the planet). It's a simple protest and a symbolic act. Turn out your lights from 7pm-10pm on June 21. Unplug whatever you can unplug in your house. Light a candle to the Sungoddess, kiss and tell or not, take a stroll in the dark, invent ghost stories, anything that's not electronic - have fun in the dark. Read the 1999 book Natural Capitalism by Hawken and Lovins to learn that conservation/high efficiency technologies already ARE on-the-shelf. If implemented these revolutionary ideas would pay themselves off within 5 years, after which we'd be pumping far less greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and saving bucks to boot. Forward this email as widely as possible, to your government representatives and environmental contacts. Let them know we want global education, participation and funding in conservation, efficiency and alternative fuel efforts -- and an end to over exploitation and misuse of the earth's resources. Anyone knows that the Cheney-Bush team is blowing smoke when they tell us that ... conservation can't help, it'll just be too expensive to implement those technologies... While on the other hand, technology to develop the space station and weapons to blow incoming ICBMs out of the sky are easy to come by. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:AA: Anti-Personnel Landmines campaign
Dear Friends, March 1st is the anniversary of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty coming into force, and we are asking Councils, organisations, friends and supporters to fax or write to the United States Embassy or local Consul on or before that date, urging the new US administration to 'get with the strength' and join the majority of the world's nations in the campaign to rid the world of anti-personnel landmines. Call upon the US administration to accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. While 139 nations have signed on to the treaty, the US has so far resisted. Herewith a draft/model letter for you to send or to take to the US consuls in your states and ask them to forward it to the Ambassador - you can speak to the points when you visit the consul. If there is no consul in your state, send it directly to the US Ambassador in Canberra (address on letter below). Use the model letter below, or vary the text as you deem suitable. Sign on behalf of your 'branch'/ committee/ organisation / or yourself. Please try to send/ deliver your letter before 1 March 2001. PLease send a copy of your letter to the national coordinator of the Australian Anti-Landmines Network, Sr.Patricia Pak Poy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] fax: (08) 8363 7870. Thanking you, Ron Gray, APC(SA)Inc. -- DRAFT/MODEL LETTER The FAX NUMBER for the US Ambassador in Canberra is (02) 6214 5970. Date: HE Ambassador Edward Gnehm (Jnr) Embassy of the United States of America Chancery Moonah Place Yarralumla ACT 2600 Excellency: I am writing on behalf of ... to urge the United States of America to accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. March the 1st 2001, marks the second Anniversary of the entry into force of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti Personnel Mines and on their destruction. To date 139 countries have signed and 110 have ratified the Treaty including all America's NATO allies except Turkey, and all other countries in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba. The United States has not yet joined two-thirds of the world's nations in embracing the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. In the new Administration's first year of office it would be a significant show of leadership to the world if it were to accede to this important international treaty for a more humane world. From March 6-10, 2001, mine survivors, deminers, campaigners and researchers from all 50 States and over 90 countries will gather in Washington DC to take part in a series of important meetings, and they will urge the Administration to take a stronger stand against the use of anti-personnel mines and accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. This week has been proclaimed "Ban Landmines Week" by Washington DC Mayor Williams, and will culminate in a ceremony at Lafayette Park on the 10th March. The President has been invited to meet with youth and landmines survivors from around the world to receive the hundreds of thousands of signatures collected worldwide calling for an end to global landmine use and urging the United States to join the ban. Every year thousands of innocent children,women and men are injured or killed by anti-personnel mines in over 80 countries and the threat of landmines denies countless more access to their land and a livelihood. An overwhelming majority of mine survivors are civilians, and most are injured after conflicts have ceased. We recognize significant American resources dedicated to global humanitarian mine clearance, but while the US stands out from the Mine Ban Treaty, these efforts give to the world an ambiguous message about the position and intentions of the United States with regard to antipersonnel mines. We call on the United States as world power to take a clear stand against this indiscriminate weapon and accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.. We hope we may have your personal support for the campaign to rid the world of antipersonnel mines, and ask you to pass on this request for a review of US policy to the President Bush and his Administration Yours sincerely (end of letter) Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) 8212 7138 Fax: (+61-8) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web sites: www.peacecourier.com and: www.peace.internode.on.net -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Please sign Stop Star Wars' petition
URGENT Please sign the "STOP STAR WARS" petition hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com: Click on this URL address, read the petition, and follow the instructions to sign. http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Jules/ --- Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc. 11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia Ph: (+61-8) 8212 7138 Fax: (+61-8) 8364 2291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web sites: www.peacecourier.com and: www.peace.internode.on.net -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: Women Building Peace campaign
Dear Friends (apologies if this is information known to you already) W o m e n B u i l d i n g P e a c e: From the Village Council to the Negotiating Table the international campaign to promote the role of women in peacebuilding I am writing from the Women Building Peace campaign which was launched in May 1999 by International Alert and over 100 ngo's. The campaign has five themes: 1. to include women in peace negotiations as decision makers 2. put women at the heart of reconstruction and reconciliation 3. strengthen the rights and protection of refugeee and displaced women 4. end impunity for crimes committed against women and ensure redress 5. give women and women's organisations the support and resources they need to build peace The campaign aims to raise global awareness of women's experiences and perspectives of peace and conflict, and to help women better realise their potential as peace-builders from the village to the international level. It seeks to influence and affect the implementation of global policies and international standards on peace, security and development to ensure that gender perspectives are integrated and women's needs are met. International Alert believes that women and women's groups specifically play a critical role in the peacebuilding process and that their work should be highlighted and strengthened and should be supported as widely as possible by all actors in the international community. We are currently collecting signatures to present to Kofi Annan on International Women's Day 2001, to strengthen public awareness of the importance of women and their peacebuilding role and to encourage the international community to adhere to the pledges they made at the Beijing Conference in 1995. Given your focus I would firstly like to ask you whether you would be interested in receiving copies of the policy research documents which have been produced by the campaign;The Women, Violent Conflict and Peacebuilding Conference Report or Mainstreaming Gender in Peacebuilding:A Framework for Action, which looks at Women, Gender and conflict; and Women, Gender and peacebuilding issues. Secondly as the campaign is being taken forward by thousands of organisations and individuals from around the world it would be fantastic if you would consider collecting signatures from your contacts or include an insert in any newsletter or publication you may have (we could return the favour!) Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have need further information or have any suggestions about possible ways of working together. Many Thanks and Best Wishes Bethan Cobley international alert ps our site is at www.international-alert.org/women and you can place your sigantures on line at http://www.international-alert.org/women/petition/index.html#1 ***This is a petition initiated by the International Campaign "Women Building Peace: from the Village Council to the Negotiating Table". It is addressed to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the international community. We aim to collect a minimum of 250 000 signatures to present to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at International Women's Day March 2001. Please sign the petition by giving all your contact details in the space provided below, and email it back to the secretariat of the "Women Building Peace" Campaign at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or the address above. Please distribute the petition as widely as possible. Thank you. * Dear Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Women everywhere applaud the efforts made for peace by the United Nations. Women recognise the progress made in including women in peace making and peace building efforts within the UN itself and the pledges made to women during the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. However, we believe that five years later not enough has been done to make these pledges a reality. They must be implemented, as sustainable peace can only be achieved with the full participation of women from all levels of society. We ask the governments of the international community and the United Nations to stand by the commitments they have made to women. These are to: 1 Include women in peace negotiations as decision-makers 2 Put women at the heart of reconstruction and reconciliation 3 Strengthen the protection and repreesentation of refugee and displaced women 4 End impunity for crimes committed against women and ensure redress 5 Give women and women's organisations the support and resources they need to build peace Signed: Name: Address: . ... Organisation: ... Country: .. Tel: . Fax: E-mail: Please e-mail the filled in petition to [EMAIL PROTECTED] petition and more information about the campaign is also accessible on our homepage www.international-alert.org/women. - Australian Peace
LL:INFO: Adelaide people re nuke waste campaign
Dear all, The following is a message from Greg Were, with some additional information from Natalie Charlesworth of Channel 7. Channel 7 Adelaide will launch next week the 'I'm with Ivy Campaign'. Ivy is a woman in Adelaide who has been in other people power activities and whose husband died 10 years ago from a Maralinga cancer. It is a petition to stop any nuke waste being transported into SA. The campaign aims to get over 100,000 signatures and culminate in a rally at Parliament House at noon on Wednesday 16th August. They plan to have booths in 30 locations around Adelaide and country and will be putting the petition on the net. They have unions and companies distributing the petition. Channel 7 are putting huge resources into this. There is a strategy meeting to be held this Friday at 2 pm in a room at the Prospect Town Hall. All interested people are very welcome to attend this meeting. There will be signs at the Town Hall showing the way to the meeting room. For those of you in Adelaide who would like to get involved in the campaign please ring Channel 7 and ask for Natalie Charlesworth ph: 8342 7230. The Australian Conservation Foundation have had some discussions with 7 and are working together with them at this stage. They are particularly intertesed in getting people to coordinate the booths and distribute petitions. If you can't go to meeting but would like to help, Natalie would still be keen to hear from you. Please feel free to email with any questions. Cheers Greg Were [EMAIL PROTECTED] With best wishes, Irene Gale and Ron Gray _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fax: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.peacecourier.com -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Adelaide's Walk for Reconciliation
Today we took part in a wonderful, happy, strong, cooperative Walk for Reconciliation in Adelaide. The police estimate of numbers was 55,000 and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than that. A lovely (sunny) day - and the icing on the cake was that an organiser, Shirley Peisley, was awarded an Order of Australia for her work for indigenous people in a wide range of areas of activity (very well-earned!). Many fine and moving speeches and songs, and a good feeling for the future was engendered. Some suggestions for improvement in (State) Government performance were called out during the speech by Dorothy Kotz, State Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. It's the biggest gathering of people I've ever seen in Adelaide - surely after Sydney and Brisbane and now Adelaide - and no doubt many other towns throughout the country - the government MUST get the message !!! Irene Gale _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fax: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: URANIUM SHIPMENTS ON WAY TO ADELAIDE
-Original Message- From: wagtail [EMAIL PROTECTED] 14 March 2000 URANIUM SHIPMENTS ON WAY TO ADELAIDE By Chris Littlejohn Shipments of Uranium Oxide have and are arriving in Adelaide right now. Two pairs of double B trucks each carrying two short red shipping containers have been sighted.. One pair yesterday Monday March 13, at Red Hill, 1.5 hours north of Adelaide, at 2pm. A second set have been sighted today, Tuesday March 14, at 10am, in Pimba, 5-6 hours north of Adelaide. The trucking company is Lin Fox Transport. The trucks are red. It is believed that they use container terminal 6, at Outer Harbour. They get there via Grand Junction Road, Commercial Road and Victoria Road. At Outer Harbour the trucks turn right onto Coglin Road, then left onto O'Malley- to berth 6. From past experience the trucks will continue for at least a week, although we do not know how long they have been going for so far. Please pass this on. This is not a call to arms. This is information. More news as it arrives -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:URL: BEST WAY TO CELEBRATE THE MILLENIUM: DROP THE DEBT!
BEST WAY TO CELEBRATE THE MILLENIUM: DROP THE DEBT! Sun, 05 Dec 1999 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] JUBILEE 2000 PETITION The chain email - Drop the Debt *Jubilee 2000 wants to make the world's largest petition by collecting 22 million signatures in favour of debt cancellation for the poorest countries *17 million signatures already collected *You can sign by email *Just send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with your NAME, CITY and COUNTRY in the main subject box *Forward this email to all your friends and email buddies The full text of the petition you are signing up to is: We, the undersigned, *believe that the start of the new millennium should be a time to give hope to the impoverished people of the world. *To make a fresh start, we believe it right to put behind us the mistakes made by both lenders and borrowers, and to cancel the backlog of unpayable debts of the most impoverished nations. *We call upon the leaders of lending nations to write off these debts by the year 2000. We ask them to take effective steps to prevent such high levels of debt building up again. We look for a new beginning to celebrate the millennium. You can find out more about debt at http://www.jubilee2000uk.org __ THIS CHAIN EMAIL WAS STARTED BY RACHEL JENKINS (EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND). Dr. Paul Jenkins Director Centre for Environment Human Settlements School of Planning Housing Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot-Watt University 79 Grassmarket Edinburgh EH1 2HJ SCOTLAND Phone: +44 131 221 6162 Fax: +44 131 221 6163 Internet: http://www.eca.ac.uk/planning/cehs.htm -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:INFO: Message from H.E. Joe Ndapanda Kaapanda
High Commission of the Republic of Namibia New Delhi, India. 10 November 1999 Irene Gale Jim Gale Memorial African Scholarship Trust Fund PO Box 51 Kensington Park SA 5068 Australia Dear Irene and Friends, It is my great pleasure to take this opportunity to renew with all of you our friendship by writing to express our profound appreciation for your fantastic financial contribution towards our daughter's living allowance and tuition fees which enabled her to study at the University of Adelaide during her first academic year. This was a remarkable work of international solidarity. It goes without saying that Mecky's admission at the University of Adelaide was due to your negotiation skills, and the hard work that you invested in lobbying the Australian government, particularly AIDAB, to give Mecky a scholarship after that first year. Also, we still remember that you were instrumental in getting Mecky admitted at St Mary's School, one of the best schools in the state. We want to thank you and our Australian friends who demonstrated compassion, care and love to our daughter, who despite being away from her parents, managed to acclimatize to the new environment and concentrate on her studies and to perform exceptionally well. Presently she is at the threshold of completing her Law degree. On top of that she is accepted by Adelaide and Melbourne Universities for a doctoral program. Isn't that fantastic? While thanking our friends for their good will and support to our daughter, we want particularly to thank Mrs James, who has shaped Mecky's academic career. Mrs James not only educated Mecky, but she also took her into her own family as one of her own children. We know this was not an easy task given Mecky's age at the time. However, she and her family succeeded in integrating her in their family life. Equally we want to thank Linda Gale for her support and assistance to Mecky and likewise to my wife and I. Thank you very much Linda. Furthermore, it is worth mention here that my wife and I were also beneficiaries of your solidarity support and assistance. As a result of your care and support, we got our education, which opened up good opportunities for employment. The good will of the people of Australia has not been restricted to helping our family to get education, but it also involved political, moral and material support to our national liberation movement [SWAPO]. Therefore, we want to thank all of you for making our independence aspiration a reality. In this connection we wish to convey our fraternal greetings to all State Labour Unions, solidarity groups and church organisations in Australia and New Zealand. Finally we wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new Millennium. Yours, (signed) Ndapanda and Joe Kaapanda. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDS: Caldicott mtg. Tuesday 12th
Dear Friends, a reminder about the meeting tomorrow night. -- Nurrungar to Nuclear Dump Public Meeting Pilgrim Church Hall 12 Flinders St Adelaide Tuesday October 12th from 7.30pm until 9.30pm Celebrating the Closure of the US Starwars Base at Nurrungar Speakers: Dr Helen Caldicott - Nuclear Dangers and Y2K David Noonan ACF - SA's Future as a Nuclear Dump? Chaired by Michelle Hogan, Assistant Secretary, United Trades and Labour Council. Sponsored by the Australian Peace Committee With best wishes, Irene Gale and Ron Gray _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fx: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.SJ -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:AA: Please fax Clinton Yeltsin on 1 September
Dear all, A world-wide campaign is being undertaken to fax Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton on 1st September, or immediately after. It is vitally important that all nuclear weapons and forces are de-alerted over the Y2K rollover period, to negate the possibility of an accidental nuclear catastrophe. We ask all individuals and organisations to send the message below, or something similar, to the fax numbers given, as close as possible to the 1st September.Please pass this request on to others. Sincerely, Irene Gale AM, Secretary, APC (SA) Inc. DRAFT MODEL LETTER TO YELTSIN AND CLINTON FOR GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN STARTING SEPTEMBER 1 To: PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, +7-095-205-4330, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, +1-202-456-2461, Dear Presidents Yeltsin, and Clinton, I am writing to you to convey my extreme concern over the possibility that Y2K-related problems in the computerised command, control, and monitoring systems of nuclear forces and weapon systems, may give rise to an unacceptable risk of accidental nuclear war, as a result of incorrect data and miscalculation. I therefore urge you to solve the problem by taking your nuclear forces off alert, or by standing them down. I ask that standing down nuclear forces in view of the problems posed by the 'Millennium Bug', be a matter for urgent priority discussions at the G8 Summit in Berlin on Sept 21. As well asY2K considerations, taking nuclear weapons off alert will increase strategic stability and confidence, and eliminate the possibility of accidental nuclear war. I would remind you that your two countries have some 5000 strategic nuclear weapons that are able to be fired within a time span of 15-30 minutes. This must never happen. Should it do so, not only would your two countries cease to exist, but it is entirely possible that human life, and maybe all life on the planet, could be terminated. Any risk of this happening at any time, Y2K or otherwise, no matter how small, is unacceptable. However, the Y2K problem adds another layer of uncertainty to the risk that already exists. Taking nuclear forces off alert was strongly recommended by the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in 1996, and a number of resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly have urged that it be done. Taking nuclear weapons off alert and placing them in a state in which hours to days rather than minutes or seconds would be required to make them launch ready, would effectively eliminate the risk of accidental nuclear war due to the Y2K computer problem. It would also make impossible the many non-Y2K related problems that have many times brought us to within minutes of a possible nuclear exchange. De-Alerting will cost you nothing, and can be done by a simple executive order to stand down nuclear forces. The UK has already altered its 'notice to fire' from minutes to days. I urge you to do likewise. The stakes involved far outweigh any considerations of national pride, national interest, or even national security. Indeed, the immediate stakes are so high, and the potential for global catastrophe so clear that mutually verified de-alerting must now take precedence over all other considerations. Signed... etc _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fx: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:AA: Hospital Funding
I have just listened to an item of news about further hospital ward closures, this time at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The news item stated that nurses were yet to consider what action they could take to try to keep the ward open. Why are the nurses having to fight *our* battles? We, the people (electors) of South Australia should be the ones demanding that our government provides the money for our welfare needs. After all, we are the people who elected the government, and are the source of government finance. We must be the ones to dictate how our money is spent. Ring or write to your local State Member of Parliament ! Tell them to spend our money on essential services first ! Tell them that hospitals are essential services which require priority in government spending ! Ron Gray 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fx: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:AA: Y2K petition for concerned individuals
Dear Friends, Below is a petition which we are using here. You may wish to use it, or something similar. As we receive signed forms, we will forward them to the addressees (the Presidents, etc) by fax or email. Ron Gray _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fax: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- TAKE NUCLEAR WEAPONS OFF ALERT TO AVOID POSSIBLE Y2K NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE The danger that a Y2K-related computer malfunction could trigger an accidental global nuclear war has impelled more than 170 international Environmental, Peace, Antinuclear, Trade-Union, Church groups and Politicians to write to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton, demanding that strategic nuclear weapons be taken off their current hairtrigger launch status over the Y2K period. Y2K problems are likely to affect the computer systems that coordinate strategic nuclear weapons systems. Many respected experts are warning that due to Y2K problems these systems, both in the US and Russia, pose an unacceptable risk of accidental nuclear war. The concerned individuals below join the above organisations in the call to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton: Dear Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton, Defence Ministers, Defence Secretaries, Heads of State and UN Missions, We are writing to convey our extreme concern over the possibility that Year 2000 (Y2K)-related computer failures in nuclear weapons systems may lead to an unacceptable risk of nuclear war by accident or miscalculation. There should therefore be a 'safety first ' approach to Y2K and nuclear arsenals. The only responsible solution is for them all to be taken off alert status, with the decoupling of nuclear warheads from delivery vehicles. The immediate stakes are so high, and the potential for global catastrophe so clear, that mutually verified de-alerting in the face of the Y2K computer problem must take precedence over all other considerations of politics and national security. We therefore strongly urge that you remove all strategic and tactical nuclear weapons from 'hair trigger' alert, and place them in a status in which at least hours and preferably days would be required to launch them. NAME (printed) ADDRESS SIGNATURE (space here for 10 signatories) Return signed forms urgently to: Australian Peace Committee (SA)Inc. 11 South Terrace Adelaide SA 5000 Australia - at latest before the end of October 1999 - -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:DDS: May Day Rally
Dear Friends, In Adelaide the May Day Rally will be held on Sat. 1st May meeting at Victoria Square at 10am and proceeding to Rymill Park. APC, with the agreement of the May Day organisers, has initiated a call for all interested groups and people to join in the rally with the theme of 'Stop the War / Stop the Bombing in Yugoslavia'. People are asked to bring placards with appropriate messages and to march as one group. The intention is to try to stimulate a campaign in opposition to the war in the Balkans and to bring people together in a loose collective to plan further activities. To this end a meeting will be held early in May, to which interested groups should send along their representative(s) to discuss ideas. We are sending this letter to people in other states in case they might like to organise something similar in their regions. With best wishes, Ron Gray. _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fax: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LL.SE -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:Query:Anyone going to The Hague in May?
Dear Zohl and Susan and others, Is anyone going to the Hague Appeal for Peace conference in May from Australia? The SA branch of WILPF wish to send a carton of cards to add to the WILPF stall at the HAP conference, and are hoping that someone may be willing to carry it there for them. If you have any ideas could you please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or let me know and I will forward the info to them? Thanks, Irene Gale _ Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)Inc. 11 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 Australia Ph: (+61-8) 82127138 Fx: (+61-8) 83642291 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
LL:PR:Open Letter re KOSOVO
MEDIA RELEASE 28 March 1999 OPEN LETTER TO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT: The Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch) strongly protest at the Australian Governments support for NATOs air attacks on Yugoslavia. It is the sovereign right of that country to resolve the conflict peacefully. Unfortunately this has not been possible. The reason for this has been the continued harassment of the process by forces supported by the United States and their allies in Europe, in particular the British government. US global policy since the ending of World War II has been to assume international leadership in the interests of the US national interest. As a consequence US foreign policy has supported the most brutal regimes in our history. They have propped up a discredited government in South Vietnam with appalling outcomes for the people of that country, which still suffers the after effects of the fifteen years of conflict. They have given logistic support for the extreme right wing governments of central and south America. This has included support for the violent overthrow of the democratically elected Allende government in Chile and the destabilising of the democratically elected Nicaraguan government. (There is mounting evidence that the funds for their involvement came from the trading of drugs, e.g. heroin and cocaine, through their ever reliable CIA). Moreover the US government stands indicted because of the deliberate avoidance of the processes of the United Nations, putting themselves above that world organisation and its Security Council, in pursuit of their own ends. The death toll mounts in Angola where a bloody conflict has continued for over a decade. Similarly the Indonesian government has pursued a brutal and oppressive policy against the people of East Timor for over 25 years, and not one action has been put in place to stop this brutality by countries such as the US or Britain. Only when the Indonesian people have decided to end undemocratic practices and revolt, do changes begin to happen. And again a similar pattern is emerging in East Timor as has happened in other trouble spots, where a minority group within the country is armed by the military to violently oppress their own people, in the interest of sustaining the colonising power. Kosovo has all the hallmarks of conflicts over the last fifty years. Though small, it occupies a central position in Eastern Europe. It is separated from the sea by Macedonia. Militarily both countries are weak and would present little opposition to a powerful country like the US, especially if a nearby country had been used to show how effective US firepower is. We have already seen this in Iraq. The US are past masters of destabilisation. The methodology is to capture the mood of the people by demonising the leader. We saw it with Allende, and also with Norriega in the Panama, where the US wanted to control the Panama Canal, with the loss of some 1400 innocent Panamanians. And Norriega was an ally of the US State Department in drug running. Saddam Hussein was another case, in which the people of Iraq are the victims and the tyrant remains. Now it is the turn of Milosevic. History has been besmirched by such tactics, with innocent people becoming collateral damage. The world leaders who support these methods also stand condemned. But why Kosovo? Kosovo has always been a part of Serbia. In fact it is regarded as the birth place of the Serbian language and culture. Kosovo has received Albanian immigrants for centuries, to a point where they outnumber the Serb population. The Serbian government under Milosevic is still seen as a thorn in the side of further expansion eastward by western economic forces. They are therefore accused of extreme nationalism, abhorrent to the deregulating, expansive capitalism of the west controlled by the US. The fields rich for exploration in this region would be opened up immeasurably if this ex-communist country could be brought to heel. With a compliant and weak Albania and Macedonia, trade routes could be opened up to this region through the ports of the Adriatic. What better way to destablise the region than to foment ethnic tension? Kosovo has a population dominated by Albanians. Albania is a poor country that needs foreign economic aid and the possibility of an improvement in their living standards. The US provides aid in the form of arms to carry out a protracted guerilla struggle. This struggle would appear to the outside but ignorant world to be the plight of a poor people putting up a valiant struggle against the aggressive nationalism of the Serbian government or, by focussing on the individual, Milosevic. If the US is able to maintain the united front through a subservient NATO, then they will be able to put pressure on the Russian Federation to submit to US foreign policy through the discredited International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Yours faithfully, Don Jarrett,
LL: Don Dunstan
Don once told me he had been walking through Norwood shops and was approached by a woman and her 4-year-old son. The woman greeted Don warmly and then said to her son, "Shake Mr Dunstan's hand." The little boy looked up, his face wreathed in awe, and said, "Are you NORMAN Gunston?" as he reached his hand out in wonder. Don took his hand and said gently, "No, I'm his brother." Irene Gale -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List As vilified, slandered and attacked by One Nation mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
