BY WILL WILLIAMS

WOLLONGONG — Participants in a 300-strong anti-war march and rally voted unanimously to support the students' strike planned for April 2. Many pledged to travel to Sydney to defend the right to protest against the war.

Although not mentioning the student protests, South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris called for unity in the peace movement from the platform.

Wollongong Books Not Bombs organiser Grant Coleman addressed the rally and condemned the police and corporate media's distortion of what happened at the March 26 rally in Sydney. He urged the broader anti-war movement to support student protests.

“The media, police and NSW Labor government would like nothing better than to see us fight among ourselves. They don't want to see a strong, united anti-war movement”, Coleman said. “We know who the real perpetrators of violence are: the US, British and Australian governments are killing and maiming in Iraq as we speak. It is Prime Minister John Howard who is inciting violence. It is Howard who is the extremist and the terrorist.”

``But they can’t hide that people are dying and many more will die before the siege of Baghdad is over. So what should be our response?

April 2 — we're doing it again! These protests are not just about war anymore”, Coleman added, “but are also about our right to stop it”.

From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
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