CANBERRA — In the largest peace protest yet in Canberra, 20,000 people converged on the lawns outside federal parliament on March 23 and 24. Although most were from Canberra, protesters arrived from 22 cities and towns across Australia.

Expressing the strong anti-war sentiment there were sizable contingents from Byron Bay, Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Kempsie, Cooma, Bega, and Armidale. People also came from Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Goulburn, Bathurst and Bowral.

The 2pm rally on March 23 started late because people kept streaming into the protest. Greens Senator Bob Brown received a five-minute standing ovation once he finished his speech, while many people chanted ``No war, no Howard’‘.

Other speakers were ALP MP Harry Quick; Vanessa Bible and Matt from the Armidale No War group; Leigh Hubbard, secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council and Rawan, who spoke about the Palestinian situation.

Democrat senator Andrew Bartlett also called for peace. Towards the end of his speech about 50 protesters heckled him, demanding that the Democrats block the budget supply.

``May 13 is the date the budget will be released. It will be a budget of war where up to $1 billion will be sought from funding on health and education to fund the slaughter. Do we want our taxes to fund the war? No. We want nothing to do with Howard's war. Did we vote for the war? No. Let's call on the ALP, Greens and Democrats to block the budget and make Howard face the people'', said rally chair James Vassilopoulos to thunderous applause.

After the rally, there was a passionate march with many people carrying their own banners and placards. There were few union contingents on the march.

The day had a festival feel. Artists Against the War played music for three hours before the rally. After the march, a very young woman, Tahlia, spoke about why she thought the war was wrong, and ex-navy commander Dennis Hart explained why he burnt his uniform as protest against the war.

The Monaro People for Peace organised children to place a dove on a stick in the ground. There was an anti-war activists meeting of about 80 people to work out what we do next. There was also a candlelight vigil on that night.

``The size of the protest was all the more remarkable considering the media propaganda barrage that made the war look like tanks racing across the desert’‘, Vassilopoulos told Green Left Weekly.

``This was the most passionate, angry, determined, politically focused, creative and colourful protest in Canberra to date. There was a great deal of support for two things, bringing the troops home — that’s why people were there — and blocking the budget.’‘

``Many protesters are looking for new political leaders, particularly since Simon Crean’s shameful backdown on bringing the troops home. Brown’s standing ovation, and those moving towards more radical alternatives like the Socialist Alliance show that.’‘

On March 24, 700, mostly high school students, joined the Books Not Bombs student strike that marched from the city centre to the parliament lawns to meet with the 700 other protesters who had assembled. Banners at the protest represented Women in Black, Artists Against the War, the Socialist Alliance, the Greens and the Welfare Rights and Legal Centre.

The platform included Yvette Berry from the ACT Unions, who led the crowd in giving parliament the one-fingered salute, declaring Howard “a terrorist”. The crowd responded with passion to Socialist Alliance's Lisa Macdonald, who declared that “regime change begins at home”.

After the speakers, the protest split into two groups and marched to the doors of parliament, where police met them, and they stopped and chanted: “Little Johnnie, where are you? Come and face the music. George Bush too.” and “Arrest Howard”. Members of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy lit their "fire for peace and justice" to cleanse the evil spirits inside parliament.

From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
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