Walk Against the War Coalition plans next steps

BY NICK
EVERETT

SYDNEY — Around 150 people attended the Peoples Assembly for Peace
conference at the Haymarket campus of University of Technology, Sydney
on March 30.

The conference, organised by the Walk Against the War Coalition, featured
two plenaries and 19 workshops discussing the war on Iraq and the organising
of a powerful anti-war movement. Throughout the conference there was a
lively debate about what attitude the Walk Against the War Coalition should
take towards the April 2 Books not Bombs student rally.

The conference commenced with a plenary, entitled “The shift to war
and how we can build a movement to stop it”, presented by Professor Ahmad
Shboul, chairperson of the Arabic and Islamic studies department at Sydney
University; Stuart Rees, from the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies;
and NSW Labor Council campaigns officer Amanda Tattersall.

Tattersall argued that the movement must always be peaceful provoked
a discussion on the March 26 student strike, which was condemned as “violent”
by the mainstream media. Many conference participants voiced their solidarity
with students, arguing that it was police and not protesters who were responsible
for violence. One noted that the throwing of a chair by an angry protester
paled against the horrific violence currently confronting the residents
of Baghdad.

Workshops discussed themes such as the Australian government's refugee
policy, the struggle for an independent Palestine, the role of the Pine
Gap spy base, trade and war, and the role of the media as a “war propaganda
machine”. Other workshops discussed building support for the anti-war campaign
on schools, campuses and workplaces, as well as local neighbourhoods and
migrant communities.

Addressing the campaign's media strategy, workshop presenter Wendy Bacon,
from the Centre for Independent Journalism, supported the students' right
to organise. She expressed concern that NSW Labor Council and Walk Against
the War co-convener Bruce Childs' condemnation of the March 26 rally could
weaken and divide the peace movement. Bacon explained that her daughter,
who had attended the March 26 rally, was dismayed that the Australian
had paraphrased Childs as saying the March 26 rally was “appalling”.

Peter Manning, a member of the Walk Against the War Coalition's media
working group, defended Childs' statement, in his presentation to that
workshop, arguing that the Coalition had to distance itself from Books
Not Bombs.

In the final plenary, “Ideas for future action”, representatives from
churches, the Arab-Australian community, local peace groups and student
organisations spoke. Khaldoun Hajaj, representing the Arab Australian Communities
Council, said that while Australia's Arab community has suffered from a
state of “paralysis” since the 1991 Gulf War, the present war was bringing
a new generation of Arab youth on to the streets in protest.

Simon Butler, representing Books Not Bombs, urged conference participants
to stand in solidarity with students who had been under sustained attack
from the media, the NSW police and the state Labor government for their
courageous anti-war protests. He urged people to volunteer as “peace monitors”
at the April 2 rally. National Union of Students NSW president Anna York
expressed support for the right of students to demonstrate and Bruce Childs
discussed the need to train a new generation of young leaders in the anti-war
movement.

In the ensuing discussion, a teacher urged that the April 2 student
strike be cancelled, but many others expressed their willingness to assist
the students' protest. Dozens of conference participants signed a statement
supporting students' right to protest.

The next event organised by the Walk Against the War Coalition, in conjunction
with churches, will be the annual Palm Sunday peace rally on April 13.
The rally will be preceded by bell ringing throughout the city and commence
at 1pm at Belmore Park with a prayer in English, Arabic, Hebrew and Sanskrit.

Following a march to the Domain, participants will be addressed by Kurdish
refugee Dr Renoir, NSW Teachers Federation state secretary Marie O'Hallaran,
newly elected Greens NSW MLC-elect Sylvia Hale, ALP federal MP Carmen Lawrence
and recently returned “human shield” Donna Mulhearn.

[Nick Everett is one of three conveners of the Walk Against the War
Coalition and a member of the Democratic Socialist Party. For more information
on the coalition see <http://www.nswpeace.org>.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 9, 2003.

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From GLW issue 533