Forum discusses how Iraq war can be stopped

BY MARGARET GLEESON

SYDNEY — On February 19, 100 people met in Leichhardt Town Hall to discuss the topic "How we can stop the war on Iraq".

Organised by Green Left Weekly, the meeting was addressed by by anti-war Labor MP Harry Quick, who told the audience there are now 16 federal Labor MPs prepared to cross the floor of the federal parliament to vote against a war on Iraq, even if such a war has UN Security Council backing.

Keysar Trad, a spokesperson for Muslims in Sydney, talked about the power of the mass media and their concerted campaign to vilify Muslims as part of the war drive. "We must ensure they don't divide us", Trad said.

The speakers and discussion touched on a range of tactics the movement can use to strengthen public opposition to the war and force the government to withdraw support. Jamie Parker, the NSW Greens' candidate for Port Jackson and deputy mayor of Leichhardt, talked about the "failure of politics" and the Greens project to "reinvigorate politics" by "engaging people at the local [council] level".

Socialist Alliance Legislative Council candidate Lisa Macdonald argued that "taking united, concerted action is a very radicalising and empowering experience which turns people from passive, apolitical victims of their governments into self-organising political actors. It is the fear of such a radicalisation which has in the past, and will again, force the world rulers to back down."

The potentially powerful role of the trade unions was taken up by construction workers' union industrial officer Dave McElrey, who described the work his union is doing to educate members about the issues and, drawing on the experiences of the Builders Labourers Federation "green bans" campaign in the 1970s, declare work sites "peace sites".

McElrey said that the unions have been too slow to join the anti-war campaign: "If unions are ever going to prove their relevance, this is the time".

Arguing that "we need to use every tactic at our disposal to stop this war", Macdonald urged people to support the Socialist Alliance's call to turn the March 22 NSW election into a "people's referendum" against the war by campaigning for voters to write "No war" on their ballot papers.

From Green Left Weekly, February 26, 2003.

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From GLW issue 527