Troops out of Afghanistan!

The Sydney Stop the War Coalition called a snap protest on April 15 against government plans to send more Australian troops to Afghanistan.

Simon Flynn, state secretary of the Fire Brigades Employees Union, addressed the protesters outside the Sydney office of PM Kevin Rudd. Flynn question the logic behind the government's decision to send more troops.

Gerry Binder from StandFast, an organisation of veterans and ex-service personnel opposed to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, sent a solidarity message.

The war in Afghanistan wass "toxic" to the region and was "against Australia's broader security interests", he said. Binder, a Vietnam veteran, also called on Rudd not to send more troops. "The so-called war on terror cannot be won by waging outright war on entire nations", he said.

To stay in touch with protests in support of Afghanistan and to bring the troops home, visit http://www.stopwarcoalition.org

From GLW issue 791