Chris Latham, Perth
On July 29, 200 people gathered in the city to express their opposition to Israel's wars on Lebanon and Palestine. The rally, called by the recently formed Just Peace in the Middle East, was addressed by members of Perth's Lebanese and Islamic communities before it marched through Hay and Murray Street malls.
Reflecting the strong public concern about the violence unleashed against Lebanon and Palestine, the protest more than doubled in size over the course of the march.
When the march ended, it was announced that PM John Howard was about to leave the Hyatt hotel, where he had been addressing a Liberal Party function. The protesters decided to march on the Hyatt.
At the hotel, protesters spread out along the footpaths on each side of the venue and demanded that the PM come out and listen to public opinion about the Australian government's support for Israel's military offensive. Instead of listening, Howard got into his Commonwealth car and his driver attempted to force the car through the gathered demonstrators.
The car was rapidly surrounded and in the scuffle caused by police attempting to clear a path for the vehicle, the small Australian flag on the front of car was broken and two protesters were arrested.
Matt Davis was charged for an alleged assault on a police officer and Ray Grenfell was charged with obstructing police when he attempted to stop the arrest of Davis. Grenfell told Indymedia: "I feel that I acted as any compassionate human being would. I saw a man being poorly treated and so I went to his aid."
In the following days, the protesters, especially the Lebanese and Muslim Australians, were vilified in local media, which focussed almost entirely on the supposed violence of the protesters, rather than on the reasons for the protest or on Howard's support for the violence being committed by the Israeli military. The image of the broken flag on Howard's car was shown repeatedly and Wade McDonald, a protester who featured in the image, was subsequently charged with disorderly conduct.
Both McDonald and Grenfell pleaded guilty. McDonald received a $600 fine and was ordered to pay another $500 to cover the cost of repairing the Commonwealth car.
For going to the aid of a fellow peace activist, Grenfell received a $400 fine and was referred to by the magistrate as a "moron" who had "brought shame to Australia". Davis pleaded not guilty and will appear in court again on September 12.