Lisa Macdonald
There are now 67 groups sponsoring or endorsing the national Unity for Peace conference to be held in Melbourne on May 27.
Conference organiser David Glanz said, "The great response could not come at a more important time, as the US bangs the drum for war against Iran to help distract from the disaster it has created in Iraq". The organising committee has invited Sara Poya to also address the conference. Poya is of Iranian background, was recently in the Middle East and has worked with the anti-war group Action Iran in London.
Organisations sending delegates to the conference include the Victorian division of the National Tertiary Education Union, the NSW Teachers Federation, the Ku-ring-gai and Marrickville Greens, and the Balmain and Rozelle branches of the ALP. Leichhardt Council is sending two delegates and peace coalitions in Hobart, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne will be represented.
Having delegates from ALP and Greens branches is important, Glanz said. "We want to encourage Labor and the Greens to place 'Troops out now' at the centre of their [2007 federal election] campaigning. It would be fantastic if the conference helped with Labor and Greens peace activists forming peace networks in their parties, similar to Labor for Refugees."
Glanz added that the conference organisers hope it "will lead to the relaunch of a stronger national peace movement". For more information about the conference, write to GPO Box 1473, Melbourne 3001, or email <dglanz@optusnet.com.au>.
From Green Left Weekly, May 10, 2006.
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