BY KAMALA EMANUEL
BURNIE — Student anti-war activist Matt Hardy completed a week-long hunger strike against war on Iraq on April 2. Supported by a network of friends and family, Hardy spent the week outside the Kmart Plaza on one of the main streets of Burnie.
Speaking to Green Left Weekly on the fifth day of his hunger-strike, he explained that the group had received a lot of support. Passing traffic responded to his banners, honking their horns in support, and hundreds of people signed their anti-war petition calling on Senate parties to block the budget.
Hardy explained that his protest was having an impact because "even people who are sceptical of what we're doing go away talking to each other about the issue." In addition, the protest had received coverage in the local and national establishment media.
Hardy and his fellow activists raised money for the anti-war campaign, which was used for buses to enable students from Burnie to participate in the April 10 National Union of Students-initiated national day of action against war and education funding cuts.
The day after the hunger-strike ended, PM John Howard was visiting the north of Tasmania. The activists attempted to present their anti-war message to him, but he turned his back on them.
From Green Left Weekly, April 16, 2003.
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