News briefs 3

Issue 

3

Iraq occupation 'root cause of violence'

SYDNEY — On September 11, 85 people packed the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to hear independent reporter John Martinkus and former human shield in Iraq Donna Mulhearn. Martinkus also screened his film about the Iraq occupation. The event was organised by the Stop the War Coalition.

Mulhearn recounted meeting Iraqi resistance fighters who could not understand why Australia was party to the war. She identified the occupation as the root cause of the violence in Iraq and called for Australian troops to be brought home. She added that the anti-war movement should not give an incoming Labor government any "honeymoon" and must ensure the troops come out.

Martinkus detailed the practices of the occupying US military, including threats against Iraqi prisoners who spoke to the media. His film featured interviews with an Iraqi activist from Occupation Watch, former detainees, and a former Iraqi general who was robbed of US$65,000 by US forces. Martinkus has recently released a book, Travels in American Iraq.

To get involved in the Sydney Stop the War Coalition, visit <http://www.stopwarcoalition.org>.

Iggy Kim

SIEV X book launched

BRISBANE — The story of SIEV X, the refugee boat that sank in October 2001, drowning 353 asylum-seekers off the Indonesian coast, involves a "massive Australian government agency cover-up", author Tony Kevin told an audience of 100 people at the Powerhouse on September 9.

The launch of Kevin's book, A Certain Maritime Incident: The Sinking of SIEV X, was sponsored by the Refugee Action Collective and Avid Reader bookshop.

Kevin described his "implacable determination to get to the bottom of this story", stating: "If it takes John Howard to the International Criminal Court, then I'll get him there."

Jim McIlroy

Survey confirms opposition to logging

HOBART — A survey commissioned by Planet Ark, released on September 10, found that 88% of Australians and 79% of Tasmanians want an end to logging in old-growth forests. This confirms similar results obtained in a January Newspoll.

The Planet Ark poll also found that 84% of Australians (77% in Tasmania) supported an end to the use of 1080 poison to kill native animals (as part of "forest regeneration"). In August, the Tasmanian government announced that 97,000 animals were killed by 1080 last year.

Alex Bainbridge

From Green Left Weekly, September 15, 2004.
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