BY PETER ROBSON
NEWCASTLE — "Bring all the warships home!" was the rally cry on February 18 at the National Maritime Festival where the HMAS Newcastle was on show to the public.
The Newcastle No War Collective organised a snap protest, because the Newcastle had just returned from the Persian Gulf, where it had been assisting the US-led economic blockade on Iraq. The blockade has caused hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to die.
The protesters received a lot of encouragement from festival attendees. Stickers claiming that the warship was "a weapon of mass destruction" proved popular.
The No War Collective's is now building a community anti-war rally for 11am on February 15, meeting at Civic Park.
From Green Left Weekly, January 22, 2003.
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