BY ROHAN PEARCE
SYDNEY — "The attacks on Afghanistan are already costing lives. There are lots of people who can see the hypocrisy of George Bush calling for justice for the victims of the September 11 attacks and then bombing Afghanistan and creating more victims", said Lauren Carroll-Harris, explaining why Resistance, the socialist group she is a member of, is organising walkouts by high school and university students across the country on October 18-19.
Carroll-Harris, a student at Newtown High in inner-city Sydney, said the actions will call for an end to the war on Afghanistan and the termination of "Operation Enduring Freedom".
Amy McDonnell, a Resistance activist at University of New South Wales, has spent many hours convincing classmates why they should take action against the war.
She believes that "justice" requires something quite different from the kind promised by George Bush.
"Real justice for the victims of the World Trade Center attack is going to come from ridding the world of a system, capitalism, which is the most violent and destructive 'crime against humanity' that has ever happened," she said.
Carroll-Harris says a further reason she'll be walking out of class is to assert her right to protest, one of the things she believes the Australian government is keen to restrict in its "war on terrorism".
Walkouts will be happen on Thursday, October 18, in Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and Sydney, and on Friday October 19 in Canberra and Melbourne. Check the activist calender on pages 30-31 for details, or contact Resistance by phone at (02) 9690 1230 or email<nationaloffice@resistance.org.au>. Visit the Resistance web site at <http://www.resistance.org.au>.