Issue 200

News

By Andrew Watson BRISBANE — A stop-work meeting and rally of armoured car workers here on August 23 resolved to strike indefinitely from August 28, unless the state government responds to their demands for an inquiry into the armoured car and
WA workers oppose anti-union bill By Anthony Benbow PERTH — An estimated 10,000 workers took to the streets on August 22 to protest against the Liberal government's union-busting legislation. The rally and march, organised by the WA Trades and
By Tim E. Stewart DARWIN — The cancellation of the parliamentarians' flotilla to Moruroa has not stopped people's campaigns to support yachts wishing to join the Rainbow Warrior in the Pacific. Activists in ENUFF (Everyone for a Nuclear Free
By Sally Mitchell DARWIN After two months of negotiations which ended in a deadlock, on August 25 Power and Water Authority unions took their wages dispute with the government to the Industrial Relations Commission. Work bans have been
University ultimatum to academics By Alex Bainbridge NEWCASTLE — The University of Newcastle administration delivered an ultimatum to its academics' union on August 23, demanding that work bans be lifted. The bans have been partially
By Melanie Sjoberg ADELAIDE — Schools across the state were thrown into confusion by an acceleration of work bans on August 23, as part of a campaign to defend around 500 services officers' positions under attack from the Liberal government.
By Michael Tardif Students took to the streets on August 24 to protest against the federal government's attacks on education. The actions were initially proposed at a noªfees demonstration in Canberra in May. In Adelaide, Emma Webb from the
Memorial meeting for Ernest Mandel By John Percy SYDNEY — More than 90 people filled the Resistance Centre here on August 20 to honour the memory of Ernest Mandel, world-renowned Marxist scholar and revolutionary who died in Belgium on July
Democracy in Indonesia conference MELBOURNE — Several hundred people attended a Democracy in Indonesia Conference organised by Community Aid Abroad on August 18-19. The keynote speaker was Indonesian academic George Aditjondro, who called on
By Margaret Allan NEWCASTLE The Greens have announced their candidates for the September 9 elections for the City Council. Apart from the ALP, the Greens are the only political party to stand candidates in all of the wards. Three quarters

World

By Helen Jarvis PHNOM PENH — Legal options for prosecuting the Khmer Rouge leadership for crimes committed during their 1975-79 rule in Cambodia were discussed here in an August 22-23 conference, "Striving for Justice: International Criminal
By Norm Dixon South Africa's foreign policy under the ANC-led government of national unity is coming under increasing criticism from sections of the liberation movement, human rights groups and the environmental movement. Critics accuse the new
JUAN ANTONIO BLANCO is a former adviser to the Cuban Foreign Ministry and the United Nations, and a well-known political analyst. He was interviewed in Cuba for Green Left Weekly by JILL HICKSON and SHANE HOPKINSON Question: The current US strategy
Appeal for Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli technician who revealed the truth about that country's nuclear weapons arsenal, remains in solitary confinement after nine years of imprisonment. Fredrik S. Heffermehl, chairperson of the
By Estoy Evangelista More than 4 million Filipino overseas contract workers are scattered all over the world. Add the Filipinos who have permanently migrated to other countries, and this number would easily reach 10 million (out of a total
By James Balowski On August 17, the Indonesian minister of justice, Oetojo Oesman, announced that seven prisoners, including two long-serving political prisoners, are soon to be executed. These will be the first political executions since
WASHINGTON — Just one month after South Africa announced to the world that it would not import foreign waste under any circumstances, a 500 ton shipment of hazardous zinc smelter residues from the US is wending its way to South Africa. The wastes
East Timor: new wave of repression By Max Lane The East Timorese resistance organisations have called for the release of all East Timorese political prisoners and have appealed for help from non-government human rights organisations in the
By Jennifer Thompson An August 20 statement by the Solidarity Bureau in Brussels declared the end of a hunger strike by 10,000 Kurdish prisoners in Turkish jails and hundreds of supporters in other countries. It said that the strike, begun on
Turkish public sector workers strike By Jennifer Thompson About 850,000 public sector workers — members of the Turkish trade union confederation Turk-Is — stopped work on August 8, disrupting communications, transport and power generation.
By Norm Dixon PNG's newest gold mine — the Tolukuma Gold Mine in the Goilala mountains in Central Province — is the latest site of conflict between traditional land-holders and an Australian mining company. On August 5, rioting broke out
Mass pressure forces deferral of PNG land planBy Norm Dixon Several weeks of large demonstrations in PNG against World Bank/International Monetary Fund-backed proposals to undermine the country's traditional system of collective land ownership
By Sean Magill Sinn Fein activist Jim Neeson is touring Australia as the guest of Australian Aid for Ireland. His first stop was Western Australia, where he spoke to leading trade unionists, Aboriginal activist Yaluritja (Clarrie Isaacs), and

Culture

A brief selective review of some significant and often neglected works from the culture of dissent. Point of Departure (1986) When Jean Devanny (1894-1962) wrote this memoir, she was no longer a member of the Communist Party of Australia. As a
Russia: the revolution continues? Provocation! A Postscript from 1994By Alexander TarasovMoscow, Centre for New Sociology and the Study of Political PracticePhoenix, 1994 Russia/USSR/Russia: The Drive and Drift of a SuperstateBy Moshe LewinThe
The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors — A look at the women who pioneered in the US film industry in the 1920s. SBS, Saturday, September 2, 1.45pm. Songolo: Voices of Change — A celebration of black resistance culture
By Craig Cormick Based on highly reliable international contacts, leaked documents and horoscopes from several TV magazines, Nostradamus' Media Watch presents a highly accurate forecast of political events across the globe. Flag-led
On the Outskirts IndijjinusLarrikin EntertainmentReviewed by Bob Wills In recent years, music by Aboriginal and Islander performers has become increasingly popular. The music that has gained most attention from the music industry arbiters has
Land of the Long Weekend
The Big Picture, ABC TV
Wednesday, September 6, 9.30pm
FBI on Air? — FBI (Free Broadcast Inc) is a new non-profit organisation which hopes to be granted a radio licence in Sydney. It will focus on being an outlet for local talent in music, performance and comedy as well as public affairs programs
The UnderneathDirected by Steven Soderbergh Academy Twin and Valhalla Cinemas, SydneyReviewed by Peter Boyle Steven Soderbergh (of Sex, Lies and Videotape fame) has his audience on the edge of their seats through this movie about the shifting
Nepalese FingersProduced by Boris Goudonof DreamProduced by U. Srinivas and Michael BrookBoth available from Larrikin RecordsReviewed by Sujatha Fernandes From the Hindu festival of Holi, in which people crowd the streets throwing coloured water

Editorial

Battling for credibility John Howard squeezed as much mileage as he could from an invitation to a Collingwood football club dinner recently. Asked whether he wouldn't feel more comfortable at a Carlton club dinner, Howard retorted that if