By Mary Heath and Greg Ogle
ADELAIDE — Walking against the tide of racism and attacks on Aboriginal people, hundreds of people took to the roads and bush tracks between Adelaide and Goolwa between November 25 and 30. The Long Walk, which began as
Issue 259
News
Ballarat NTEU beats sackings
By Jeremy Smith
On January 10, five workers in the University of Ballarat Student Union were handed redundancy notices. On January 11, they awoke to find their jobs advertised in the local paper. The sackings were
In December, JILL HICKSON visited Indonesia with a video camera to document the situation there since the government crackdown in July on the People's Democratic Party (PRD). As a guest of the underground, she travelled extensively around the country
By Eva Cheng
"It is a serious possibility that the [Suharto] regime will hand down a death sentence for Dita, Budiman, Wilson and the other PRD [Peoples Democratic Party] comrades who have been arrested. At this conference we voted to fight this
By Tom Flanagan
Public comment on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed uranium mine at Jabiluka closed on January 9. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Dave Sweeney observed, "The Jabiluka EIS is not a
By Paul Oboohov
Progressive candidates from the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs did well in the recent Community and Public Sector Union national elections. In the national office of DEETYA, however, progressive
By Eva Cheng
"Globalisation" of the world capitalist system was the theme of the international report to the DSP conference, delivered by Doug Lorimer. The report argued that there has not been a qualitative change in the internationalisation of
Plutonium shipment to pass Australia
By Lisa Macdonald
A French Ministry of Foreign Affairs document leaked to Greenpeace last month reveals that a cargo of highly radioactive waste will pass through the Tasman Sea, up the east coast of Australia
Racist police raid on Redfern
By Paul Howes
SYDNEY — More than 40 police stormed the predominantly Aboriginal Eveleigh Street, Redfern, in a military style raid on the night of January 14. The raid was the latest in a series of measures adopted
Greens protest funding cuts
By Pip Hinman
Environmental organisations and the Greens (WA) have condemned the Howard government's decision, announced on January 16, to cut funding to voluntary conservation groups. Greens (WA) Senator Dee Margetts
Educational disadvantage for blacks confirmed
By Marina Cameron
A study by the University of South Australia released on December 28 found that while the number of Aboriginal students enrolling in Australian universities increased by 48% between
By Margaret Allan
Inspired by the 1996 success of Green Left Weekly and its increasing influence within progressive politics, members of the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance have promised to continue their financial commitment to the
PERTH — "Racism No!" fielded two candidates in the December Western Australian election — Aboriginal activist Clarrie Isaacs (Yaluritja) and Democratic Socialist Party member Arun Pradhan. ANTHONY BENBOW asked Racism No! campaign manager ANA
By Anthony Benbow
PERTH — Richard Court's Liberal-National Coalition won a second term in the Western Australian elections on December 14. Despite their increased majority in the Legislative Assembly, however, the vote against the major parties
Doctors' campaign continues
By Kamala Emanuel
SYDNEY — Stop-work meetings to consider a motion for an indefinite strike have been called for all hospital doctors (including interns, residents, registrars and career medical officers) across NSW
World
By Eva Cheng
For the third week, hundreds of thousands of South Korean workers have stood firm against the Kim Young-sam government's sweeping attacks on key democratic rights and working conditions. The workers have made it clear they draw
Thai workers torch plant
On December 17, 2000 angry workers at Sanyo Universal Electric burned down a four-storey warehouse and the office building of the Japanese manufacturer in Thailand after protesting in vain at management's decision to cut
Iranian oil workers strike
Oil refinery workers in Tehran, Tabriz, Shiraz and Esfahan struck for two days on December 18 and 19. The strike came after the government failed to meet a two-month deadline to recognise the strikers' right of collective
Struggles mount as Indonesian activists go on trial
By Max Lane
The trials of Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) president Budiman Sujatmiko, PRD secretary-general Petrus Haryanto, Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggles (PPBI) president Dita Sari,
By Renfrey Clarke
MOSCOW — As Russian nuclear safety campaigner Aleksandr Nikitin nears the first anniversary of his arrest for espionage, he is able to walk the streets of St Petersburg, more or less a free man. But although Nikitin was released
By Norm Dixon
Papua New Guinea Defence Force troops occupying Bougainville have gone on the rampage against the island's civilian population. Several horrific massacres took place in November and December. The Australian government — responsible
By Norm Dixon
The demoralised armed forces of Zaire's corrupt and brutal dictator Mobutu Sese Seko have been driven from a large area of the country's east by the fighters of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire
By Sam Wainwright
PARIS — Fortunately, every time the neo-fascist National Front (FN) organises a public gathering, it is a met by an even bigger demonstration organised by France's vibrant anti-racist movement. Even more heartening is the active
Clinton extends Helms-Burton suspension
On January 3, US President Bill Clinton formally suspended implementation of the controversial Title III of the Cuban Liberty Act of 1996 — better known as "Helms-Burton" — for another six months. Title
Youth seminar in Calcutta
By Sujatha Fernandes
CALCUTTA — On December 6, young people representing organisations from several countries gathered here for a World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) seminar focused on the promotion of civil
Fiddling figures to cut wages
By Barry Sheppard
After last November's elections, the ongoing bipartisan drive to cut the social wage will centre on whittling away at Medicare and Social Security. Exactly how to go about doing this is somewhat
By Margaret Gleeson
When communications were renewed on January 10, the Peruvian government refused to provide a concrete response to the demands of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) which occupied the Lima residence of the Japanese
In 1983 JONGSOAE OH worked as a milling machine operator in the Hyundai Engine Industry Company in Seoul, South Korea. He often worked 430 hours per month and had few, if any, annual holidays. Twenty-four-hour shifts on Sundays, followed by a Monday
New legal aid institute formed
By James Balowski
JAKARTA — The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) was formed last November 5 by almost the entire operational division of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and a
By Sonja Klein
A recent article in the Swiss left weekly Die Wochenzeitung stirs up some haunting truths: the Spanish Civil War, which began 60 years ago, has never really come to an end. The antifascist struggle against the Franco regime is not
Culture
Children of the RevolutionWritten and directed by Peter Duncan Reviewed by Nick Fredman
Peter Duncan's first feature had a lot of potential — a decent budget, a stellar cast and an ambitious theme in a satirical look at Stalinism and its effects
Guiltrip,Written and directed by Gerard StenbridgeOpens nationally from January 30 Reviewed by Anne O'Callaghan
Guiltrip is Gerard Stenbridge's debut film. It is a chilling portrayal of the brutal psychological abuse endured by Tina (Jasmine
Lulu by GW Pabst at Belvoir Street Theatre; The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by the Song Company and AustraLYSIS at Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour; and The Beatification of Area Boy by Wole Soyinka at the Seymour Centre Reviewed by Jorge
At Home in the UniverseBy Stuart KauffmanOxford University Press, 1995. 321 pp.Published in Australia in January by Penguin, $16.95Reviewed by Allen Myers This is a challenging and fascinating book, one that may be destined to be as influential as
Rain and Fire (for Stephen)
169>When rain and fire again leave the country in peace, the world will no longer be the world but something better." — S. Marcos
We sat, those men and me,
in a squalid pub,
where Jose told us of his struggle,
Editorial
Editorial: 'Special treatment' and deaths in custody
Editorial: 'Special treatment' and deaths in custody
Already this year at least two more Aborigines have died in custody. A 19 year old died after being chased by NSW police and another died in