International news briefs
Villagers blockade French TV station
NOUMEA, Kanaky — The French-controlled Pacific territory of Wallis
and Futuna is without television and radio after angry villagers launched
a blockade on May 5.
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Correction A small typing error crept into my article about Paul Robeson in GLW #317 and, unfortunately, I can't blame the sub-editing; it was all my own work. As stated, Robeson was the first artist to sing at the Sydney Opera House, to the
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Nationalise the wharves! By Dick Nichols Imagine that we have just woken up and all of Peter Reith's dreams about waterfront reform have come true. How much do we average Australians stand to gain from it all?
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Australian socialists demand: 'End support for Indonesian dictatorship!' The following is abridged from a statement issued on May 16 by the Democratic Socialist Party. 1. The Suharto regime did imperialism's dirty work for
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Wandella forest blockade The South East Forest Alliance launched a blockade of Wandella State Forest in NSW's far south on May 10. Although the area is under assessment for wilderness classification, it is being decimated by logging by State
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That's the point It is right and proper that the PM should advise caution. After all, we don't want a bloodbath on our doorstep. It wouldn't do, would it? Here we are proffering the hand of friendship, with a tidy sum in it, and that Suharto
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Bill Gates, president of Microsoft, is worth $48.9 billion, based on Microsoft's current stock price. The following information helps us mere mortals appreciate how much that is (all references in US dollars): Bill is worth $3,591,207,000 more than
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The rule of law"We will obey the law. Will the MUA obey the law by withdrawing its pickets from the docks in Sydney and Melbourne?" Words to this effect were part of the standard response of Patrick Stevedores and its partners in
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Compiled by James Balowski July-October, 1997 — The rupiah starts to crumble. Jakarta abolishes managed exchange rate system and asks IMF for assistance; a US$43 billion package is announced. January 6, 1998 — Indonesia announces 1998-99
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'Workers First is not about to disappear' FRANK FAIRLEY joined the metalworkers' union in the early 1980s while employed at Containers Packaging in West Footscray. Unhappy with the union's inactivity at the workplace, Fairley and other workers
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The following statement was issued from Jakarta by the national leadership committee of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) on May 14. It was translated for Green Left Weekly by James Balowski. Today, students and other people rose up in a mass
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Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Thursday, 10pm and Saturday, 7pm. Ph 9565 5522. Access News —
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If we are to believe self-proclaimed "technology gurus", we have entered a realm where people swim in a sea of free information, interactive entertainment that is better than life and immediate communication with anyone, anywhere at
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Musings By Brandon Astor Jones "Some say there are nine Muses: but they're wrong. Look at Sappho of Lesbos: she makes ten." — Plato After Plato, I read Rosanne Bersten's "Male-only space" letter (Green Left Weekly, March 25) in which she
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Biology as ideology "Why is it that wealthy old men seem to attract beautiful young women?", asks well-known Australian scientist and author Paul Davies. He answers: "something deeply biological is involved ... the battle of the sexes is just
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The rubber stamp People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) appointment in March of Suharto as president for another five years was the trigger that escalated a wave of student demonstrations which spread right around Indonesia. These
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Is any job safe? By Sue Boland Increasingly, employers and their spokespeople are telling us not to expect job security. In April, Business Council of Australia president Stan Wallis was quoted as saying that job security was not a
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SYDNEY — More than 100 people, mainly Indonesians, packed into Burwood Community Centre on May 9 to hear Indonesian sociologist Arief Budiman speak on the topic "Can Suharto survive democratisation?" in a meeting organised
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The following statement is being circulated by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) for endorsement. The time has come for the Australian Coalition government to withdraw all support for the corrupt New Order regime in
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A shorter working week: lessons from recent history"Thirty-five hours, more jobs, more leisure!", was the demand by the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union in its industrial campaign of 1980-81. With full-time
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It's that time of the year again ... the cold, the wind, the rain and the federal budget. While Howard, Reith and Costello may chirp and gloat about the wonders of their latest big business budget, for most of us it will mean more of the same hard
News
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50 years of Palestinian catastropheSYDNEY — Around 150 people gathered on May 15 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Palestinian dispossession by Israel. The seminar, organised by the University of Technology Friends of
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MELBOURNE — More than 100 people attended a debate organised by the Melbourne University Debating Society on May 13, on the issue of whether Victoria should follow the WA path of abortion law reform. The pro-choice team was
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MELBOURNE — More than 1000 people crammed into Chisolm Hall for the Yellowcake Dance Party on May 9. DJs and performers raised more than $5000 for the Jabiluka Action Fund. Posters for the event highlighted the dangers of uranium
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By Sean Martin-Iverson PERTH — WA's prison system is in crisis. There have already been 10 deaths in custody since the beginning of the year. In 1997, 12 died. Deaths are likely to continue to rise as overcrowding intensifies and funding is
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By Kathy Pinkusand Kamala Emanuel HOBART — The Tasmanian University administration has announced plans to "amalgamate" two libraries on the Sandy Bay campus during mid-semester break. The Biomed Library will be closed and materials transferred to
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PERTH — Police are trying to defuse community concern following television news footage of the Tactical Response Group (TRG) kicking and beating people at a birthday party on May 10. The party, attended by 150 people, was raided
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Analysis "When we analyse the problem, we find he [Suharto] is the problem." — A University of North Sumatra lecturer, on the Indonesian president. No comparison "It's a waste management facility. There is no comparison between it and a tip."
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Join the campaign against the Indonesian dictatorship! On May 15, emergency pickets were held in many Australian cities to demand that the government cut all ties with the Suharto dictatorship and the Indonesian military, and to show solidarity
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SYDNEY — Well over 200 people crammed into Gleebooks on the evening of May 12 to hear John Pilger read from his new book, Hidden Agendas, and to answer questions posed by ABC journalist Quentin Dempster. The discussion, like the
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The small funding boost for some health programs in the federal budget will not address the massive cuts that occurred in the Coalition's 1996 budget. Nor will it provide the expansion that is needed in the public health
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ANU axes arts faculty staffCANBERRA — An announcement was made in an ANU arts faculty meeting on May 11 that a further 12 staff would be axed from the faculty. The decision was made by the ANU council despite a student and
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An election budget in Queensland By Bill Mason BRISBANE — “Queensland treasurer Joan Sheldon's budget is a confidence trick aimed at winning votes, while doing nothing for working people”, Democratic Socialist candidates in the state
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Construction workers to rallyThe construction unions are aiming at the Howard government's latest anti-worker attacks with a national stoppage on May 20. The government and building employers are attempting to reduce the
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Green Left free speech campaignADELAIDE — Following attempts to ban Green Left Weekly distribution in Rundle Mall over the past two months and in Central Markets since May 8, GLW sellers and supporters are fighting back. A
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MUA struggle continuesBRISBANE — Tensions on and off the waterfront continue to simmer here as the Maritime Union of Australia prepares for the next round of its confrontation with the federal government and Patrick. On May 15,
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By Mathew Chamberlain. Progressive politics were the source of inspiration for 17 Rockhampton residents who met, ate and discussed plans for future Resistance campaigns in the town on May 10. The barbeque officially welcomed Green Left Weekly to
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TWU court victoryBRISBANE — The Queensland Industrial Court on May 14 ruled that the Employment Advocate did not have the right to inspect a union's membership register. Justice Glen Williams found that the actions of the EA in
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Canungra protesters on trial BRISBANE — Protesters arrested last year at the Canungra Land Warfare Centre went on trial at the Brisbane Magistrates Courts on May 12. Sixteen people were arrested for trespass and refusing to obey a lawful
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Given the government's stated priorities, the federal budget is a major missed opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, according to ATSIC. Of the four priorities constantly emphasised by the
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MELBOURNE — Trade unions have pledged to oppose construction of the Werribee toxic waste dump. The Australian Workers Union, whose members would build and operate the facility, has indicated that it may black-ban the dump. The
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WA nurses announce 48-hour strike Rina Anticich PERTH — The Australian Nursing Federation has announced a 48-hour strike in all public hospitals in Western Australia from May 19. The Liberal state government is refusing to increase its offer of
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Budget continues education devastationDespite the "sighs of relief" attributed to university vice-chancellors by the major dailies, the 1998-99 federal budget continues the privatisation of higher education. True, there are "no new
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Setback for tax office managementThe agreement accepted by executive level two staff in the Australian Taxation Office will not be certified by the Industrial Relations Commission because management made corrections to the
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SYDNEY — In recent weeks in NSW, both major political parties have been trying to outdo each other in statements to the media about the "law and order" issue. Premier Bob Carr's plan, announced last month, to help police tackle
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Protesters condemn Turkish governmentMELBOURNE — On May 14, some 100 Kurdish and Turkish people protested against the attempted assassination in Turkey of the Human Rights Association president, Akin Birdal. The attempt on
World
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By Süren Sündergaard COPENHAGEN — After 36 hours of debate, the Danish parliament on May 7 passed a law to end to the 11-day private sector general strike. The minority government led by the Social Democratic Prime Minister Poul Nyrup
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The United States Department of Defence announced on May 8 that it was suspending the Joint Combined Exchange and Training (JCET) exercises held with the Indonesian armed forces. A department spokesperson said the suspension was not
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In 1994, the United Nations was warned of the Rwandan Hutu chauvinist government's impending genocide against the Tutsi minority and anti-tribalist Hutus three months before it began in April — yet ordered its "peacekeepers" in the
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MEXICO CITY — The government is stepping up attacks on Zapatista-led autonomous municipalities in Chiapas and is intensifying its war in the mass media against foreign observers. In the early hours of May 1, a national holiday in
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MANILA — A split in the Communist Party of the Philippines has recently been made public by the circulation of several statements. The split revolves around directives issued by the CPP leadership faction around Wilma Tiamzon
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Pakistani working class begins to stirOn May 5 Pakistani workers observed a two-hour strike at the call of the Pakistan Workers Confederation, which groups eight major federations. The call was given by PWC under immense
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On May 11 and May 13, five nuclear weapons tests were carried out in India's Rajasthan desert, the site of India's only previous nuclear weapons test, in 1974. The Indian government says the planned series of tests is now complete. The
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South African anti-homosexual laws struck down The South African High Court in Johannesburg on May 3 declared the common law crimes of sodomy, unnatural sexual offences and section 20A of the Sexual Offences Act unconstitutional, legalising
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The New York-based Irish Echo spoke for many critics of the peace deal Sinn Féin has decided to endorse when it pointed out that the party had agreed to something it had told its supporters it would never accept — partition.
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Tom Fawthrop PHNOM PENH — Kim Bophana is bitter about the failure of US plans to capture Pol Pot and deliver him to an international tribunal. Bophana lost 38 relatives during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge rule. "The US had the power to arrest Pol Pot
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Lively May Day in LisbonLISBON — Around 30,000 enthusiastic people marched on a gloriously sunny May 1 to show their strength as workers, activists and dedicated union members. Contingents of unions, political parties and
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Travels in East Timor Peter Williamson visited East Timor last year, around the time of the installation of the first bishop of Baucau. Here he describes what he saw. Arriving in Dili on a domestic flight from Bali, I am
Culture
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A tale in two cities Reviews by Conrad Barrett Two films dealing with working-class alienation and its symptoms have just been released in major cinemas. One set in London, the other in suburban Australia, both deal with drugs, crime and violence
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Compelling outcasts The ThiefDirected by Pavel ChukhraiWinner of the Venice Film FestivalShowing at Dendy and Cremorne cinemas from May 21 Review by Francesca Davis Set in 1952 and seen through the eyes of six-year-old Sanya, The Thief is a
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Bothy CultureMartyn BennettRykodisc through FestivalThis Strange PlaceWolfstoneGreen Linnett Records through Festival Reviews by Barry Healy From Bob Dylan's amphetaminecharged '60s ballads and the Beatles' and Jimi Hendrix's LSD-drenched anthems,
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Summer of the Seventeenth DollBy Ray LawlerNew Theatre542 King St, NewtownUntil June 27 Review by Helen Jarvis The New Theatre has revived this Australian classic in a pacey production directed by Elaine Hudson. Ray Lawler's 1953 script retains its
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Portraying the stolen generations In the interest of BennelongGovernment House, Macquarie Street, SydneyMay 26-June 4, 10am-4pm This display of photographs, text and indigenous art evoking the issues affecting the stolen generations and their
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Pete Seeger: fighting back with music By Tom Bridges I had a beautiful long-necked banjo, the 'Pete Seeger' model ... and I played it constantly. I had a sweetheart too, who gave me a Pete Seeger album for my birthday ... At last