Issue 31

News

By Sean Malloy TAFE student strikes have been organised for October 16 in all states except NSW and October 24 in NSW. Students are alarmed at the effects of government cuts to funding and increased enrolments. "People who are on Job Search or
Cuba solidarity conference By Pip Hinman MELBOURNE — A national conference to discuss solidarity with Cuba is being planned here for Sunday November 3. Australia-Cuba Friendship Society spokesperson Dave Deutschmann told Green Left Weekly
AIDS advertising campaign hampered By Leon Harrison PERTH — The West Australian AIDS Council has begun a newspaper advertising campaign to alert homosexual men who do not identify with the gay community of the dangers of AIDS. The campaign
WA MP quits Labor By Frank Noakes PERTH — The Lawrence Labor government — already a minority government — was rocked by another resignation on October 7. Frank Donovan, member for the working-class suburb of Morley, said the controversial
By Pete Malatesta SYDNEY — A petrol bomb attack on the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf on October 9 has resulted in a tightening of security on this unique and historic building. This was the fourth arson attempt on the wharf in the past seven
Bob Hawke's pledge that by 1990 no child in Australia would live in poverty is little more than a forgotten sick joke. This has not prevented the federal government from undertaking new pledges to improve the lot of children. But, CRAIG CORMICK
Open Council Charter for Marrickville By Dave Wright SYDNEY — Green councillor Bruce Welch and community independent Sonia Laverty are using their balance of power on the Marrickville Council to attempt to force adoption of an Open Council
By Peter Boyle MELBOURNE — One never knows what to expect in the city these days. The other day I saw a young woman running through the lunchtime crowd, shouting: "Give me a dollar! Somebody give me a dollar, or I'll sing!" As she weaved her way
Belfast councillor visits Australia Story and photo by Steve Painter Britain's policy in the north of Ireland is falling apart to the extent that many British Tory politicians will now admit privately that they would like to get out. But
ADELAIDE — On October 9 the federal Industrial Relations Commission approved sole coverage by a company union at CSR's new sugar distribution plant here. The organisation is the CSR Officers' Association, which is not affiliated to the ACTU and
Racism alleged in HIV tests By Ken Davis SYDNEY — Community AIDS organisations have protested to immigration minister Gerry Hand against discriminatory HIV testing of people applying to visit Australia. The protests were sent after four

World

By Will Firth BERLIN — A steadily increasing stream of refugees and migrants is reaching Western Europe. One-half of them arrive in Germany. Immigration offices are overwhelmed by the influx — as I learned first hand in endless queues for a
Sinn Fein wins Belfast council seat By Jack Holland Sinn Fein became the largest Nationalist party on Belfast council and the second largest party in the city when Joe Austin, the vice-chairman of the party's executive, won a crucial
By Pip Hinman In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed to the "New World" on behalf of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, beginning European colonisation of America. In the rich north, some will celebrate this event, but in South and Central
Increasing attacks on foreigners By Bryan R. Thomas BONN — A recent study conducted from Leipzig by Professor Walter Friedrich show that intolerance towards foreigners is not just a new phenomenon in the former German Democratic Republic.
By Pip Hinman Despite a heavy army presence and curfew, supporters of ousted Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide are still campaigning for his return and have set up barricades around the shanty towns surrounding the capital Port-au-Prince.
New York — Cuban foreign minister Isidoro Malmierca told the United Nations on October 1 that the US government has prepared plans for a full-scale invasion of the Caribbean island nation. "While spokespeople for the Washington administration
By Tracy Sorensen SYDNEY — The Latin American Unity (ULAT) group here has launched a campaign against the Spanish government's celebrations to mark the "discovery" of the Americas by Christopher Columbus almost 500 years ago. Like the
Workers in the western region of Jakarta are beginning to organise. Recently a number of large strikes have occurred in the region. The Suharto regime and the army have reacted by infiltrating every community and workplace. In Jakarta, MIKAEL HIDAYAT
By Angela Matheson PARIS — At the hub of the underground railway, the Metro, a student chamber orchestra from the nearby ecole earns money for course fees by playing Stravinksy. Close by a middle-aged man sits with a tin, requesting coins from
By Norm Dixon Soon after Mikhail Gorbachev's September announcement that remaining Soviet military personnel in Cuba would be withdrawn and bilateral trade would be placed on a "mutually advantageous" (i.e. hard currency) basis, the Western press
By David Robie AUCKLAND — Four protesters penetrated a tight security screen around Fiji coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka during his controversial address in New Zealand last week while about 100 others burnt a copy of the republican constitution in
By Colin Pemul A unique island ecosystem in Indonesia may vanish within a few months. Siberut, lying off the west coast of Sumatra, has been geographically isolated for at least half a million years. In 1980 the World Wildlife Fund conducted a
By Mikael Hidayat BANDUNG — Of the six Bandung Institute of Technology students arrested here in 1989 for anti-government activities, four are to be released. The six, Bambang Sugianto, Enin Supriyanto, Fadjroel Rachman, Moch Djumhur Hidayat,

Culture

Sarraounia Produced, written and directed by Med Hondo With Aï Keïta as Sarraounia and Jean-Roger Milo as Captain Voulet From the novel by Abdoulaye Mamani AFI Cinema, Paddington (Sydney) on October 22, 8.30 p.m. and at the State Film
Defending the National Tuckshop By Michael Cathcart McPhee Gribble/Penguin. $14.99 pb Reviewed by Bob Scates Appropriately I finished reading Defending the National Tuckshop at the Wedderburn swimming pool in north-west Victoria; Cathcart's
Radioactive Heaven and Earth International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War Zed Books. $20.99 Reviewed by Craig Cormick There is an anecdote that President Kennedy's science advisor, Jerome Wiesner, was explaining to him about the
Dancing Demons Director: Kai Tai Chan Dancers: Julie-Anne Long, Ni Nyoman Ratnadi Piniasih, I Wayan Purwanto, Kim Walker, Graeme Watson, A.A. Alit Winaya Script development: Sinan Leong & Kai Tai Chan One Extra Company — Carnivale Hyde Park
Compassion em = By Pauline Quinn Hate filled eyes & gleeful smiles 8 pairs of hands pulling clothes Pulling hair and tearing flesh Pulling legs apart To search between Does my struggle add to your fun? My resistance give you pleasure? This
Out of Control: The Story of the Reagan Administration's Secret War in Nicaragua, the Illegal Arms Pipeline, and the Contra Drug Connection By Leslie Cockburn, Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd Reviewed by Mark Delmege Panamanian strong man Manuel
The art of housework Her Story: Images of Domestic Labour in Art S.H. Ervin Gallery, Observatory Hill, Sydney, until October 21 Reviewed by Kim Spurway "Her Story" is a unique exhibition of images of domestic labour in Australian art. It
The Hired Man By Melvyn Bragg Music by Howard Goodall Directed by Marie Armstrong New Theatre, Sydney Reviewed by Deborah McCulloch Based on Melvyn Bragg's novel of the same name, The Hired Man is a tribute to his paternal grandfather, an
35 Up Directed by Michael Apted Valhalla, Sydney and Melbourne Reviewed by Ulrike Erhardt 35 Up is not a drink commercial but a human interest saga which started in 1963 when Michael Apted joined a program called Seven Up — an attempt to
Scratch! A scrapbook of radical cartooning in Australia No. 2 Winter/Spring 1991 Subscriptions $10 for two issues Reviewed by Tracy Sorensen Green Left readers will immediately recognise the work of many of the contributors to this lively
Uncle Moses Directed by Sydney M. Goldin and Aubrey Scotto, 1932 Avanti Populo Directed by Rafi Bukaee, 1986 Cup Final Directed by Eran Riklis, 1991 Showing at the Festival of Jewish Film Academy Twin and Walker Cinemas, October 5-19 Reviewed

Editorial

Editorial: Aid to Vietnam Late on October 9, federal cabinet adopted a recommendation to resume direct aid to Vietnam. While this step toward normalisation of relations is welcome, there are worrying signs that — in terms of aid — the decision