By Jo Brown
CANBERRA — The future for Indonesia's struggle for democracy was the topic of the May 19 Politics in the Pub here. The forum, organised by the ACT Trades and Labor Council, was billed as a debate between Dave Gosling, a member of
Issue 362
News
Building workers support East Timor
By David Woolley
SYDNEY — Three hundred and fifty building workers held stop-work meetings at their sites on May 19 to show their support for a free East Timor. The meetings, which where called by the
By Maurice Flame
BRISBANE — Nick Everett and Mike Bryne from the Democratic Socialist Party and Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) highlighted the injustices maintained by the Habibie regime when the Indonesian ambassador
Organising the working class
WOLLONGONG — Fifty people attended a meeting organised by Broad Left titled "Organising the Working Class" on May 16. Speakers included Dick Nichols from the Democratic Socialist Party, Anna Pha from the Communist
By Rupen Savoulian
PERTH — A 10,000-square kilometre native title claim covering the Perth metropolitan area has successfully passed the federal government's stringent registration test. A number of native title claimants united their efforts to
Why Abbott bashes the unemployed
It would be too easy to dismiss the "job snob" remarks of employment services minister Tony Abbott as merely expressing the in-bred contempt for working people of the silver spoon brigade, blessed with more money
May 27 has been designated a national day of solidarity with East Timor. Actions on the day are endorsed by, among others, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the Australian Council for Overseas Aid, APHEDA (the ACTU's aid agency), Amnesty
By Jim Green
On May 19, consultants to the World Heritage Committee (WHC) released reports on the Jabiluka uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The reports of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International
Rank and file oppose Australia Post agreement
Workers in Australia Post are voting on a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA). The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, which covers most postal workers, supports the agreement and is
By Nick Fredman
LISMORE — A May 19 stop-work meeting of more than 200 unionists — the largest at Southern Cross University (SCU) for many years — unanimously rejected an enterprise bargaining agreement offer and discussed possible industrial
Democracy film premieres in Lismore
By Nikki Sullings
LISMORE â A highly enthusiastic audience of more than 70 attended
the premiere of Indonesia in Revolt here on May 13. The showing
raised $200 for the Indonesian solidarity
By Karl Miller
The federal government's Online Services Bill, a harsh internet censorship law announced by federal communications minister Richard Alston on April 21, is proceeding rapidly through parliament and may be passed before July. This year
Churches and solidarity groups demand a free East Timor
By Janet Parker
SYDNEY — On May 20, the last of a series of Free East Timor pickets organised by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) was held outside the Indonesian
WA forest campaign goes national
By Jonathan Singer
Following the signing of the Western Australian regional forest agreement (RFA) on May 4, Bunnings hardware stores in Melbourne have been targeted by environmentalists. Actions at the shops,
SYDNEY — Despite recent funding problems which may force the closure of some of its most prominent faculties, the University of New South Wales has purchased a corporate suite at the Olympic Stadium. UNSW pro-vice-chancellor Jane Morrison, when
World
Liberal and radical democracy in Indonesian elections
By Max Lane
It took the Suharto regime five to seven years to become firmly established in Indonesia after Suharto seized power in the 1965 coup. The process required the slaughter of more
Colombian revolutionaries protect the people
By Raul and Sulema Cienfuegos
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, "Liberated Zone", Colombia — The Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) was formed on May 27, 1964, in response to the
Workers' football match for Korean unification
With a clear goal of helping to end the division of Korea, South Korea's Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the North's Korean General Confederation of Labour have scheduled a historic football
@ May 10, Xanana Gusmao, president of the National Council for Timorese Resistance, issued a statement criticising the People's Defence Council of the Democratic Republic of East Timor (RDTL) for organising student demonstrations outside the
By Max Lane
Between May 14 and 16, delegates from militant worker committees from several cities around Indonesia met in Bandung and voted to form a new national workers' organisation, the Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggles (FNPBI).
Murder and Ireland's 'peace process'
By Stuart Ross
The Pat Finucane Centre in Derry has recently published a 50-page report into the circumstances leading to the murder of one of Ireland's most prominent human rights lawyers, Rosemary Nelson. On
Jesús Montané Oropesa, 1923-1999
By Neville Spencer
Cuban revolutionary Jesús Montané, a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, died of a respiratory disease on May 7. He was one of the few
Attempt to galvanise anti-Golkar sentiment
By Max Lane
On May 17 a joint communiqué was signed in Indonesia by the leaders of the three high-profile anti-Golkar political parties. The National Awakening Party's (PKB) Abdurrahman Wahid, the
Fighting for democracy in China
HONG KONG — LEUNG KWOK HUNG and FRANCIS LAU, political activists in Hong Kong since the mid-'70s, talked to Green Left Weekly's EVA CHENG about the current state of workers' resistance and the struggle for
By Norm Dixon
"Despite the great sympathy in the UK for the Kurdish people, it is not in the public interest for any broadcaster to use the UK as a platform from which to incite people to violence", intoned the chairperson of Britain's Independent
By Adam Hanieh
RAMALLAH — The Israeli elections on May 17 resulted in a resounding victory for Ehud Barak and the Labour Party over the incumbent Benyamin Netanyahu and Likud. In the vote for prime minister, Barak won 56% to Netanyahu's 44%. In
By Norm Dixon
The Fiji Labour Party (FLP), the key partner in Fiji's coalition government deposed almost 12 years ago in a military coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka, scored a big win in Fiji's May 8-15 general election. For the first time, voting was
Italian communists' congress confirms left course
By Livio Maitan
ROME — Since its foundation in 1991, Italy's Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC) has had a turbulent history. Only two of its seven initial leaders, Bianca Braccitorsi and
Culture
Labor Essays 1998: New visions for governmentEdited by Gary JungwirthAustralian Fabian Society and Pluto Press1998, 194 pp., $20 (pb) Review by Sue Boland
The Australian Labor Party was soundly thrashed in the 1996 federal election. The
Film festival exposes nuclear industry
Review by Conrad Barnett
The Wild Spaces film festival, which kicks off around the country next week, features documentaries which expose the dangers to people around the world of the nuclear industry. Just
When Labor jailed unionists and communists and broke the coal strike
Going My Way? Australia's Choice in 1949Until October 31Old Parliament House, Canberra. Reviewed by Kim Bullimore
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1949 federal
General
By Norm Dixon
Kani Xulam, director of the Washington-based American-Kurdish Information Network, has condemned the NATO attack on Yugoslavia and defended the Kosovar Albanians' right to national self-determination. Addressing an anti-nuclear
By Boris Kagarlitsky
MOSCOW — After what has happened to thousands of Albanians in Kosova, it is hard to argue that the West has helped them. Washington can put on a brave face while declaring that they anticipated everything and that the
The Kosova conflict and the CPA
By Doug Lorimer
The April 7 issue of Green Left Weekly carried a two-page statement by the national executive of the Democratic Socialist Party condemning NATO's bombing campaign against Serbia and supporting the
By Michael Karadjis
A declaration condemning the NATO attack on Serbia was released in
April by 17 organisations which have long opposed the Serb national chauvinist
regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Their stance reveals how little NATO's
Resistance!
Australia: Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor; Australia East Timor Association NSW; Resistance; Democratic Socialist Party; Tasmanian University Students Union; Tasmanian Trades and Labor Council; Hobart East Timor Committee;
By Sean Healy
Two events in May have dealt a blow to forces in the student movement who want to substitute the actions of a hyper-militant minority for the actions of the mass of students. The first occurred at Sydney University on May 5. One
Drugs: how 'zero tolerance' costs lives
By Will Williams
The NSW Drug Summit, called after the state Labor government closed down a needle exchange in Redfern before the last state election, met May 17-21 to discuss the problem of drug abuse and
On May 19, thousands of students in nine cities took to the streets to oppose the government's proposed "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) legislation. The rally, with the theme "VSU: it's not about choice, it's about silence", was organised by the
Thousands march for independence and democracy
By Chris Latham
On May 21 student protests in Jakarta marking the first anniversary of Suharto's resignation were attacked by the Indonesian military (ABRI). The protests reflected growing anger
Mexican students stage huge demo
By Paul Jenkins
MEXICO CITY — On May 12, students from the strikebound National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) staged a demonstration in the central city which mobilised more than 150,000. This is the
VSU: dead in the water?
By Cass Ilia
NEWCASTLE The passage of the federal government's "voluntary student unionism" (VSU) legislation looks increasingly unlikely with Senator Mal Colston announcing last week that he will vote against it. Without