Issue 508

News

BY GRANT COLEMAN& AMY PARISH WOLLONGONG — Facing a concerted campaign of censorship by the Young Liberal-dominated Students' Representative Council (SRC) of the University of Wollongong, the Refugee Action Collective (RAC) has decided to push
Pinochet's coup remembered ADELAIDE — The Socialist Alliance hosted a public meeting on September 4 to mark the US-backed military coup that overthrew the elected left-wing government of President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973.
BY NICK EVERETT SYDNEY — Several hundred participants are expected to attend the inaugural Sydney Social Forum (SSF) on the September 21-22 weekend. The forum, to be held at the Haymarket campus of the University of Technology Sydney, will
BY KATHY NEWNAM& PETER ROBSON NEWCASTLE — In one of the largest refugee rights meetings to be held in Newcastle, nearly 200 people packed the Town Hall on August 31 to hear immigration minister Philip Ruddock's lies destroyed. Anne Coombs,
BY SIMON CUNICH & MARK CUNICH WOLLONGONG — More than 80 students from The Illawarra Grammar School attended a lunchtime concert and meeting in support of refugees' rights on September 6. At the meeting the students voted unanimously
BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE HOBART — Feminist activist Anthea Stutter is running for the position of Tasmania University Union women's officer on a Resistance ticket. Elections are being held September 10-14. Stutter helped organise International
Jackie Lynch from the Socialist Alliance and Sarah Nicholson from the Greens addressed a refugees' rights speak-out in Thornbury, Melbourne, on August 31. Photo by Peter Cahill. From Green Left Weekly, September 11, 2002. Visit the Green
BY ALISON DELLIT On August 27, the Bega valley shire unanimously voted to support the work of Rural Australians for Refugees, support in principle an RAR proposal for "Welcome Towns" to host asylum seekers and to encourage the government to reduce
BY MARCE CAMERON BRISBANE — On the evening of September 5, Prime Minister John Howard visited the University of Queensland to give a talk about leadership qualities in today's world. However, he was met by 350 angry students who were
In the article "Victorian AMWU stewards unanimously back leaders" by Sue Bull (GLW #506) it was reported that: "Dave Harrison, Queensland state secretary told organisers' meetings in that state that the union is prepared to sue the Victorian
BY NORMAN BREWER SYDNEY — Reconciliation and peaceful dialogue among West Papuans was the theme of the workshop of the West Papua Project, held at Sydney University on September 2-3. The WPP is based at the Centre for Peace and Conflict
BY LIAM MITCHELL SYDNEY — The 15th week of the strike at Dayson's air-conditioning compressor reconditioning plant saw a dramatic shift in the company's attitude after having been forced into negotiations with the Australian Manufacturing
BY TAMARA PEARSON SYDNEY — Despite fancy audio technology, immigration minister Philip Ruddock could not be heard over angry chants when visiting the University of NSW on September 3 to address the Law Society on Australia's immigration
BY KARL MILLER MELBOURNE — At a student general meeting on September 4, La Trobe University students voted overwhelmingly to declare the campus a refugee safe haven. With 131 students attending, the meeting was, however, 19 votes short of
BY IGGY KIM SYDNEY — Activists from a wide range of organisations attended a meeting on August 30 to organise action against the World Trade Organisation's "informal" meeting of trade ministers, due to be held in Sydney on November 14-15. This
BY PAUL BENEDEK SYDNEY — A mass rally, public forums and independent polling have shown that there is overwhelming opposition to the NSW Labor government's plan to sell eight hectares of Callan Park, near Rozelle. According to polls, Labor is

World

[The following is a slightly abridged version of a statement issued in Johannesburg on September 4 by the Social Movements Indaba.] The World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in the super-rich suburb of Sandton, Johannesburg, has failed. The
CLAIR"> UNITED STATES: Bush forest fire plan: log it all BY JEFFREY ST. CLAIR George Bush, fresh off a brush clearing operation at his Crawford ranch, snubbed the Earth Summit in Johannesburg for a trip to Oregon, where he vowed to fight future
BY MAX LANE MANILA — On September 1, an assembly of about 100 peace activists, including more than 50 representing organisations from around Asia, founded the Asian Peace Alliance (APA). The meeting was called by several organisations as a
BY JAMES BALOWSKI On August 31, a band of unidentified assailants ambushed a group of mine workers in Indonesia's eastern-most province of West Papua, leaving three dead and 11 injured. Indonesian officials immediately blamed the Free Papua
BY FELIPE PEREZ [The following speech by Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Rocque was given at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg on September 3. It has been slightly abridged.] Ten years ago [at the first Earth Summit
Pakistani peasants shot dead On August 26, Pakistani police and military fired on a gathering of 2000 peasants from Okara village. The peasants had just been negotiating with the army landlords over the downgrading of tenancy rights. After
BY JOHN PILGER LONDON — Remembering September 11 merely as a gruesome spectacle is an insult to the victims of that epic crime. However, remembering is important in order to make sense of it, and especially of what happened next. Most of the
BY PATRICK BOND JOHANNESBURG — For 90 years, we've waited to see the combined geographical and political implications of locating an urban bantustan in a small block of land in northeast Johannesburg called Alexandra. August 31 was breakout
BY IGGY KIM On September 5, Sri Lanka's government lifted its four-year ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This followed a clash over the issue between the United National Front (UNF) government and President Chandrika

Culture

GabrielWritten by Moira BuffiniDirected by Kevin JacksonWith Elaine Hudson, Lee Lewis, Elisha Oliver, Pete Nettell and Wendy StrehlowNew Theatre, SydneyUntil September 14 REVIEW BY IGGY KIM Gabriel is a wonderfully acted and intensely
BY SIMON TAYLER SYDNEY — The capitalist media has consistently demonstrated its bias on the issue of asylum seekers. While the federal government and right-wing commentators are given regular coverage, it's rare for the stories of asylum
Naked Among Cannibals: What Really Happens Inside Australian BanksBy Graham HandAllen & Unwin, 2001306 pages, $29.95 (pb) REVIEW BY PHIL SHANNON Banks are the most hated companies in Australia. Their expansive greed drives constant branch
In these awful times, as we struggle to understand what is happening to our world, we must keep in mind the events of the recent past. At dawn on September 11, he received his orders.While others would attack the citadels of commerce and defenceTo