AIDEX 91 - Inside the Australian Arms Trade
By Community Access Television
Reviewed by John Black
Weapons and media are fully interlocked. Rupert Murdoch is on the board of United Technologies, one of the world's largest arms manufacturers. Many other media magnates also have blood on their hands.
Independent voices such as Public TV's CAT are needed to counter the mainstream media's bias. A good example of this is their 45- minute documentary about Aidex, broadcast in their February test transmission.
Placing the protest in the context of global gun running makes the link between Australia's "weapons-led recovery" and the increase of political repression in Third World client countries. A striking example is an uncomfortable Aidex manager denying Indonesian attendance, followed by a French arms trader eagerly awaiting Indonesian buyers. This is underscored with scenes of mourners fleeing the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili.
Simple editing helps us read between the news script lines. "Protesters clashed violently with police ..." is readjusted for truth to give: "Police clashed violently with protesters ..."
Sir William Keys, former RSL boss and Aidex director, bemoans the fact that "an exhibition as important to the Australian economy as this is being disrupted by a group of people who are behaving like thugs and terrorists". His talking head news grab is overlaid with images of a TRG knee drop to a protester's neck.
Clandestine footage from inside the exhibition reveals men in suits toying with machine guns. The Canberra Times journalist who headlined "Not a gun in sight" was blind or lying.
But it's not all gloom and doom. Picket line wit, a how-to segment on tripod building and uplifting music by Mahatma Propagandhi all contribute to the positive message of people power. "There's more of us than there are of them" are the docco's last words.
With just one grungy home video camera, this challenging public television program gives the military industrial complex a run for its money. The video is available by donation plus $4 post from CAT TV, PO Box 636, Newtown NSW 2042, or from Black Rose Books, 583a King St, Newtown, ph 519 9194.