News briefs 2

November 17, 1993
Issue 

2

'Make refugee rights a political issue'

BRISBANE — "The best thing we can do to help the refugees is to make refugee rights a key political issue", Aladdin Sisalem, the last asylum seeker to be held on Manus Island, told a public meeting of 50 people on August 28. The meeting was part of a tour sponsored by the Socialist Alliance.

Sisalem outlined his story of exile as a stateless Palestinian and spoke about his gruelling experience in detention and the urgent need for an end to the cruel policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers.

When asked how he felt about meeting supporters of the refugee rights movement in Australia, he responded: "I was the most happy person in the world when I saw there were people out there trying to help me."

"There are more than 21 million refugees around the world. It is not only an Australian government problem; it is a worldwide issue, which must be solved", Sisalem said.

Welcoming Sisalem to Brisbane, Indigenous activist and the Socialist Alliance's Queensland Senate candidate Sam Watson told the audience: "Say no to John Howard, no to racism!" He called for support for Socialist Alliance candidates in the election, stating: "We don't want to be closed behind walls, we want to be part of the global family."

Jim McIlroy

Rally for Palestine

CANBERRA — On September 4, Australians for Justice and Peace in Palestine held a rally in the city centre to highlight the plight of thousands of Palestinians kept as political prisoners in Israel.

Reverend Gregor Henderson of the Uniting Church told the rally of his experiences in Gaza several years ago where he saw firsthand former political prisoners, whose broken bones had never been allowed to heal while in prison.

ACT Greens Senate candidate Kerry Tucker described how the Australian government shamefully refused to vote in favour of a motion passed by the UN General Assembly condemning Israel's illegal "apartheid wall".

In-depth information on how Israel mistreats Palestinian political prisoners was provided by Ali Kazak, head of the Palestinian Delegation to Australia.

The final speaker was James Vassilopoulos, the Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Fraser, who said the Arab-Israeli conflict could only be ended through the creation of a democratic, secular Palestine.

James Caulfield

UWA to set up anti-racism collective

PERTH — On August 31, the University of Western Australia (UWA) Student Guild Council voted in favour of a motion to adopt a comprehensive anti-racist policy, including setting up an anti-racism collective.

The motion, moved by Resistance member Fred Fuentes, argued that "racism has no place in today's society, whether on or off campus, and therefore must be tackled whenever or wherever it appears".

"The anti-racism collective will aim to bring together the clubs and individuals affected by racism to combat these attacks", Fuentes told Green Left Weekly. Fuentes will be spearheading the campaign to set up the collective over the next few weeks.

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a spate of racist attacks in Perth carried out by members of Jack Van Tongeren's Australian Nationalist Movement. The ANM also plastered race-hate material on building on Murdoch University.

Fuentes is standing this year on the Left Alternative ticket as its candidate for guild president. The Left Alternative ticket, which will contest the election on September 13-16, is composed of anti-racist, anti-war and education activists, including members of Resistance, the Socialist Alliance, the Greens and the Education Action Network.

For more information on the anti-racism collective or to get involved phone Fred on 0438 931 414.

Jess Inman

Protest against university fees

PERTH — Banners signed by university and high school students opposed to the introduction of full fees were handed over to University of Western Australia Vice-Chancellor Alan Robson on August 31.

Attempts to explain the university senate's decision drew jeers from the protesters. Robson's only truthful statement seemed to come when he was asked who benefited from the decision: "The UWA senate makes sure its decisions are in the best interests of the government ... I mean community."

The senate voted 13-7 at its August 23 meeting to introduce full fees, despite the opposition of the student guild and the academic board. There will now be almost 50 courses across the country offered to those who can afford to pay full fees, some costing over $200,000.

Fred Fuentes

Homophobic university of the year

WOLLONGONG — Members of the University of Wollongong Queer Collective presented the university with the "Homophobic University of the Year" award at a mock ceremony outside the campus administration on September 2.

For several years students on the campus have been calling for a new, safe queer space at the university. The current space is off-campus and unpatrolled by security, and students using it have been threatened and harassed. The room is only four by four metres in size and is subject to flooding.

During the annual Sexuality Week in August, queer activists were harassed, banners and props were stolen, and banners were defaced on a daily basis. In response, a group of students occupied the Belmore room on August 26 to demand an end to homophobia on campus.

After 47 hours of peaceful occupation, the action was broken up by riot police and three students were arrested for trespassing. During subsequent negotiations between the vice-chancellor and student and staff representatives, the VC ignored the issue of the queer space, instead suggesting "training programs" for staff about homophobia.

Students are planning further actions.

Amy Parish

From Green Left Weekly, September 8, 2004.
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