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Thank you

On April 2 the organisers of the March 31 refugees’ rights protest at Villawood received a faxed letter from the detention centre, here are some excerpts: “We, residents of the Villawood detention centre, very much appreciate and thank you

On the box

Actively Radical TV — Sydney community television's progressive current affairs producers tackle the hard issues from the activist's point of view. CTS Sydney (UHF 31), every Sunday, 9pm. Phone 9565 5522. Visit <http://www.channel31.org>

State powers and the 'war on terror'

BY MANOJ ABEY SYDNEY — In the wake of the September 11 World Trade Center bombings, the federal Coalition government announced that it would introduce a spate of new "security measures" to deal with the threat of terrorism in Australia and

NETHERLANDS: 'A spectacular miscarriage of justice'

BY NORM DIXON The terrible miscarriage of justice perpetrated on January 31, 2001 — when three Scottish judges in a juryless court pronounced Libyan citizen Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi guilty of the murder of 270 people in the December 21,

Solidarity to be banned

BY ALISON DELLIT One of the eight "anti-terrorism" bills currently before the Senate — the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2002 — will, if passed, enable the federal attorney-general to "ban" organisations. Membership of,

Woomera and beyond

Woomera and beyond The Easter protest at the Woomera immigration detention centre successfully highlighted the brutality of the Australian government's policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers. It has added momentum to the

ITALY: Towards a final showdown with Berlusconi?

BY DICK NICHOLS BOLOGNA — What did it take to get up to 3 million people — of all ages, from widely different social backgrounds and from every corner of the country — to the March 23 demonstration in Rome against billionaire media

PALESTINE: Israel's war of terror

BY AHMAD NIMER RAMALLAH — On March 29, I was awoken in the early morning as Israeli soldiers invaded the apartment block in which my room-mate and I lived. The soldiers ordered everyone in the building to gather in the apartment upstairs. I

ISRAEL: 'Moderates' collapse as Sharon uses iron fist

BY ROHAN PEARCE Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has found a short-term solution to the political crisis within Israel's ruling circles, brought on by the second intifada. He has seized on the recent spate of suicide bombings to stifle dissent over his

Pakistani socialist begins speaking tour

BY PETER ROBSON& JIM MCILROY "The US war on Afghanistan provided no solution to the problems of the region", Farooq Tariq, general secretary of the Labour Party Pakistan, told a lunchtime meeting at Newcastle University on April 3, as he began a

ITALY: More than 2 million march in Rome

BY VITTORIO LONGHI ROME — Italy is getting ready for a massive general strike, the first for 20 years, against Silvio Berlusconi government's labour law "reform". On April 16, at least 11 million workers will strike. This general strike call

IRELAND: Asylum seeker bashed, deported

Alabi Ayinde is in a coma in a Lagos hospital in Nigeria after being brutally deported from Ireland. As far as is known, all Ayinde's injuries were inflicted by Irish immigration guards. On March 28, Ayinde and five other Nigerians were put on a