The final report of the International People’s Tribunal (IPT) on crimes against humanity, committed by the Indonesian armed forces and civilian militias mainly between October 1965 and the early months of 1966, was released in The Hague on July 20, 2016. The report has called on the Indonesian government to investigate and prosecute all those involved in the deaths of more than 500,000 of its own citizens.1
Continue reading International People’s Tribunal on the Indonesian massacre 1965-66
Remember US Defence Department Assistant Secretary David Shear’s testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May last year? During this hearing Assistant Secretary Shear said that the Pentagon would be “placing additional air force assets in Australia” including “B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft”. Continue reading B-1 bombers would undermine Australia’s security
A forum entitled ‘Banning Nuclear Weapons: Labor’s Role’ was held on February 14 during the NSW Labor Conference in the Sydney. The forum was part of the conference’s Fringe Program and its purpose was to explore “how a future federal Labor government could lead the way” on banning nuclear weapons. However, the inconsistency between Labor’s current policy on banning nuclear weapons and its ongoing support for the US “nuclear umbrella” was strongly criticised. Continue reading US alliance and the movement to ban nuclear weapons: Labor’s role?
Within the Federal parliament, Andrew Wilkie MP (Independent member for Denison in Tasmania) has been a consistent and vocal opponent of Australia’s ongoing military invention in the Middle East. On January 14, he was interviewed by ABC RN Breakfast reporter, Alison Carabine, on the Turnbull government’s decision to decline a US request for more military assistance in Iraq and Syria.*
The request was originally sent to about 40 countries by US Defence Secretary Ash Carter in early December last year. The Turnbull government informed the US of its decision later that month. Continue reading Andrew Wilkie on Australia’s decision to reject US request for military support
On Sunday November 22, a public forum on ‘WW1, the Case of Fr Jerger and Civil Liberties’ was held in Marrickville.
Co-hosted by Gallipoli Centenary Peace Campaign* and St Brigid’s Parish, the forum was addressed by three speakers: Dr Janice Garaty, Assoc Prof Douglas Newton and Dr Peter Manning.
In the context of the divisive WW1 conscription debates in Australia, Janice Garaty discussed how Fr Jerger was accused of allegedly expressing “disloyal sentiments” designed to discourage recruitment to the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during a sermon in Marrickville on September 26, 1916. Despite the lack of evidence for such a claim, Fr Jerger was eventually interned in February 1918 at the Holsworthy Military Camp and later deported in July 1920. Continue reading War as the pasture of bigots, and the solvent of principle
The official launch of ‘Richardson’s Lookout – Marrickville Peace Park’ took place on Sunday November 8. The event attracted around 80 people.
Organised by the Gallipoli Centenary Peace Campaign (GCPC*), speakers included John Butcher (GCPC Convenor), Allan Barnes (Marrickville Aboriginal Consultative Committee) who presented the ‘Welcome to Country’, Clr Sam Iskandar (Mayor, Marrickville Council), Clr Sylvie Ellsmore (Marrickville Council), Linda Burney MP (Member for Canterbury) and Jo Haylen MP (Member for Summer Hill). As well, Sydney’s Solidarity Choir performed at the launch.
One of the most evocative parts of the event was the reading of Denise Levertov’s poem ‘Talk in the Dark’. Continue reading Official launch of Marrickville Peace Park
A public forum on the bombing of Syria was hosted by the Independent Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) in Sydney on October 20.
Entitled ‘Is Bombing Syria the Right Strategy?’ the forum attracted over 50 people. Chaired by Denis Doherty (IPAN and Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition), the forum was addressed by two speakers: Nick Deane (IPAN and Marrickville Peace Group) and special guest, Vincent Emanuele, a former US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq. He refused to do a third military tour and is now an anti-war veteran and peace activist.
Marty Morrison, who attended the forum, noted that Nick Deane outlined three main concerns about the bombing in Syria: (a) Of all the nations involved, Australia is perhaps the most secretive about its military operations and impact on civilians (b) Far from ‘degrading’ ISIS, the US-led bombing campaign is more likely to add to the suffering of Syrians in ISIS controlled areas and (c) The campaign risks being counter-productive in the sense that every misdirected bomb is a ‘recruitment poster’ for those at war with the US and its allies. Continue reading Is Bombing Syria the Right Strategy?
Diplomatic cables and ministerial briefings, obtained on September 9 by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) under FOI laws, reveal that the Coalition Government has become increasingly “worried” about the “growing momentum” behind the Austrian-led Humanitarian Pledge to ban nuclear weapons.
This growing momentum was confirmed once again when foreign ministers and other high-ranking government officials met at the United Nations on Wednesday September 30 to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
It was reported that many of these officials agreed that the Humanitarian Pledge on nuclear disarmament had opened up new possibilities to achieve much-needed progress towards abolishing these weapons of mass destruction.1 Continue reading Australia undermines Austrian-led nuclear ban initiative
According to press reports in Britain recently, it has been revealed that the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, laid out a three-point plan in 2012 which included a proposal for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede power at some point after peace talks had begun between the regime and opposition parties.
This proposal, however, was rebuffed at the time by the US and other Western nations. In commenting on this peace proposal, former Finnish president and Nobel peace prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said the failure to consider the Russian offer had led to a “self-made disaster”.
The same report in The Guardian noted that in 2012 “the death toll from the Syrian conflict was estimated to be about 7,500. The UN believes that toll passed 220,000 at the beginning of [2015], and continues to climb. The chaos has led to the rise of Islamic State. Over 11 million Syrians have been forced out of their homes.”
This revelation about how the the US, Britain and France rejected Russia’s proposal in 2012, appears to have been ignored so far by Australia’s mainstream press.
To learn more about this story, read The Guardian’s report ‘West ‘ignored Russian offer in 2012 to have Syria’s Assad step aside”, Sep 17, 2015 here.
On September 9, Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that Australia will extend its airstrikes in Iraq to ISIS targets in Syria.
This decision had been under consideration for a number of weeks. On August 21, Abbott announced that a “formal request” had been received from the US to join bombing missions in Syria. However, according to a Fairfax Media report on August 26, the driving force for the formal request came from the Prime Minister’s office, not Washington.
Following the PM’s announcement, Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, said that these RAAF aircraft would likely begin operations over eastern Syria within a week.
It can be safely predicted that these bombings, far from “degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS”, will not only cause more civilian casualties, but will also anger the Syrian civilians in these ISIS dominated areas. For the most part, these captive communities loath ISIS, but they also resent being attacked by American and Australian bombs. Continue reading Greens, Wilkie denounce decision to bomb Syria
Protesters converged on the recent biennial Talisman Sabre 2015 (TS2015) military exercises which were held simultaneously for the first time within the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, near Rockhampton in Queensland and at Fog Bay, south west of Darwin.
During the protests, peace activists criticised Australia’s strategic alliance with the US and the dangers it poses to human security in this region. They argued that TS2015 served to make our military assets usable in future US confrontations and wars especially in the South East Asia region.1
During ‘Question Time’ in the House of Representatives on Tuesday 16th June, Andrew Wilkie (Member for Denison in Tasmania), asked Prime Minister Tony Abbott the following question:
“The Iraq war has raged for 12 years and created the circumstances for the rise of Islamic State, and all on the basis of the lies about weapons of mass destruction and Osama bin Laden. Seeing as we helped to start this war and create the Islamic state threat, will you acknowledge the Howard government got it very wrong and agree to a proper war inquiry?” Continue reading Andrew Wilkie Calls for Iraq War Inquiry
The Gallipoli Centenary Peace Campaign hosted a public forum at the Petersham Town Hall on 22 April called ‘Gallipoli and Anzac after 100 Years: Lessons and the Prospects for Peace Today’.
Despite the wild weather, over 80 people attended the forum to hear three speakers: Douglas Newton (historian), Margot Pearson (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – WILPF) and Anne Noonan (Medical Association for Prevention of War – MAPW). Continue reading Anzac Forum
Sydney’s ‘Welcome Refugees’ rally, held in Belmore Park on Sunday 19 April, attracted over 3000.
The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) reported that this year’s rally was as big as last year’s well attended Palm Sunday rally, despite the date having to be changed due to trackwork being carried out on the city’s rail system on 29 March.
Speakers at the rally included Ian Rintoul (Spokesperson, Refugee Action Coalition Sydney), Graeme McGregor (Refugee Campaign Coordinator, Amnesty International Australia), Ged Kearney (President, ACTU), Dr Sue Wareham (Vice President, Medical Association for Prevention of War), Kyol Blakeney (President, SRC University of Sydney), Lydia Shelly (Islamophobia Register) and Shokufa Tahiri (Hazara Women for Change).
Read Sue Wareham’s full speech here. Continue reading ‘Welcome Refugees’ rally in Sydney a success
According to the ABC (Feb 25), sources have revealed that the Abbott Government is soon to commit hundreds of additional Australian troops to the war in Iraq.
Already Australia has 200 special forces personnel in Iraq and the ABC has reported that the extra troops will be part of a joint Australia-New Zealand mission to train Iraqi soldiers. Continue reading Abbott Government “poised to send additional troops to Iraq”