All posts by MPG

Oxfam: Famine risk increases as Israel makes Gaza aid response virtually impossible

Israel & Occupied Territories, War Crimes, ,

Photo: The Electronic Intifada – Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza after an Israeli airstrike on 11th May 2024.

In a press release published 3rd June 2024, Oxfam International highlighted aspects of the ongoing horror inflicted on Palestinian civilians, including women and children, by Israel’s relentless ground and air assaults in the Gaza Strip.

The press release opens with the following observations:

Israel’s relentless air and land bombardment and deliberate obstruction of the humanitarian response is making it virtually impossible for aid agencies to reach trapped, starved civilians in Gaza, Oxfam said today, as the latest ceasefire deal negotiations continue.   Continue reading Oxfam: Famine risk increases as Israel makes Gaza aid response virtually impossible →

Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity

Military Spending,

Video: Peter Boyle/Green Left

A media conference in Sydney/Gadigal land on 24th April 2024 discussed alarming new figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) which showed that world military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2,443 billion. For the first time since 2009, military expenditure went up in all five of the geographical regions defined by SIPRI, with particularly large increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.  Continue reading Global military spending surges amid war, rising tensions and insecurity →

Blue Mountains Peace Collective: Picnic for Peace – 21st April 2024

AUKUS Security Pact, Impacts of War, , ,

An Earth Day Picnic for Peace was organised by the Blue Mountains Peace Collective on Sunday 21st April 2024.

Held at Wilson Park in Wentworth Falls, the event attracted around 50 people and featured a teach-in and launch of a brochure entitled ‘War Costs the Climate’.

Confronting the threats of war and ending the AUKUS security pact were identified as essential to combating the climate emergency.

Additional topics highlighted during the event included:

– the high greenhouse gas emissions generated by the world’s militaries with Australia and its AUKUS partners, the UK and the US, being among the worse polluters; Continue reading Blue Mountains Peace Collective: Picnic for Peace – 21st April 2024 →

“US airdrops into the Gaza Strip are pure theatre”

Israel & Occupied Territories, War Crimes,

Al Jazeera English’s Listening Post: ‘”Who is the superpower? The US or Israel?” The absurdity of airdrops in Gaza.’

You’ve seen the images in the media coverage: the US air dropping aid into northern Gaza to feed hungry Palestinians. Headline news but also a textbook case of cognitive dissonance on Washington’s part – dropping food while continuing to provide Israel with bombs to pulverise Gaza.  Continue reading “US airdrops into the Gaza Strip are pure theatre” →

Survey finds 80 per cent of Australians support ceasefire in Gaza

Israel & Occupied Territories, War Crimes, ,

A  survey commissioned by a coalition of humanitarian aid agencies has shown that more than 80% of Australians are in favor of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

In an ABC News interview on 27th February 2024, Lyn Morgain, Oxfam’s CEO, emphasised that the survey results showed that the Australian community wants the Albanese  government to do more to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.  Continue reading Survey finds 80 per cent of Australians support ceasefire in Gaza →

AUKUS and the Marrickville Declaration

AUKUS Security Pact,

Meeting on 3rd February 2024 in Marrickville, representatives of more than 30 peace and community organisations endorsed the Marrickville Declaration, a document that highlights the dangers of the trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS). Given the grave implications of AUKUS, the Marrickville Declaration commits the signatories to a public campaign aimed at getting the Australian government to withdraw from this pact.

Reproduced below is an edited version of a media release on the meeting and its outcomes prepared by Independent & Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN). The full version can be accessed here. Continue reading AUKUS and the Marrickville Declaration →

IPAN’s Open Letter to Prime Minister Albanese on Gaza – Invitation to sign – Feb 2024

Israel & Occupied Territories, War Crimes, , ,

The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) released this open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 1st February 2024.

It urges the Albanese government to reverse its decision to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the primary aid agency supplying humanitarian assistance to the 2.3 million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip.

The open letter is reproduced below: Continue reading IPAN’s Open Letter to Prime Minister Albanese on Gaza – Invitation to sign – Feb 2024 →

Rally for Palestine held outside PM Albanese’s office – 21st Dec 2023

Israel and Palestine, War Crimes, , , ,
Photo: ATLAS Community & Cultural Centre

A rally in support of Palestine was held outside PM Anthony Albanese’s electoral office in Marrickville on Thursday 21st December 2023.

The rally urged PM Albanese to reverse his current stance and vigorously campaign for an immediate and lasting ceasefire to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

The event was organised by the local ATLAS Community & Cultural Centre and supported by numerous community action groups including Team Assange Sydney. Continue reading Rally for Palestine held outside PM Albanese’s office – 21st Dec 2023 →

Julian Assange “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US

Julian Assange, ,
Source: International Federation of Journalists.

In a three-page judgment handed down on Tuesday June 6, 2023, UK High Court judge Justice Jonathan Swift rejected Julian Assange’s latest appeal against the US’s extradition order, signed by then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel in June 2022.

As a result, Assange is “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US, according to family members and observers.

Justice Swift’s rejection of all eight grounds of Assange’s appeal leaves one final step in the UK legal system open to his legal team. They have just five working days to submit an appeal to a panel of two judges who will determine the matter in a public hearing.

Continue reading Julian Assange “dangerously close” to being extradited to the US →

ICAN Petition – Condemn Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons: join TPNW now

Nuclear Disarmament, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, War in Ukraine

The Australian branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN Australia) is circulating a petition to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

It condemns Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons and urges the Australian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The petition states:

The world has moved closer to a nuclear catastrophe with the order by Russian President Vladimir Putin to put Russia’s nuclear arsenal on combat readiness amidst his country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading ICAN Petition – Condemn Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons: join TPNW now →

IPAN calls for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated settlement in the Ukraine

Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, Ukraine Crisis 2022,
Source: Wikipedia. Click to enlarge.

In a media release published on 26th February 2022, the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) condemns both the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and also the attacks by the Ukrainian Government on the people of the Donbas region.

IPAN calls for an immediate ceasefire by all parties, a withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and for negotiations leading to a peaceful solution to the present crisis. Continue reading IPAN calls for an immediate ceasefire and a negotiated settlement in the Ukraine →

Invasion Day Rally and Yabun Festival on 26th January 2022

Aboriginal Affairs, ,

Australia Day is observed annually on 26th January. It marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Australia Day is known as Invasion Day or Survival Day and has become a day of mourning for what unfolded after the landing of the First Fleet — the colonisation and dispossession of First Nations people. Continue reading Invasion Day Rally and Yabun Festival on 26th January 2022 →

Online Raising Peace Festival – Recordings of events now available

International Day of Peace, Promoting Peace, , ,
Click to enlarge

A successful online Raising Peace festival was held from 16th to 26th September 2021. It coincided with the world-wide observance of International Day of Peace held each year on 21st September.

The festival explored the significance that peace has for First Nations people, women, youth, refugees and the environment. It looked at the different ways that peace is defined and understand, from the absence of war to peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peacemaking. Importantly it sought to inspire and equip participants, both individually and collectively, to actively contribute to the cause of peace. Continue reading Online Raising Peace Festival – Recordings of events now available →

AUKUS Petition: No Nuclear Submarines; End U​.​S. Dominance; Healthcare Not Warfare

Defence Issues, Military Spending,
Nuclear powered submarine USS Houston in Apra Harbour, Guam. Click to enlarge.

A petition launched by Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) opposing the AUKUS Security Pact and entitled ‘No Nuclear Submarines; End U​.​S. Dominance; Healthcare Not Warfare’ is currenty circulating. It states:

The behind closed door commitment of Australia to a trilateral security agreement with the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS) and a submarine fleet shows a complete disregard for the democratic process and undermines sovereignty. Continue reading AUKUS Petition: No Nuclear Submarines; End U​.​S. Dominance; Healthcare Not Warfare →