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Issue No. 172 | 28 March 2003 |
Vale: Rule of Law
Poetry: If I Were a Rich Man Interview: League of Nations Industrial: 20/20 Hindsight Organising: On The Buses Unions: National Focus History: The Banner Room International: The Slaughter Continues Legal: A Legal Case For War? Culture: Singing For The People Review: The Hours Poetry: I Wanna Bomb Saddam Satire: Diuretic Makes Warne's Excuses Look Thin
Unions Condemn Protest Violence Hospitals Pick Sweatshops Over Chain Gangs New Faces Part of Labor �Rejuvenation� Test Case � UK 26, Australia 0 Uncle Sam and the Union Busters Calling All Artists � May Day Poster Comp Nipping Surveillance in the Bud Forced Labour Prevails Despite Sanctions
The Soapbox The Locker Room Guest Report Seduction Bosswatch
Tom's Tantie Shameless Extremists Barbarians at the Gate More War Comment Back-Slapping Bob
Labor Council of NSW |
News Unions Condemn Protest Violence
The NSW Labor Council last night endorsed a resolution moved by key left-wing unions calling on the Walk Against the War Coalition to take steps to ensure a similar event is not held. Labor Council delegates will take the resolution to Monday's night's meeting of the Walk Against the War Coalition, where Labor Council, the Greens, community peace groups and the organisers of Wednesday's rally the National Union of Students have voting rights. Also in the coalition are fringe Trotsky-ist groups the Democratic Socialist Party and the International Socialist Organisation, who were responsible for calling on youngsters to ignore a call from the National Union of Students to end the rally at Hyde Park. Instead they led a rump of protestors on a rampage of the City, culminating in the stand-off outside the Prime Minister's office. They are planning to call two more such rallies in the next fortnight. According to onlookers at the rally there was a lack of marshalls and general organization, calculated to create the sort of mayhem that has undermined the message of those genuinely supportive of peaceful solutions to conflict. "The reality is that Wednesday's rally has put the peace movement back months - if John Howard wasn't paying these people, then he should be." Labor Council secretary John Robertson says. "We are a mainstream movement, not a group of extremists." "Its important that the mainstream peace movement takes a stand against these fringe elements." The next endorsed march is the Palm Sunday Peace March on April 12 to be coordinated by all the major religious denominations. Flotilla for Peace Meanwhile the Maritime Union of Australia has organised a floating protest on Sydney Harbour for Saturday April 5. The MUA has organised thee ferries and a number of other crafts to float outside the Prime Minister's Kirribilli residence. Peace supporters are invited to join the protest at 1pm, boarding the ferries at 1pm. The ACTU is backing a variety of unionists who have taken anti-war protests into their workplaces. Victorian nurses, builders, labourers and seafarers were amongst those who added their voices to the campaign last week. "Mr Howard has made no compelling case for the invasion of a country that poses no direct threat to Australia. Nor has he produced any evidence linking recent terrorist attacks with the regime of Saddam Hussein," ACTU secretary, Greg Combet, said. Mr Combet said the Prime Minister had failed to address a number of key concerns troubling millions of Australians opposed to the war. It was a theme taken up by CFMEU NSW secretary, Andrew Ferguson, when he addressed last Sunday's 50,000 strong anti-war rally in Sydney's Domain. Ferguson told the crowd there would be no lasting Middle East peace until justice was delivered to the Palestinians.
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