F E A T U R E S

Interview: As They Say In The Bible ...
One the movement’s great characters, Public Service Association general secretary Maurie O’Sullivan, is calling it a day. He looks back on his career with Workers Online.

Industrial: Just Doing It
Sportswear giant, Nike, is the first company to sign off on an agreement that purports to protect Australian clothing workers, wherever they labour, writes Jim Marr.

Unions: Breaking Into the Boys Club
For a 23-year-old woman who has never worked in the trade, recruiting young construction apprentices into the union has its challenges, reports Carly Knowles.

Activists: Making the Hard Yards
Mal Cochrane came to the smoke as part of an Aboriginal avalanche that redefined the face of Rugby League. Today, he serves his community through the trade union movement.

Bad Boss: In the Pooh
What do you give a boss who makes his workers labour in raw sewage? A nomination for the Tonys.

Unions: National Focus
In the national wrap Noel Hester finds a Victorian Misso delo who is redistributing lucre from Eddie McGuire into workers’ theatre, South Australian unions taking that Let’s Get Real stuff seriously, an American unionist fronts up at a distinguished ‘meeting of the brains’ in Adelaide and a look at the line up for ACTU Congress.

Economics: Pop Will Eat Itself
Dick Bryan wonders if we can be insured against pop economists promising financial nirvana as well as financial market instability.

Technology: Dean for President
Paul Smith looks at how the internet is helping one Democrat candidate to the front of the primary pack

International: Rangoon Rumble
Union Aid Abroad's Marj O'Callaghan looks at Australia's weak response to developments in Burma.

Education: Blackboard Jungle
Lifelong learning shouldn’t mean cutting jobs, but that's exactly what the Carr Government is proposing, argues Tony Brown

Review: From Weakness to Strength
Labor Council crime-fighter Chris Christodoulou catches up with his boyhood hero, the Incredible Hulk

Poetry: Downsized
Resident bard David Peetz pens the song the Industrial Relations Commission needed to hear

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Cleaning Up
Rabbi Laurie Coskey from San Diego adds her voice to the global campaign for just for cleaners in Westfield malls.

The Locker Room
The Name In The Game
In an age of the sportsperson as celebrity it seems that names are overtaking the games, writes Phil Doyle.

Postcard
The Beach
Southern Thailand’s terrorist activities: facts or fiction asks HT Lee

E D I T O R I A L

A Recipe for Conflict
Without making any excuses, Tony Abbott’s hand wringing at this week’s airing of a secret video of picket line violence was a bit like watching Don King condemn boxing.

N E W S

Aussie Workers Cradle-Snatched

Morris McMahon Workers Say Thanks

Violence: Emerson Fingers Abbott

Cowboys Face Contracts Ban

TUTA Rises From the Ashes

Teased Teachers Fight Back

Labor Fails TAFE Test

Coke Called on to Stop the Rot

Bridgestone Drops Doughnut on Workers

AIRC Locked in Dark Ages

Maternity Breakthrough in Hotels

Labour Rights: Even Bush is Better!

Long Winter for Seasonal Workers

Activist Notebook

L E T T E R S

WHAT YOU CAN DO

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Burma Military Junta Attacks NLD Supporters

On 30 May 2003 a junta-supported mob attacked Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a motorcade of National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders and members in northern Burma. Military generals arrested Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and approximately 50 NLD members; furthermore closing down all NLD offices and universities in Burma to prevent further protest and anti-government opposition. Some opposition sources estimate up to 70 NLD supporters were killed, whilst at least 94 individuals remain unaccounted for and are listed as "disappeared."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Detained

Reports indicate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was held for some time in a two-room hut under deplorable conditions at the infamous Insein Prison, and that she has now been moved to an undisclosed location. The military regime appears to be detaining her under Section 10(a) of a 1975 State Protective Act designed to "safeguard the state against the dangers of subversive elements" allowing up to five years imprisonment without a legal charge.

Australian Government Position on Burma

Members of the international community have taken direct action to pressure the military regime of Burma following the events of 30 May. The Australian government currently endorses a policy of "constructive engagement" with the Burmese military junta, in addition to an on-going program of human rights training in Burma. Australia insists on making no changes or threats of changes to its Burma policy.

Downer: Friend of Burma

At the recent ASEAN meeting of foreign ministers in Phnom Penh, Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer condemned the detainment of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and urged her release, but in contrast to many other international actors, he has not backed up his words with actions. The attitude of Burma's military regime towards Australia is summarised well by U Saw Hla Min, Burma's ambassador to Cambodia, who described Downer by commenting, "Mr. Downer, he is our friend."

Australia's Weak Response: Human Rights Workshops Temporarily Suspended

Following the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Downer has temporarily suspended, rather than canceled, the human rights workshops the Australian government funds in Burma. These workshops involve Australian lawyers teaching civil servants about international conventions; however, the workshops have attracted no supporters except Australian officials and Burma's generals. The workshops are the brainchild of Downer himself, and he insists the workshops will resume "as soon as practicable." His refusal to threaten permanent withdrawal of the workshops leaves him, not Burma, isolated in the world.

The International Community Responds

Many other actors in the international community have taken actions for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD members. ASEAN leaders made a statement indicating they "look forward" to the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, marking the first time foreign ministers have commented directly on a member nation, and a significant departure from ASEAN stated policy.

Japan, Burma's largest donor nation, is using financial pressure to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, departing from a softer position in the past. Japan will freeze new financial assistance to Burma and stop providing new overseas development assistance if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not released by 30 June 2003, and has asked Burma for a meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Malaysia abandoned its long-time policy of "non-interference" by calling on Burma's military officials to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to return to the negotiating table with the NLD.

The EU has imposed sanctions including stripping Burma of trading privileges, freezing non-humanitarian economic aid, generating a list of individuals subject to visa bans and assets freeze, restricting foreign travel for senior junta figures, a ban on military links, and an arms embargo. The UK has demanded release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with the threat of further sanctions and called on British companies to stop trading with Burma. The US has applied restrictions on visas issued to officials from Burma and banned imports on goods manufactured in Burma and by offshore companies owned by the junta.

Call to Action

Mr Downer's refusal to take a strong stance on the deteriorating situation in Burma leaves him isolated in the international community. We urge you to write a letter to Mr. Downer asking him to join others in sending a clear message to the military junta by immediately canceling the program of human rights workshops, condemning the junta's actions against the NLD in the strongest possible terms, and demanding intervention by the UN.

For a sample letter, go to:

http://www.apheda.org.au/campaigns/burma_action_020703.htm#letter

For further information on what unions internationally are doing to support democracy and an end to forced labour in Burma, and how you can be involved, go to:

http://www.apheda.org.au/campaigns/burma.htm

   Visit APHEDA

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URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/features/200307/c_historicalfeature_rangoon.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005