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Regional left groups statement on Tamil refugees

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:27:04 PST

A joint statement of: Socialist Alliance, Australia Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) Network of the Oppressed People (JERIT), Malaysia Confederation Congress of Indonesian Union Alliance (KASBI) Working Peoples Association (PRP), Indonesia National Liberation Party of Unity (PAPERNAS) Indonesian National Front for Labor Struggle (FNPBI) Socialist Party (Australia) CWI Malaysia

Respect human rights - free the refugees!
Reject Australia's 'Indonesian solution'
Australia should welcome the asylum seekers

All respect for elementary human rights and dignity have been thrown overboard as the governments of Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia refuse to accept the latest wave of Tamil asylum seekers fleeing war and oppression in Sri Lanka and instead treat them like criminals.

The Australian government is the only of these three governments to have signed the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees but it is refusing to carry out its obligations to asylum seekers under that convention.

For weeks, more than 250 Tamil-speaking people, including children, remain in dire conditions on a boat in Merak, Indonesia. Another 68 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers, including children, remain on the Australian customs ship Oceanic Viking off Tanjung Pinang, Indonesia. Both groups are refusing to leave their boats for fear that Indonesia will lock them up in detention centres with a reputation for brutality and/or send them back to an uncertain future in Sri Lanka. On November 1, it was reported that a boat of asylum seekers had sunk near the Cocos Islands, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean, and 12 are missing feared drowned.

Meanwhile, 207 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers are being held at the Immigration Detention Centre at Kuala Lumpar International Airport, and 108 Sri Lankan refugees are being detained at Pekan Nanas Immigration Detention Centre in Johor, Malaysia. Malaysia is both a transit point and a country of permanent asylum for tens of thousands of refugees from countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Australian PM Kevin Rudd claims its policy is "humane" but "tough". It is neither. The Rudd Labor government of Australia is bribing the Indonesian government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intercept the boats of asylum seekers on their way to Australia. This "Indonesian solution" out-sources Australia's obligation to asylum seekers to Indonesia just as its predecessor did to Nauru and PNG in the name of a "Pacific solution".

Many of those seeking asylum in Australia come from Sri Lanka where the Tamils have suffered from decades of brutal oppression at the hands of various Sinhala national chauvinist governments. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa unleashed an all-out terror campaign this year, killing some 20,000 Tamil people in the month of May. Since the end of the military offensive, more than 300,000 Tamil people have been imprisoned in concentration-style camps and denied the right to return to their homes. It is estimated that 31,000 children are among those incarcerated, without proper access to shelter, food and medicine.

The Australian government, like many governments in the West and across Asia, supported the Rajapaksa regime throughout its final onslaught preferring to maintain trade links, including selling arms, rather than stop the Tamil minority from being massacred.

We condemn the Australia, Indonesian and Malaysian governments for their lack of commitment to the humanitarian problems faced by the refugees and we demand:

* That the governments of our countries withdraw financial and diplomatic support from the Sri Lankan government until it closes the concentration camps, and allows the Tamils trapped in camps to go back to their homes without fear of persecution.

* That no refugee fleeing war and persecution should be forced to return to the country they fled.

* That Australia, as a wealthy and developed country which has exploited its poorer neighbours, should immediately develop a program to settle tens of thousands of asylum seekers and take a leading role in helping reduce the misery of the world's millions of refugees, most of whom are trying to survive in desperate conditions in refugee camps in some of the world's poorest countries.

* That Australia allow the asylum seekers trapped in Indonesia to come to Australia to have their claims heard here and we condemn the Indonesian government for being a puppet for the Australian government in preventing refugees from going to Australia. This cooperation between these two governments is a threat not only to the Tamil refugees but to human rights in the region.

* That Australia must immediately close the Christmas Island refugee prison, close it down and allow those asylum seekers to live in freedom in Australia while their claims are processed.

* That the Indonesian, Malaysian and Australian governments respect the human rights of the refugees, give protection, humanitarian aid and accomodation to the refugees as long as they are in Indonesian territory and place no limitation for their rights to seek an asylum.

* That the Malaysian and Indonesian governments sign the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, release the asylum seekers they have in detention and allow them full access to UNHCR and human rights groups.

We appeal to all democratic and progressive people in Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia, trade unions, human rights organisations and women's rights organisations to understand the plight of the asylum seekers and to support our demands.

November 5, 2009

[If your organisation would like to add its name to this statement, please write to the Socialist Alliance

Latest edition of Alliance Voices

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:29:18 PST

Alliance Voices
Socialist Alliance National Discussion Bulletin
alliancevoices.blogspot.com

Current Issue - Volume 9, No 3, November 2009

Download pdf version for printing.

SEVENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Conference organising under way

PRECONFERENCE DISCUSSION

ASSESSING OUR WORK

IN THE NEWS

Sack Connex

_________________________________________

SEVENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Conference organising under way The organisation of our Seventh National Conference is well under way. After two National Executive discussions and quite a few Conference Organising Committee meetings, the draft agenda for the conference has been finalised, and is published in this Alliance Voices. Read more...

PRECONFERENCE DISCUSSION

What measures against the economic and financial crisis? The two documents that follow are separate drafts by Dick Nichols and David White on what the Socialist Alliance should propose against the economic and financial crisis. The October 8 National Executive resolved to publish these drafts in Alliance Voices, with a view to stimulating pre-conference discussion on our approach on the issue leading up to the next federal election. Members are urged to read the two drafts and send in their comments. Read more...
A proposal for organising socialist education in Socialist Alliance Socialist Alliance is a broad socialist organisation, housing socialists from a range of traditions. We are united by our collectively agreed policy and our commitment to work together toward the agreed goal of socialism. Part of the process of developing Socialist Alliance is the process of clarifying our ideas, introducing new people to our policy and encouraging a study, discussion and debate of socialist ideas.Read more...
From idealism to realism Green Left Weekly does a splendid job keeping us well informed about what is taking place overseas, climate change and the global financial crisis. Without any doubt those issues are of paramount importance. The main argument I am advancing is that more attention should be given to ordinary, mundane issues that the average Australian who would rather watch footie than attend a political meeting considers important. Read more...

ASSESSING OUR WORK

Notes on Socialist Alliance and Resistance anti-war workThese notes were prepared Pip Hinman, national anti-war convener and Trent Hawkins and Sue Bolton, Melbourne Socialist Alliance. While the anti-war movement has subsided since the recent high point in 2002-2003, the authority activists in Socialist Alliance and Resistance have built up over many years means that when openings do occur – such as around the Gaza assault (late 2008 and early 2009) and the mid-year Tamil struggle against the Sri Lankan regime’s onslaught – we do have authority to help pull the anti-war networks together around a progressive set of demands.Read more....
The Hazelwood climate camp protest Overall the Victorian Climate Camp at Hazelwood (September 24-27) was a success for the climate movement and Socialist Alliance.Around 500 people from around Victoria participated in the main action (about half camped the day before), despite starting at 11am on a cold rainy Sunday.Read more...

IN THE NEWS

Media coverage of the SA public transport campaign in Melbourne western suburbs.Read more..

Contact the Socialist Alliance

SLIDESHOW Sydney protest against Rudd Labor's "Indonesian solution"

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:07:04 PST

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SLIDESHOW Workplace safety: Under new attack!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:11:09 PST

Martin Place, Sydney Oct 28, 2009

Trade unionists and concerned members of the broader community held a rally in Sydney's Martin Place on October 28, 2009 to protest draft federal and uniform state laws which will put workers' safety at greater risk. About 7000 workers die in Australian workplaces every year and another 690,000 are injured. The Rudd Labor federal government was elected on the back of a mass campaign for workplace rights but that same Labor government is now attacking workers' rights.

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Since the election of President Obama, there has been no change whatsoever in the implementation of the blockade

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:51:27 PDT

SPEECH BY FOREIGN MINISTER BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ PARRILLA AT THE UNITED NATIONSGENERAL ASSEMBLY UNDER THE ITEM "NECESSITY OF ENDING THE ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL EMBARGO IMPOSED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AGAINST CUBA".

(NEW YORK, OCTOBER 28, 2009)

Mr. President,

Permanent Representatives and Delegates,

Alexis García Iribar was born in Cuba, in the province of Guantánamo. He suffered from a congenital cardiopathy known as persistent arterial duct. At the age of 6 and after successive deferrals and hemodynamic complications, he had to be submitted to an open-heart surgery on March 9, 2009, because the government of the United States prevents the US companies NUMED, AGA and Boston Scientific from selling to Cuba the ‘amplatzer’ and ‘embolization coil’ devices required to perform a catheterization that will spare children from this type of surgery. I could mention another 12 cases of children between the ages of 5 months and 13 years who have had to undergo a similar procedure in the course of the last one and a half years –two of them underwent surgery after last January 20.

SLIDESHOW Countering the racist lies & building solidarity with refugees

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:09:30 PDT

[These are presentation notes to accompany the Powerpoint Presentation which was delivered by Paul Benedek to a refugee forum organised by the Socialist Alliance in Brisbane on October 27th, 2009 ]

Introduction

Focus of this is on countering the dangerous, racist lies – from politicians, from media – that create climate of fear, of scapegoating. Just what is behind this “fortress Australia” policy?

As Alex – Tamil spokesperson for the boat currently in Indonesia, where a recent hunger strike was held – told GLW: “When people are fleeing war and genocide, how can a country think protecting themselves is more important than helping these people? The world is for all of humankind, we are just like you except we do not have a country.”

“We are refugees and we want to get away from genocide”, Alex said. “There are women and children on board here. And we are not animals, we are people, but we are being treated inhumanely.”

Countering the racist lies & building solidarity with refugees

View more presentations from Ratbag Media.

The “Indonesia Solution”

New refugee colonialism – Australia using political pressure, and money, to “outsource” detention of (primarily Tamil) refugees to Indonesia. Tens of millions to Indo to halt and detain people fleeing genocide.

This is a slightly altered version of Howard Govt’s “Pacific Solution” – where poor countries like Nauru were bullied and bribed into being a dumping ground for refugees.

The idea of both these policies – Howard’s Pacific Solution and Rudd’s Indonesia Solution – is this: minimize Australia’s responsibility to these desperate people. Prevent them from reaching Australian territory and thus having access to the basic laws of Australia. The Howard govt even went so far as to excise parts of Australia – to say in effect “no you haven’t reached Australia, you still have no rights”. This policy came in the wake of the Tampa, where scapegoating refugees was used to win an election. Rudd is now following the same line…

These old Pacific and the new Indonesian solutions are not merely about 2 similarly placed countries jockeying about who takes refugees. It is essentially the rich, first world – which is massively better resourced to resettle refugees – putting up a fortress, and instead forcing refugees to poor countries. A sort of new “refugee imperialism”. Even have TV shows to underline the message “border security”!

Worse:

Indonesia is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, meaning no guarantee of accepting refugees and giving them rights (indeed, few countries between the Middle East and Australia have signed the Refugee Convention).

Indonesia of course very poorly equipped to resettle people who have experienced war, genocide, trauma, psychological distress, injuries, torture and more. Lets be clear on this – even when listed with the UNHCR as a refugee, in Indonesia not permitted to seek employment, send children to school, or apply for residency

Now reports of detention centres in Indonesia where Tamil refugees are being beaten. So we went through long campaign end brutality of mandatory detention, to close horror camps like Woomera and Baxter…..yet these new “outsourced” camps are worse!

Recent report on Indonesia's detention centres: "... babies and children reside in maximum security

third-world jails"; asylum seekers "treated like animals. There are beatings fairly frequently at the hands of Indonesian military and Immigration officials. If anyone escapes the rest who are left behind will be beaten as a warning." In places like Mataram, Lombok, there are rats running around….extremely cramped conditions….People can't lie down at the same time so they can't sleep at the same time. In a prison in Pontianak ... around 50 men and unaccompanied boys are locked up in a big cell just smaller than a tennis court, a concrete cell behind bars. It's very hot and steamy and when the men do their business it flows into a ditch behind the building and just sits there and the stench is unbelievable.

Not just Indonesia – also Malaysia. Socialist Party of Malaysia statement against ‘collusion with Sri Lankan govt’ (note MSP will be at SA Conf)

Hundreds of Sri Lankan asylum seekers held at the Immigration Detention Centre at Kuala Lumpar Airport + another Detention Centre. Many women and children, including a woman in her 8mth of pregnancy

Reports that the Sri Lankan embassy were forcing a group of Sri Lankan refugees to sign agreements for repatriation – when refused to sign the agreements, the embassy personnel beat and kicked them to force them to sign the agreement.

UNHCR and HRC of Malaysia denied access to the refugees. Yet SL govt officials can.

Despite some having UNHCR status, cant work. Of course, must work, so do so illegally, opening up to abuse. What if boss doesn’t pay them? Opens them to extortion.

The global refugee situation and Australia’s role

But to get a full understanding of whats happening in Australia and the region and with the Tamil refugees, it’s important we put it in the context of the global refugee situation.

There are around 42mill refugees and internally displaced people officially – however that no doubt understates the figure. It still doesn’t include the growing number of climate change refugees, which are not yet officially included in the UN definition of refugees. The amount of refugees globally is on the rise - wars, conflict, poverty and the effects of climate change are causing this. According to Amnesty, 1 person in 115 on the globe is a refugee

So what is Australia’s role in this global tragedy? Surely we are always told we are such a “generous” country?! Well, Australia's refugee intake is tiny in relation to this global situation. –Australia houses 1 refugee for every 1600 people. Compare to Tanzania, a poor country – 1 in 76. In Switzerland, 1 in 160.

Australia takes around 13,000 refugees per year total – at the start of the 1980s it was 20,000. The 1500 or so boat arrivals this year is just over 10% of the total refugees we will take. It is just over 1% of immigration (134,000). . Fewer than 1600 asylum seekers have come to Australia by boat this year. Labelling this a “surge” is a sham. Australia is in a position to take many more refugees than it now does.

Aren’t they “illegals”?

Rudd, the opposition and the media have casually used the false term “illegal immigrants” to describe the refugees.

To demonstrate their “illegality”, the navy is used to “repel” these people, as if they are an invading army….rather than desperate men, women and children seeking safety from war and genocide.

However, we must be clear – there is no such thing as an “illegal” asylum seeker. Both the UN refugee convention, and Australian law, make it perfectly clear that it is legal for people seeking asylum to do so in another country – whether they have papers or not, whether they arrive by boat or not – it is perfectly legal to seek asylum, and they have a right to be heard.

Indeed, when their cases are heard – after sometimes months or years being locked away cruelly after already experiencing the horror of displacement – around 85% are found to fulfil refugee criteria.

[By the way, this does not mean that the other small amount are ‘rorting’ the system, just that they may not fulfil the strict criteris….for example, people fleeing Tuvulu as their island goes under would not, under current law, receive refugee status.]

Boatpeople are ‘queue jumpers’, stealing the places of ‘genuine’ refugees waiting patiently in camps for their turn at orderly processing by the UNHCR

There is no such queue. In many places, there is no UNHCR office and no Australian embassy – including Iraq and Afghanistan

Now, I looked up Sri Lanka, yes there is a UNHCR! And indeed several offices - Colombo,

Vavuniya, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Batticaloa. However, please note that you can only apply to the Colombo office for refugee status. The UNHCR Field Offices cannot entertain any applications for refugee status. Great. So all a Tamil has to do is get free from the camps and go to the heart of Sri Lanka and then they may have a chance…..?!

Of course, actually going to a UNHCR office and/or expressing a desire to leave may literally put your life at risk or expose you to danger. It is in a countries interest to prevent a refugee reaching the UNHCR, since such an application for asylum is an indication of persecution or war in that country.

Even if you do gain UNHCR status, it can mean little. Australia has not taken one UNHCR refugee from Indonesia in the last 3 yrs! 24 of those who recently died when their ship sank off the coast of Indonesia had already been granted refugee status by the UNHCR in Jakarta.

Finally, the concept of a queue, in a humanitarian view, is ridiculous. Imagine the Victorian bushfires, being told – “well sorry, the limit is 10 per week….you’ll have to wait your turn….yet the 170 deaths in these bushfires is indeed small compared to the daily toll in Sri Lanka.

Myth: Refugees cost “us” greatly

Millions is being poured into “border control” - including for the military. Now tens of millions is being given to Indonesia to run what could be described as torture camps to “outsource” the Australian governments dirty work. Mandatory detention cost $104 per day – up until recently, disgustingly, refugees were billed for this amount – one Iranian refugee who suffered depression after 4yrs in detention, was billed for $268,000!

The government is even sending furnished shipping containers from the Baxter detention centre — suspected of dangerously high formaldehyde content — to Christmas Island to house asylum seekers there.

A humane policy, that welcomed refugees and helped them settle here and build a better life, would be far less costly. Of course refugees can’t “contribute” when they are stuck in detention centres whether on Xmas Island or Indonesia, hunger striking for their rights. Instead of money being spent on razor wire, extreme security, military ships patrolling…money should be going to resettlement services, to help refugees join in the community, find work, housing, education, much needed healthcare and more.

For example – a parole system, with refugees living in the community, would cost $5.39 per day – compared to $104 per day for mandatory detention

Myth: Cracking down on ‘people smugglers’ will stop asylum seekers reaching Australia

While there are no doubt people smugglers who attempt to make the most money possible and often put asylum seekers lives at risk, the fundamental, unmistakable fact remains that ‘people smugglers’ fulfill a service that is absolutely necessary for those that use them.

As the barriers go up in on the rich-world fortresses, as the numbers of refugees to be taken by countries that have the resources to take them are inhumanely low, and as refugee services are unable to reach those suffering war or genocide – then asylum seekers are forced to turn to people smugglers to get to a country where they may gain sanctuary.

A simple question to the most racist, the most hardline, the Wilson Tuckeys or Philip Ruddock’s….if you and your loved ones were in a Tamil concentration camp; had seen other family killed; knew the monsoon season and horrific illness and death were coming…..if you had a chance to get out by a people smuggler, would you take it?

Kevin Rudd calls them “'scum of the earth' who should 'rot in jail and rot in hell'. But should Oskar Schindler was a “people smuggler”; a poor fisherman who tries to ferry a bunch of his community and himself to safety is a “people smuggler”. I have heard a brave Afghan Chaman Shah here in Brisbane say openly “without a people smuggler I would be dead”.

There is a humane way to undermine people smuggling….and that is, for well resourced governments like Australia to massively boost its refugee intake, and to facilitate refugees coming here. If those facing war and persecution knew that Australia – and other first-world countries – would let them in and help them get to countries like Australia, they wouldn’t have to risk their lives seeking refuge.

The navy ships that try to keep refugees out, that monitor leaky boats, that even – in the horrific case of the SIEV-X – appear to stand by while desperate refugee boats sink and hundreds drown….these navy ships instead could be used to bring people safely to Australia and settle them quickly into the community.

MYTH: Won’t a humane policy ‘open the floodgates’ and we will be ‘swamped’ by refugees?

Firstly, its worth noting that pre 1992 mandatory detention didn’t exist. There were no floods then, no swamping – just an ebb and flow of asylum seekers depending on the global situation, with applicants in hostels, who then went into the community once they had their refugee status.

This is the otherside of the argument that harsh policies will stop refugees coming. The reality is, regardless of the policies, refugees will flee when they need to. Yet – much as it crushes the inflated nationalism of Australians - refugees don’t want to be here! Given a choice, the vast majority would rather be in the places they and their families grew up in, where the language is familiar, where they are connected to the culture – as long as their lives were not at risk. The Tamils would rather be in Tamil Eelam – if there wasn’t genocide occurring. The Iraqis want to be in Iraq, the Afghanis in Afghanistan, where it not being bombed and occupied. A good eg is East Timor – despite being one of the poorest countries on earth, the vast majority of East Timorese who had sought refuge actually returned to this poor country when it finally won independence.

So, sorry, but there isn’t hordes ready to swarm Australia – they actually prefer a bit of culture to this redneck enclave!

Want to get rid of refugees? Then stop creating them!

The irony of the Australian govt formulating such anti-refugee policy, is that Australia has played an active role in creating refugees.

Australia eagerly was part of the coalition of the killing in the invasions and occupations of both iraq and Afghanistan – both creating tens or hundreds of thousands of refugees (along with killing over 1mill people in the case of Iraq).

In the case of Sri Lanka, Australia has been a close ally of Sri Lankas brutal govt, never whispering a word of caution as Sri Lanka engages in genocidal policies. [Joint military training?]

Another area where Australia is helping create refugees is the daily growing crisis of climate refugees, displaced from low-lying countries that are going under water, having their crop land poisoned by salt water, and facing ever worsening climate disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes and floods – which can’t be directly attributed to climate change, but are certainly happening more frequently and with greater impact due to climate change. In the face of this, Australia remains the greatest per capita emitter of CO2 in the world.

Role of racism under capitalism

So if refugees account for only 10% of Australias migrant intake; and refugees by boat more like 1%; and Australia takes such a small proportion of refugees….then why is this manufactured into such a huge political crisis, with daily frontpage coverage, with major parties competing to be “tough”, even with elections fought on the issue of a few hundred people seeking safety????

That last example – the Tampa – gives us the answer, and its none too secret. Anti-refugee hysteria is useful for the system, a useful political tool, to find a scapegoat for societies problems. Think back to the Tampa – 2001, there was considerable anger at the Howard govt for selling Telstra, for attacks on unions, and esp for the GST -> these issues prob would have seen Howard lose the election…..but along came Tampa. Howard, with a willing media, and a “me-too” ALP “opposition”, skillfully turned the election away from those real issue that effected millions of the population, and on to a scapegoat….the Tampa refugees. “We decide who comes to this country and the ciurcumstances in which they come” Howard infamously bellowed in adverts draped in the flag, not too different to Pauline Hanson’s overt racism of the preceeding years.

So portraying refugees as “illegals” and stirring up racism toward migrants in general creates a convenient scapegoat for the government's failures. The government habitually appeals to racist and nationalist attitudes to draw support for, or distract from, unpopular actions.

Media’s role in racism

The corporate media has been a driving force behind the racist fear mongering

Use of false, racist language that promotes fear - “boatpeople”; “illegals”; “flood”;

The media played up every slur Liberal and Labour came up with. Then Liberal MP Wilson Tuckey told media the asylum boats were “a terrorist threat”.

The media has failed, and continues to fail, to bring accurate reporting on the horrors facing the Tamil people. If the community in Australia had knowledge over the oppression the Tamils faced for decades, the slaughter that has taken place, if ppl saw that reality – then we would see much more sympathy

Important we recognize the systemic racism – that the fault lies not with bigoted individuals, as offensive as they can be – but the media and politicians that fan this racism are the ones that should be held to account

Another reason for the racism – to break solidarity between the poor and oppressed.

Conclusion

Perhaps Labor is even more despicable than the previous government, given the hypocrisy. At least Howard was rather boldly bigoted – yet Rudd and his govt parade as supporters of human rights and “civilised values”….yet when a few hundred poor, desperate, persecuted refugees approach Australian, any humanity is “thrown overboard”.

Refugees are cast as a dark force threatening Australia. But a two-party political system that willfully breaks international law; engages in wars and supports genocidal governments; abuses people fleeing war and persecution; and whips up racism for political gain – this is the real danger.

In a just world, it’s the cynical politicians and their helpers, from Wilson Tuckey to Kevin Rudd – that would be the ones locked up, rather than desperate asylum seekers.

SLIDESHOW Rudd: End the racist NT Intervention

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:48:36 PDT

A protest picket outside the Sydney office of PM Kevin Rudd demanded an end to the racist NT Intervention (initiated by the previous Howard Liberal-National government) which continues to impose welfare apartheid on NT Aboriginal communities and threatens Indigenous land rights. The picket was organised by the Stop The Intervention Collective, Sydney (STICS) and Indigenous activist and academic Nicole Watson addressed the picket. "I am a reformed Labor voter", she said. "I was brought up in Queensland and taught when I was young that the ALP cared about people. Now the ALP government has perpetuated the greatest assault in Aboriginal people: the NT intervention." A National Day of Action against the NT intervention has been called for February 13, 2010.

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The bloody price of playing with prejudice

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:56:57 PDT

Every time the capitalist politicians play with racist prejudice against asylum seekers there are violent consequences. I'm not just referring to the threatened forceful disembarkation of the Tamil refugees from the Oceanic Viking, which is outrageous; the bi-partisan anti-asylum seeker rhetoric in Canberra is very likely provoking more racist violence across Australia.

“Next time an Indian student is bashed up, Rudd and Turnbull, should be charged as accessories to the crime”, Sue Bolton, a respected Melbourne grassroots political activist told Green Left Weekly.

PM Kevin Rudd's I-make-no-apology stance was pinched from the hated former Liberal PM John Howard, who used it to advance a raft of reactionary positions. Howard used this rhetorical technique to steal Pauline Hanson's appeal to established reactionary prejudices.

Now Rudd is doing the same and it is having a very nasty and widespread effect. Rudd has repeated over and over again that he makes “no apology” for being “tough” on refugees, raising racist anti-refugee prejudice to a new high. But that is not all Rudd is unapologetic about, as Sydney Morning Herald columnist Annabel Crabb noted on October 27:

“In May this year, he declared himself an 'unapologetic optimist about this region's future'.

“By July, he was also an 'unapologetic supporter of the United States'.”

When politicians play with prejudice there are always violent real-life consequences. But even Crabb, a young and general socially progressive columnist, has so far ignored the real-life price of this latest bi-partisan exploitation of racist prejudice. If you can still bear to watch the ABC TV's Q & A, there is the same inescapable message that it is “civilised” politics-as-usual in Parliament House, Canberra. The nasty bipartisan campaign to fan racist hysteria is being treated as just some political game of pass-the wedge.

A similar thing is happening with the public debate on climate change. Political wordplay has displaced serious discussion about how to deal with this global emergency. Truth has become a casualty, as politicians and right-wing commentators fulminate against “climate alarmists” and rally behind the denialist' ideological leader (and mining company mouthpiece) Ian Plimer’s declaration that environmentalism is just another belief system.

David Spratt, the co-author of Climate Code Red notes in a message of support for Green Left Weekly's Spring Offensive fund appeal.

“In a world where politics and the media are the triumph of form over content, Green Left Weekly stands in contrast as a paper dedicated to publishing the news, analysis and ideas at the core of today's community, labour and social movement concerns. Whether it be the banking crisis, what is really happening in Afghanistan or environment and climate issues, GLW plays a unique role in digging and prodding and cajoling and stirring and pushing debates and actions.”

A final burst to finish off Green Left Weekly's Spring Offensive is needed. Our supporters have raised $192,042 so far this year. That's 77% of our $250,000 target for the year. Please reach for your wallet, credit card or cheque book now and help us get there!

VIDEO: Tariq Ali - Afghanistan - Bring the troops home protest 24 Oct 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:19:18 PDT

For once an anti-war war demonstration got widespread coverage across the mainstream media. Stop the War's Bring the Troops Home demonstration on Saturday 24 October was led by the first serving soldier in the British army to join an anti-war march, ex-soldiers, military families and 104-year-old peace campaigner Hetty Bower.

VIDEO: Honduras -- AlbaTV

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:22:31 PDT

I find the video stye of Alba TV exciting and very creative. A 'community' generated project in Venezuela , you can catch up with more from Alba here on VideoActiv

Red Councillors have a history in Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:25:10 PDT

Recent electoral victories in Australia by socialists at the municipal council level -- the Socialist Party's Stephen Jolly in Victoria and Socialist Alliance's Sam Wainwright in Western Australia -- have sparked renewed interest in the experiences of other socialists who have been elected to such bodies. With permission of the Rough Reds Collective, Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal is publishing Beverley Symons' paper that examines the example of Communist Party of Australia members elected to the Sydney City Council in the 1950s. This article first appeared in the 2003 book A Few Rough Reds, published by the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Canberra Region Branch.

Read more.....

VIDEO:The Ampilatwatja Walkoff - Join the Journey

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:06:02 PDT

"On July 14 2009 we, Elders from the Ampilatwatja community, walked out of our houses and set up camp in the bush. We are fed up with the federal government's Northern Territory Intervention, controls and measures, visions and goals forced onto us from outside. We felt we were outcasts and isolated from all decision making -there has been no meaningful consultation... We therefore have no intention of going back there. We intend to stay here until our demands are met.

I would like to send a personal invitation to all our brothers and sisters, who are leaders and workers in their Aboriginal organisations to come together as one people. I would like to share with you the visions of our leaders and Elders and the path we have chosen to honour the lines of our country, mother Earth, our dreaming and spirituality. Brothers and sisters, we are one and we are part of you. We are all connected through mother Earth. This is the true line we must follow to unite and to bring all our white brothers and sisters on this journey with us. We have many struggles and journeys ahead. The time is now. It is vital that we come together to listen to each other and share our thoughts and ideas on the way forward. What will be the future for our aboriginal people across this country? I look forward to meeting many of you on the tour and hope to create lasting friendships and connections so that we can work towards creating a better future for our younger generations."

Richard Downs,
Alyawarra People, Ampilatwatja Community
Central Australia

Source: The JuiceMedia. (Visit channel)

SATIRE Kevin Ruddock

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:43:17 PDT

Refugee Man

From Ben Courtice.

Making a journalistic point via many media forms

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:49:28 PDT

We've banged away here in some large measure about multimedia and how platforms such as video and audio impact on how we make a point.-- could rather than do make a point.

If you are interested in this topic and want to quickly skill up, Adam Westbrook is offering a free to download e-book on multimedia journalism. And the tips and wherewithall about tech skills shared aint half bad.

Westbrook advances a business model but he nonetheless captures the gist of what' sat stake when he writes:

the journalist of the future is a reporter, a video journalist, a photo-journalist, audio journalist and interactive designer, all-in-one. They shoot and edit films, audio slideshows, podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, and longer articles. They may have one specialism out of those, but can go somewhere and cover a story in a multitude of platforms.

Rudd’s policy is racist — refugees are not illegal--- and more from the latest GLW...

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:25:36 PDT

Rudd’s policy is racist — refugees are not illegal

The Australian government is getting desperate and showing its true colours. Not long after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd personally intervened to turn away a boat of 260 Tamil refugees in international waters, a second boat — also carrying refugees from Sri Lanka — sent out a distress signal off the coast of Sumatra.

Poverty, domestic violence: Women bearing brunt of economic crisis

A domestic violence shelter in Alice Springs told ABC radio’s AM on May 1 that between January 1 and mid-April this year, it provided accommodation for 157 children and 149 women. However, due to lack of funding, it turned away a further 158 women and 100 children seeking support.

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Climate change: nuclear no answer

The big nuclear push is on. The nuclear industry is trying to re-brand yellowcake as “green”.

Nuclear debate: For climate, nuclear a neccessity (Barry Brook)

Let’s start by establishing some common ground between myself and anti-nuclear campaigners like Jim Green. Green and I both understand the seriousness of the climate crisis and the imperative for a rapid transformation of our energy system to technologies that emit no carbon when generating power.

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Nuclear debate: A dangerous option that wont solve climate change (Jim Green)

There are three main problems with the nuclear “solution” to climate change — it is a blunt instrument, a dangerous one, and it is unnecessary.

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The Flame Arabic-language supplement, October 2009

With the help of Socialist Alliance members in the growing Sudanese community in Australia, Green Left Weekly is proud to publish a regular Arabic language supplement. The Flame covers news from the Arabic-speaking world as well as news and issues from within Australia. The October edition can be read at Links, international journal of socialist renewal.

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Defend Ark Tribe! Defend building workers!

The Building and Construction Industry Improvement Amendment (Transition to Fair Work) Bill 2009 is scheduled for Senate debate on October 26. The bill would change the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005 (BCII Act). This would affect the building and construction industry’s watchdog, the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

Honduras: ‘No here is giving up’ as talks declared dead

The mass resistance of the poor majority to the coup regime that overthrew elected President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 continues after nearly 120 days. Talks between the coup regime and Zelaya to resolve the crisis, which is costing the Honduran economy millions of dollars, were finally declared dead by Zelaya on October 23.

Open letter to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Honduras — please add your name

Please ciruclate and add your name to this letter by emailing weekly.greenleft@gmail.com

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Afghanistan: For Uncle Sam, good help is hard to find

Almost eight years after choosing Hamid Karzai to head the Afghan government, Uncle Sam would like to give him a pink slip.

Britain: Tamils march against concentration camps

The article below is abridges from an October 18 Tamilnet.org report.

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Copenhagen: illusions on the edge of a precipice

Can we expect decent climate policy when most of the decision-making elite are ignorant of the real scientific imperatives, or believe they can negotiate with the laws of physics and chemistry? The answer is bleak, judging by the lead-up talks to the climate summit in Copenhagen in December.

John Pilger: Britain’s postal srtike is the war at home

The struggle of striking British postal workers against privatisation plans is as vital for democracy as any national event in recent years. The campaign against them is part of a historic shift from the last vestiges of political democracy in Britain to a corporate world of insecurity and war.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Che’s revolutionary example

Steven Sodebergh’s epic films, Che Part I & II, give a detailed portrayal of the experience of Argentinean-born socialist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in the Cuban revolutionary war and his failed Bolivia campaign that ended in his execution on October 9, 1967.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Sexism and queerphobia’s social basis

There are social expectations on everyone, men and women, to act in particular ways based on our sex. This is bad for everyone because it’s stifling, but it’s worse for women and queers.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Socialist councillor: community activist, socialist, unionist

The Socialist Alliance’s Sam Wainwright was elected to the Fremantle Council on October 17. He was elected with 438 votes (33.44%) and will represent the Hilton ward.

• Email to a friend • Related • •

Reinstating the RDA is hypocrisy

Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin announced in May that the federal Labor government would reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act by the end of October. But she has also said key policies of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) would remain — discriminatory policies that required the suspension of the RDA to be passed.

A slow coup in Venezuela

United States measures for resisting progressive changes in Latin America have included funding for right-wing opposition groups, military deployment throughout the region, and the reactivating of the US Navy Fourth Fleet for monitoring the continent.

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Basque Country: Repression fails to silence independence movement

A massive protest was held on October 17 in Donostia/San Sebastian in the Basque Country to protest against the Spanish government’s new wave of arrests against the Basque pro-independence and labour movement.

Latin America: ALBA summit prioritises planet and poor

The seventh summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), a nine-nation anti-imperialist trading bloc established in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela, was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia over October 16-17.

Tertiary union adopts strong climate change policy

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) national council meeting over October 9-11 adopted key resolutions around climate change amid significant and vigorous debate.

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Venezuela: A steady stream of lies

US-Venezuelan lawyer Eva Golinger points out in her books exposing US intervention into Venezuela that the constant stream of lies about Venezuela and its popular President Hugo Chavez are best seen as the leading edge of an integrated strategy of destabilisation and “regime change” for the socialist-oriented, oil-rich nation.

350.org climate actions sweeps world

More than 175 different climate change actions took place across Australia on October 24. The protests were part of the 350.org international day of climate action.

Armidale forum supports Latin American revolutions

“A revolution is sweeping Latin America, and Venezuela is at the centre of the process that is radically changing the social order there”, Jim McIlroy told a forum on October 22.

Clive Hamilton to stand for the Greens

The Australian Greens announced on October 23 that high profile economist and environmentalist Clive Hamilton would stand for the party in the upcoming by-election for the federal seat of Higgins in Victoria.

Copenhagen: mass protests planned

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in climate action protests in the Danish capital of Copenhagen during the United Nations-sponsored climate talks in December.

Cut minimum wage, says think tank

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) — a right-wing economic think tank — released its What’s Next for Welfare-to-Work? report on October 15. As part of a strategy to push more people off welfare, the report called for a fall in the minimum wage and a tightening of eligibility rules for the Disability Support Pension (DSP).

Far North ALP opposes privatisations

A motion calling for a halt to the Queensland ALP government’s plans to privatise public rail, port, road and forestry assets was passed with support of 70% of delegates at the ALP’s Far Northern regional conference on October 18.

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Fare hikes hurt commuters and climate

Hot on the heels of its hugely unpopular privatisation plans, the Queensland government has waded into more trouble. It announced plans to ramp up the cost of public transport in a five-year plan starting January 2010.

Geelong Trades Hall: ‘Howes right on refugees’

The following statement is by Geelong Trades Hall Council secretary Tim Gooden.

Hundreds pay tribute to union legend

About 200 people attended a tribute dinner on October 17 to unionist and living legend Fred Moore.

Indonesia: Presidential inauguration marked by protests

Thousands of people from various sectors of society protested to mark the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president and Boediono as vice-president near the national parliament on October 20. Yudhoyono was elected to his second five-year term.

AUDIO: Dr Brian Senewiratne and the Sri Lankan crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:41:06 PDT

Oct 22, 2009: ABC Queensland

In September last year, the Government of Sri Lanka ordered all aid agencies (including the UN agencies) to leave the 'northern war zone' of Sri Lanka. UN agencies have been delivering food and medical aid to nearly 160,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) ie refugees, in the Vanni...the Tamil area just south of the Jaffna Peninsula. There were 13 aid groups in the region, providing emergency food aid, clean water and sanitation to some 200,000 people living in refugee camps and under trees in this area. All agencies except ICRC, the Red Cross, left. A humanitarian crisis is now unfolding.

Popout

Original audio source (dr-brian-senewiratne.mp3)

DSP to complete merger into the Socialist Alliance

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:36:25 PDT

At its national gathering on October 4th, the Democratic Socialist Perspective affirmed its commitment to merge into the Socialist Alliance.

The DSP has been an affiliate of the Alliance since its founding in 2001. In 2003 the DSP had flagged its intention to invest its resources into the Socialist Alliance in order to facilitate its trajectory towards becoming a new Multi Tendency Socialist Party (MTSP). That dynamic was put on hold in 2005 in the wake of the re-election of the Howard federal government so in the four years since the DSP had been trying to build two parties concurrently -- its own, although restricted to being a tendency within the Alliance, and the Socialist Alliance itself. At its mid year meeting the DSP national leadership had decided to revive the merger process and since then, the DSP's separate operations had been rolled back in preference to working primarily in Alliance forums and governing bodies rather than organizing separately..

At its October meeting Peter Boyle, in his report to the national leadership gathering, said that the DSP was not giving up its revolutionary socialist politics but instead:

...we are finding the best road to taking that politics to a bigger audience. This is not just a paper declaration. We have proved it with everything we have done over the last months. Actions speak louder than words. We have carried on taking our politics into the various social movements and we have campaigned for socialist ideas through Green Left, other publications, through local political education classes and seminars, and through a very successful World At A Crossroads conference.

Boyle said it was very clear that the DSP had no intentions of "liquidating" its politics. He then went onto to review how the merging process had fared over the past few months:

Our approach is to foster spaces where such leadership teams can emerge and be democratically accountable. We tried this out with the local organising committees and they have all succeeded to a one degree or another in bringing together new local leadership teams. We need to bend the stick in the direction of inclusivity so that new broader leadership teams can be built...The next challenge for the local organising committees is to set up effective working groups and committees, not just to organise the Socialist Alliance's interventions in the various social movements (which had already begun before we embarked on this merger process), but also to organise the party building tasks like recruiting, Green Left Weekly distribution and copy gathering, fundraising, education, etc.

He pointed out that a political education program was feasible within the Alliance even if the DSP did not continue to act within it as a separate entity to organise it. In this regard Boyle stressed the continuing importance of Green Left Weekly in this process and underscored its role as a left regroupment tool:

Well, now we also have a regular Arabic supplement, thanks to Soubhi Iskander and other Sudanese comrades in the Socialist Alliance, and soon we will have a Spanish-language supplement as well, thanks to our friends in the Latin American communities here. So Green Left is also a frontline in the left regroupment process, not least because it is the main regular media platform for the Socialist Alliance's message of left unity.

The next stage in the merger process, aside from combined national leadership gatherings between the DSP and the SA national leadership bodies, is the back to back conferences to be held in early January next year when the DSP's final decision making conference will be followed by three days of discussion and debate at the Socialist Alliance conference.

The DSP national executive does not anticipate that there will be a need to go back to organising the DSP in its current form. We are confident that the merger process will succeed and in less than a year comrades will be confident that we have a new party to be confident and proud of. But we are signalling that our bottom line is to do the job needed and if for some reason that we do not anticipate at present we have to pull back from organising wholly through the Socialist Alliance then we will be prepared to do that.

But the DSP national executive's perspective is to focus on a powerful and exciting future building the Socialist Alliance as our party.

For further discussion about the merging of the DSP into the Socialist Alliance-- and regroupment politics -- see the following topics on LeftClick:

Geelong Trades Hall Council backs AWU secretary Howes on refugees

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:41:33 PDT

"Geelong Trades Hall Council backs Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Howes 100% in his call for Australia to roll out the red carpet for refugees", Tim Gooden, the GTHC secretary said today. (Pictured right).

"It's a relief that a union movement figure of Howes' importance stands up and rejects the miserable competition between the Rudd government and the Coalition on who can be 'toughest' on people smugglers", Gooden added. "Howes is completely right when he says that the issue 'brings out the worst in our politicians'."

"How ironic that the Rudd government's refusal to let a few boatfuls of people fleeing death and persecution in Sri Lanka enter Australia coincides with the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Snowy River Scheme," Gooden said. "The Chifley Labor government helped build this country by welcoming people fleeing war and persecution, but Rudd Labor increasingly resembles Howard's, one of the most racist in Australian history."

"It's even reached the point where it is sending demountables from the Baxter detention centre--suspected of dangerously high formaldehyde content--to Christmas Island to house asylum-seekers there."

"The Geelong Trades Hall Council calls on the entire trade union movement to follow the lead given by the AWU national secretary, and for it to mobilise public opinion against Canberra's bi-partisan bullies of refugees."

Gooden concluded: "The Australian Council of Trade Unions must stand up against the inhumanity of the politicians. Geelong Trades Hall Council will be doing all

Comment: Tim Gooden (0438 088 112)

Shame, Labor, shame!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:42:16 PDT

A wave of deep moral revulsion swept through anyone in this country with social conscience when Labor PM Kevin Rudd uttered that ugly sentence: “This government makes no apology for a hard-line approach to people smuggling and border security.”

We are back to Tampa. An “Indonesian solution” is being prepared to replace the “Pacific solution”, as a Labor government leads both major parties in competitive mining of still deep-seated racism and xenophobia. Shame, Labor Shame.

These politician are total hypocrites. They parade as champions of human rights as the guardians of civilised values but when a small boatload of poor and persecuted refugees approach Australian waters that posture thrown out of the window.

These people are fleeing war and devastation that Western governments and corporations have supported or even caused. And they are driven, by the hundreds of millions, across many borders. In a single day more refugees cross into the territory of some of the world's poorest countries than all those desperate people who have ever hazarded a small boat journey into Australia. Imagine the outrage of these “civilised” Australian politicians if the nations bordering the world's war zones were to turn refugees away at gunpoint. But that's what the Australian navy is being forced to do by a Labor government.

So much hope, by so many people, was placed in the Rudd Labor government that it would turn its back on the ugly politics of the Howard era. Any moral credit earned by the much-celebrated apology to the Stolen Generation of Aborigines has well and truly been canceled with Rudd's recent “no apology”.

Green Left Weekly voices the outrage of those who really stand for justice and truth. This voice sorely needs to be as loud and clear as possible at times like this. Green Left Weekly is building the movements that will one day allow us to break the two parties of the right monopoly in this country. But we can only do this with your help, including your financial help.

$8678 came in to the Green Left Weekly Fighting fund since the last issue, bringing the total raised so far this year to $187,490 which is 75% of our $250,000 target for this year. We need to raise just over $60,000 over the remaining months to get there. If you can help us get there please do.

A big thank you to all the supporters who have sent in donations (regular or occasional). You are responsible for 54% of the total raised so far this year. The rest was raised through fund-raising events organised by our supporters. Please keep supporting those events. Chances are there is one taking place near you in the next two weeks

--Peter Boyle

VIDEO Ponderosa Stomp

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:15:55 PDT

The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music. Founded in New Orleans in 2002[1] and produced by the non-profit Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau (MK Charities, Inc & Ponderosa Stomp Foundation), a 501(c) 3 cultural organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of American roots music.

Ponderosa Stomp Radio

VideoActiv update

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:43:30 PDT

More channels have ben added to the VideoActiv Hub. So when you begin your web surf looking for multimedia content, VideoActiv is the place to start.

Channels
* AlbaTV * * Audio * * Creative-i * * DandelionSalad * * Democracy Now * * Friction Films * * gooriweb * * ISO * * Kapitalism 101 * * LatinRadical * * LeftClick Video * * LeftStreamed * * Peter Boyle * * RatbagMedia * * Reading Capital * * RealNewsNetWork * * SA TV * * Sabbah * * SKA Story * * SSP * * szumtv * * TamilTV * * The Union Show * * TheJuiceMedia *

This site aggregates alternative videojournalism and radical political content from video sources available online and packages them as selected channels rather than individual episodes.VideoActiv is a project sponsored by LeftClick . You can enrich this hub by suggesting multimedia content.

Email LeftClick with your suggestions.
Create your own on line videos -- learn how at The Activist Toolkit.
For VideoActiv updates & news -- read the blog

SLIDESHOW: No sell off of railway land

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:46:50 PDT

Pics from Tuesday's protest against NSW Labor government's plan to sell off railway land:

Made with Slideshow Embed Tool

SLIDESHOW Indonesia: President's inauguration marked by anti-neoliberal protests

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:44:28 PDT

By Ulfa Ilyas, Surabaya

October 20, 2009 -- Berdikari -- Thousands of people protested at the national parliament building in Jakarta today, during the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as Indonesia's new president and Boediono as vice-president. Protesters demanded that the president put an end to neoliberal policies during his second term, because they have been proven to be a failure and have brought suffering to the people of the world, including Indonesia.

Read more...

Made with Slideshow Embed Tool

Pakistan: Workers' leader killed in suicide attack

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:29:19 PDT

By Farooq Tariq

October 21, 2009 -- A prominent labour leader Master Khudad Khan was killed in suicide attack in Peshawar on October 15. He was on his way to a meeting and was passing by an intelligence centre when a religious fanatic blew himself up killing him and several others on the spot.

The unfortunate side of this episode is that the body of Master Khudad has not handed over to his relatives. A picture of the dead bodies printed in a local paper confirmed to the relatives on October 18 that Master Khudad was among the victims.He had been missing from home since October 15 and they had no clue of his whereabouts.

Master Khudad was the deputy general secretary of Pakistan Workers Confederation and a founding member of Bonded Labour Liberation Front. The Pakistan Workers Confederation is the main body of trade unions in Pakistan.

Master Khudad was elected provincial information secretary of Labour Party Pakistan at its founding congress held on November 21, 2004, in the North West Frontier Province. He remained a committed member of LPP until his death.

I had not had many meetings with him but when he accepted our invitation to join the LPP and took active part in mobilising the membership for the two-day founding congress of the LPP in 2004, I had a chance to have discussions with him in detail. He agreed to be part of the LPP leadership.

Master Khudad's main contribution to the working-class movement in Pakistan has been his role in establishing Bonded Labour Liberation Front. He helped many to flee from the chains of slavery.

Farooq Ahmad, a member national executive committee LPP, in collaboration of others is launching a campaign to recover his body.

This is the second main leader of LPP who has lost his life in a suicide attack. Earlier Abdullah Qureshi, a senior leader of LPP, was killed in December 2007 in Matta.

Here is a part of press report by the Daily News on September 2007.

Grave concern voiced over growing child labour

September 9, 2007
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: Expressing grave concern over growing child labour in the country, speakers at a workshop here on Saturday said that weak implementation of the relevant laws, besides poverty and lack of education, were the root causes of this social menace and called for joint efforts by all stake holders to eliminate this curse.
The day-long workshop on ``Activating Media in Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour in Pakistan'' was arranged by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the capacity-building of print media personnel...
Master Khudadad mentioned that surgical instruments, mining, manufacturing, glass bangles, tanneries, coal mines, rag pickers scavengers, deep-sea fishing, child domestic workers, child trafficking, carpet weaving, street children, bonded-labour and beggary were the worst forms of child labour in Pakistan.

VIDEO SATIRE Bill Hicks on work and the flag

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:59:11 PDT

The incomparable great stand up comic -- the late Bill Hicks. Lenny Bruce being channeled.

Tip: Shane Carter