BY GILLIAN DAVY
MELBOURNE — The eighth anti-war rally in the six weeks since the September 11 terrorist attacks attracted 400 protesters on October 21, including strong contingents from the Turkish and Kurdish communities.
Speaking to the crowd in the City Square, Victorian Trade Hall Council secretary Leigh Hubbard condemned the terrorist acts, noting the thousands of workers who were murdered, but also condemned the response of the US and its allies.
"Their liberty is to do whatever they want in the world", the union leader said, and was contemptuous of "politicians on both sides [who are] captors of the US".
"Terrorism is a reflection of the alienation and desperation caused by US industrial imperialism", Hubbard stated, "and bombing won't solve it".
"We need to reverse the trend of bigotry and ignorance", he said, and bring "justice to the developing world" if terrorism is to be ended.
Hubbard wasn't the only unionist to express the disgust of many in the labour movement for the war.
Concluding the rally, Chris Spindler from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said there is "no such thing as a just war".
His declaration that "we're marching against state-sponsored terrorism against Afghan people" drew huge applause from the crowd.
Other speakers included Fidan Kuchuptke from the Turkish and Kurdish Human Rights Committee of Melbourne, Daniel Moss from Nuclear Free Australia, and high school student Katie Neville, who announced a high school student walkout against the war on November 9.
After a lively and colourful march through Melbourne's central business district, which brought the normally busy Bourke Street Mall to a virtual standstill as Sunday afternoon shoppers stopped to watch the "sit down for peace", the rally converged on the lawns of the State Library, where a peace vigil has been established.