Activists gathered on March 22 to discuss the campaign to free David Hicks. The meeting, called by the Geelong Anti-War Coalition, was chaired by Socialist Alliance member Bronwyn Jennings and heard from Amnesty International, the Greens and Civil Rights Defence (CRD).
704
On March 22, World Water Day, more than 40 people were arrested in New Delhi while protesting against water theft by Coca-Cola and Pepsico. The India Resource Centre reports that more than 300 people marched to the planning commission聮s offices to demand action from the government over the soft-drink companies聮 creation of severe water shortages and contamination of soil and groundwater. An organiser of the march and one of those detained, Nandlal Master from Lok Samiti and the National Alliance of People聮s Movements, said the protest was aimed at 聯one of the world聮s worst abusers of water, the Coca-Cola company聰, which has 聯destroyed the lives of thousands of people in India as a result of its thirst for water聰. For more information, visit .
Around 400 people also rallied and marched in Brisbane, calling for troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan and the release of David Hicks. Margaret McPherson from the Stop the War Coalition, which organised the rally, urged support for the April 21 national day of action to free Hicks. Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett and Greens member Willy Bach also addressed the rally, which was part of a global weekend of action.
Jewish Voices I
I am an activist of Jewish descent and read with interest the interview in GLW #703 with Antony Loewenstein on the setting up of Independent Australian Jewish Voices. The IAJV statement follows a similar initiative from British
Workers from across Melbourne have thrown their support behind National Union of Workers (NUW) members who are on strike at Preston Motors in Campbellfield.
On February 14, readers of the Weekly Times, a local Ryde paper that covers Bennelong, PM John Howard聮s electorate, couldn聮t believe their eyes when confronted with the headline: 聯Global Warming? Climate Change? Bulldust!聰 The article, written by editor John Booth, dismissed global warming as 聯scaremonger propaganda聰 put forward by 聯Armageddon pedlars聰.
Scenes of joy and relief erupted outside the Brisbane courts complex on March 21 after a Supreme Court jury cleared four Palm Islanders of charges of rioting causing destruction.
On March 17, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved the formation of a new Hamas-Fatah 鈥渘ational unity鈥 government by 83 votes in favour and three against. The formation of the new government followed agreements reached in Mecca last month between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, and Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, of Hamas.
聯Nuclear fools聮 day聰 protests will mark Palm Sunday 聴 April 1. The protests are in response to the most significant push for expanded uranium mining in Australia since the Hawke Labor government聮s 1983 decision to defy public opinion and allow uranium mining to continue at Rio Tinto聮s Ranger mine in the Northern Territory, and to be developed at Australia聮s two other largest uranium deposits 聴 BHP Billiton聮s Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs) mine in South Australia, opened in 1988, and Rio Tinto聮s Beverley mine (also in SA) in 2001.
Midnight on March 26 is the deadline for a power-sharing executive to be formed from the newly elected Northern Ireland Assembly so that devolution of power from Britain to the Belfast-based assembly can proceed. In the Stormont assembly elections, held on March 7, Ian Paisley聮s ultra-loyalist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) won 36 of the assembly聮s 108 seats and Sinn Fein won 28. The traditionally dominant Ulster Unionist Party won only 18 seats and the Social Democratic Labour Party won 16. Voter turnout was approximately 63%, out of a total population of 1.7 million.
Tanya Reinhart, the Israeli linguistics professor and champion of Palestinian rights, died of a stroke in her sleep on March 17 in New York at the age of 63. Palestinian organisations issued a statement from Gaza on March 19, describing Reinhart as 鈥渁 great indefatigable activist against the policy of the Zionist government of apartheid Israel towards us Palestinians鈥.
An Esperance Port Authority (EPA) safety worker has been sacked for 聯asking too many questions聰 and a blood specialist has been dispatched to the area as WA authorities scramble to cope with a widening heavy-metal contamination crisis.
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