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Reflections-APEC Sydney 21 World Leaders, One Caged City!
 international |
anti-war / imperialism |
news report
 Monday September 10, 2007 02:16 by Ciaron O'Reilly - Catholic Worker/ Ploughshares Sydeny, Australia
Can we move from co-dependent protest to nonviolent resistance to this war?
George Bush has now departed on Air Force 1, another plane carrying 600 security and staffers, another plane carrying 10 bomb proof limos and also Doomsday Plane with 100 military ready to fight a nuclear war have gone. The emperor was in town, the paradigm has shifted in terms of what Australians are willing to live with in terms of the shrinking of civil liberties.
The 5km security fence is coming down. I attended the anti-war/APEC march on Saturday in Sydney. Freshly purchased water cannon deployed, robo cops in latest combat designer wear shoulder to shoulder with taser and mace, snipers on the roof and hanging out of choppers, the massive fear generating propoganda effort of the previous weeks had kept the Muslim community and many others away from paractising their democratic rights of dissent. See http://sydney.indymedia.org.au//
The crowd was passive, but the pumped up cops could not help themselves picking a few stragglers off at the start of the march and attacking the International Socialists rallying in the park. One Wobbly from Melbourne was picked up and extradited, he is still in custody.
On Saturday night I attended a wedding, a young man was about to be deployed to Afghanistan, two Labor ministers were seated at my table. It's a small world.
On Sunday, I walked in town and came across a group of gentle hippies with a drum who had been ordered out of the CBD. I made it all the way to the fence passed by squads of 12 cops marching through the ghost town of the city in formation. I had lunch in Hyde Park and was passed by three more squads marching around in circles in the empty park. I then headed to the Domain where Speakers Corner has operated since the 1870's. I got on a box and gave out with a chopper hovering above. Two ladies from Limerick stopped and remembered our effort at Shannon www.peaceontrial.com
Conservative PM Howard is on his way out. Labor leader Rudd on his way in claiminng an anti-war position in this most unpopular of wars where OZ troops have been deployed to Iraq without casualties thus far. Rudd met with Bush and assured him that although he would be withdrawing the 700 ground troops in a year's time (because it is all about preserving Australian lives not Iraqi) he will be leaving 700 Australian naval and air force personell in the theatre to help out with the U.S. indiscriminate bombing and killing of Iraqis. Pine Gap the NSA targetting base near Alice Springs is the most significant Australian military contribution to the war on iraq and does not rate a mention, it does not appear on the political radar. The irony deepens as Rudd parades Peter Garrett lead singer of the most popular and most left mainstream rock band of the '80's/'90's. He is a dissident cultural symbol that has made his peace with the presence of U.S. warfighting bases and the sale of Australian uranium to anyone who is buying.
The most dramatic act of resistance in the past week came from a popular comedy team The Chaser who dacced (pulled the trousers down) on the multimillion dollar security effort. Dressed as Bin Laden and with Canadian flags on their limos they were waved through 2 security checkpoints and the story went world wide........the Emperor Has No Clothes!
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/apec-security-sava...rists
Security does not come from waging illegal wars abroad and crushing civil liberites at home. Security comes from building peace and justice. A project Emperor Bush, present Prime Minister Howard and it looks like PM in waiting Rudd has no interest in. The state of the anti-war movement is not good. Can we move form co-dependent protest into proactive and nonviolent resistance in the spirit of Ghandi, King, the Pine Gap 4 www.pinegap6.org the dissidents in the military www.ivaw.org , those resisting in the U.S.? That will depend on how serious we are about ending this war
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/podcast/friday.htm
Hi supporters of human rights,
Two reports re the latest on akin sari:
One of akin's comrades who attempted to visit him in prison today wrote:
"Unfortunately we were just treated very rudely by police officers (one
in particular) at the remand centre, accused of lying about having
permission to visit Akin, asked if we didn't have a riot to go to and
threatened with arrest when we asked for the officer's name. The
administrative staff it must be said were polite and friendly so we were
feeling quite comfortable until that stage. In any case the long and
the short of it is that we were not able to visit Akin. I will write a
letter of complaint to NSW correctional services later today for what
it's worth."
Re the court case on Monday (tomorrow):
"so Akin is meant to be at Melb Magistrates court on Monday for a bail
hearing. Im not sure when, but probably at 10am, as thats when most cases
are booked in for.
Akin was arrested by APEC police last week on a warrant from Melbourne for allegedly failing to appear in court in relation to charges arising from the g20 protests (Melbourne) . He had tendered a letter to the court explaining why he was not appearing. He was not charged with any offences in Sydney - just picked up on the warrant. Media reports indicated that he told police that he was in Sydney looking for work.
solidarity
On May 15 five local anti-war activists were arrested at the employees’ entrance of the Federal Building in Syracuse for blocking that doorway for three and a half hours.
The Five, along with three other blockers and a couple of dozen supporters, were protesting the bi-partisan complicity of our Congressional representatives (Sen. Schumer, Sen. Clinton, and Rep. Walsh) in failing to work for the end of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
The blockers held signs:
NOT ONE MORE DAY, NOT ONE MORE DOLLAR, NOT ONE MORE DEATH.
The Five were charged with “not comply[ing] with lawful direction of Federal Officer, blocked entrance.” Their bench trial before Federal District Court Judge Hon. George H. Lowe, scheduled for September 17, was cancelled via an Order for Dismissal issued by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ransom P. Reynolds.
The August 10 dismissal order provided this rationale: “Interest of Justice and Lack of Prosecutorial Interest.”
The Five, looking forward to explaining to Judge Lowe why they felt impelled to block the Federal Building and risk arrest, were not consulted regarding the dismissal.
One defendant, Ed Kinane, wondered whether, “the DA was reluctant to prosecute Angus MacDonald -- who would be celebrating his 95th birthday the day after the trial.” Kinane added, “Then again, maybe the DA doesn’t think it’s illegal to nonviolently protest an illegal war.”
Macdonald, a local activist since the 1930s, was previously arrested with others at the Federal Building in 2002 protesting the imminent Iraq invasion.
The five defendants are all long-time Syracuse Peace Council activists:
~ Angus MacDonald, 94
~ Ed Kinane, 62,
~ John FitzSimmons, 78
~ Mike Pasquale, 38
~ Rae Kramer, 60.
This young fellow was arrested last year after the November G20 protests and held for weeks.
He has been vilified by the media and right wing hate groups as they see him as a "long haired/bearded - student protester - of middle eastern appearance"... finally got out on restricted bail conditions. Monash University where he was studying has suspended him from being a student there.
He was in Sydney looking for work as a truck driver in NSW having been unable to get any jobs in Victoria after the media hype.
He was picked up by police there and extradited back to Melbourne .
Rob Starry legal firm has taken on his case.
He has some psychological stress problems which have been increased by this ongoing ordeal.
Please consider sending a cheerful postcard etc so hAkin feels less separated & the Authorities know he has supporters and will not be bashed in isolation.
Peter Riley
Akin Sari
C/- Corrections Victoria
GPO Box 123
Melbourne VIC 3001
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/09/380866.html
Check UK indymedia feature for ongoing resistance at Dsei Arms Fair in London!
Five anti-war demonstrators could face jail
time after being found guilty Saturday of refusing to
leave the Bath office of U.S. Rep. John R. “Randy”
Kuhl Jr. last month.
The Ithaca-area residents were found guilty by a
six-member jury of third-degree criminal trespass, a
misdemeanor, after a two-day trial.
Bath Village Justice Chauncey Watches set sentencing
at 2 p.m. Nov. 28 with maximum sentences being up to
three months in jail.
Assistant District Attorney Travis Barry said he may
recommend the defendants serve time.
“I wouldn't rule that out,” he said.
The defendants - Daniel J. Burns, 47; Ellen Grady, 44;
Richard T. Saddler, 42; Mark C. Scibilia-Carver, 54;
and Christopher Tate, 46 - handled their own defense
and attempted to put the Iraq War on trial.
“Fortunately the judge didn't allow them to do that,”
Barry said. “This was not about the war, it was about
trespassing.”
The five were arrested after they refused to leave
Kuhl's office on Aug. 6 as it was closing for the day.
They were among a group of protesters who delivered
petitions containing about 3,000 signatures asking the
congressman to vote against additional funding for the
war.
Kuhl, a Republican, has continually voted to spend
more money to support the war effort.
Kuhl was out of town during the incident and was
subpoenaed by the defense to testify. However, Kuhl
was in Washington last week and it is not known if the
order was delivered. He did not attend the trial but
his office staff, along with arresting police
officers, were among witnesses who testified.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=294194
Post-trial statement
The Constitution is Deemed Irrelevant
Five peace activists, "The Buell Street Five", went on trial Friday September 7, 2007 in the tiny Finger Lakes village of Bath, New York. The defendants were charged with Criminal Trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, for refusing to leave the office of Representative Randy Kuhl on Monday, August 6, 2007. Danny Burns, Mark Scibilia-Carver, Ellen Grady, Todd Saddler, and Chris Tate represented themselves in the trial, which lasted a grueling thirteen hours on Friday. The trail was finally adjourned at around 10 p.m. that evening to reconvene at 9:30 Saturday morning. The six-member jury concluded deliberations at about 1:30 pm. They returned with a verdict of guilty.
The defendants' report:
It was with great difficulty, in the face of many objections on the part of Assistant District Attorney Travis Barry, that we attempted to present our case, that is, our reasons for remaining and refusing to leave Congressman Kuhl's office on August 6th. On that day we were simply looking for a response from the congressman to our concerns regarding the illegal and unjust war in Iraq. Our motivations in conscience, faith, and the law, which compelled us to take the actions we did, were deemed to be irrelevant to the court. The Constitution of the United States, the UN Charter, The Nuremberg Principles, The Gospel of Christ, and the Golden Rule were all also ruled irrelevant by Judge Chauncey Watches, though the Constitution in and of itself guarantees us " the right to petition or Government for a redress of grievances".
The members of the six-person jury were moved by our defense to the degree we were able to present it, but in the end they felt constrained to return a "guilty" verdict. One of the jurors commented after the trial that they all would have liked to acquit us, and that they wished the Constitution and laws we invoked in our defense had been allowed as evidence, so that they could have deliberated with them as facts. The same juror said that they all want the war to end, and personally encouraged us to keep demonstrating.
We went to Representative Kuhl's office because the war on Iraq has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and over 4,000 members of the coalition force and continues to take more lives everyday. In addition to the nearly unimaginable toll in Iraq, the costs of the war have also come home. Budgets for desperately needed community services have been cut in every community. Money has gone for the war instead of schools and healthcare. Many veterans have come home unwell and unable to access the help they need. As citizens of a democracy, it is our legal and moral responsibility to do everything we can to stop the crimes of our government.
Our frustrating trial gave us greater empathy with the thousands of Americans who each year experience the injustice of the criminal justice system. We recognize that our experience was probably typical of most trials in that the right of the accused to a fair trial receives low priority. We plan to appeal in an attempt the hold the justice system more accountable.
We are required to return to court on November 28, 2007 for sentencing. Any sentence we receive will be minor compared the suffering experienced by the Iraqi people and the troops sent there, often unwillingly, to fight an unjust, illegal war. No matter what happens, we know that peace is possible, and we will continue to act for peace and justice