What happened in Canberra
Date: Thursday, October 23 @ 22:49:25 CDT
Topic: Australian politics


SP report on the Canberra protests over the President Bush visit

On Wednesday SP supporters (36 in 3 12 seater buses plus one car of 4) left Trades Hall. The Victorian Peace Network people left that night.

All during Wednesday SP supporters were on coast-to-coast media not only attacking Bush and Howard for the occupation of Iraq, but highlighting the impending sacrificing of the Pharmacetical Benefit Scheme by Howard as the price for a Free Trade Agreement with the US.

We understood that most Australian workers would see the protesters as the 'usual suspects' and the media would hype this up, showing images of people with unconventional hair, clothes etc. The petty bourgeois ultra left play into this by being totally incapable of concretising for workers the reasons they should oppose the Bush-Howard agenda.

By adding, in fact by putting to the front, the impending sacrificing of PBS by Howard we forced the Liberals on the backfoot on the media - as well as their shockjock backers. This was true on Howard Sattler on 6PR, on 2UE, and on Neil Mitchell on 3AW - where metal worker Anthony Main was interviewed on Wednesday and Thursday mornings as SP National Treasurer.

On Thursday, the Melbourne Age frontpage proved what we were saying was true - it reported on Bush slamming the PBS and demanding that Howard get rid of it. The consequences for millions of ordinary people would be $70+ bills for each script from their GP eg a US-style medical system.

We arrived on Wednesday night at 9.30pm and went straight to the US Consulate where Bush was to spend the night after arriving at 10pm at Fairbairn Airbase on Air Force One.

We were joined by a handful of Canberra activists, including unfortuntely a semi-deranged anarchist who spent the entire demo haranging us on Kronstadt and spouting obscure, useless situationist theory. He gives genuine anarchists who we work with a bad name!

We had our new huge professionally-made SP banner and we formed up as close as we could get to the entrance of the US Consulate. The police asked us firmly to move into a pre-designated human protest pen surrounded by bright orange bunting. We equally forcibly declined their offer, and said we were willing to make a stand and if necessary be arrested to defend our democratic right to non-violent protest. The police had to back off but had the numbers to block us getting close to the Bush cavalcade which arrived that night. We made loads of noise, chanting etc and got good coverage. That night the main message was the issue of the denial of our right to protest.

Canberra had been turned into a virtual police state with martial law it seemed in the Embassy/Parliamentary areas. PAs and megaphones were banned in protest areas. One police officer every 20m. Special forces with machine guns and balaclavas on Old Parliament House and New Parliament House and so on. All there to protect President Bush's right to free speech but to deny that same right to Australian workers and youth.

Then we went to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in front of Old Parliament House, where we had a meeting with the long term Aboriginal protestors there. They were brilliant and very welcoming. We gave them $100 from SP towards a video camera they want to film acts of aggression they receive at night from yobs and cops.

We sent up a mini tent city there and in the morning had a vegetarian BBQ and a formal welcoming ceremony by the Aboriginal activists for us at 8am. A passing lot of primary school students came by and participated and it was extremely moving part of the tour. Also interesting was the scathing attack on ATSIC by Aboriginal activists. They explained to us that it is in the pocket of the Federal Government and its leaders are tamecat.

The VPN Coaches arrived on the Thursday morning - about 150 protestors who had travelled all night to get there from Melbourne. Most of them marched straight up to the rally spot in front of New Parliament House getting ready for the main rally at 11am.

Because SP had its own buses and drivers we had the capability to drive to Bush's first engagement at 9.30am at the Governor Generals residence. Here we were the only protestors, although a few extras from the main body came along. 50 of us lined up waiting for Bush cavalcade to arrive. Once again we refused the police offer to go into the human pen. Unannounced and unprovoked, the police attack us and scuffles broke out. We fought hard and suffered some windings but nothing serious. Some protestors managed to outflank the police and get the SP banner and placards on the side of the road. It was great to see George Bush with literally his nose up against the window of the back seat of a massive black limo glaring in horror at our banner!

We then went back to New Parliament House and hooked up with the main body of protestors which was about 3000 strong at its peak. There were speeches and the usual rally/festival activities. We set up a stall and handed out all the SP leaflets explaining what Bush was demanding re the Free Trade Agreement. Again, unfortunately, almost all the speeches concentrated solely on Iraq and failed to relate the visit to the concerns of workers. However a Philippino trade unionist and Palestinian female activist were stand outs in the speeches.

We then marched to the Lodge but paused at first at the US Embassy again, which was on the way. SP members led a breakthrough over bunting to the inner rim of the building. Police were again badly prepared and unlike Victoria had no mounted backup. We took full advantage of this. Scuffles broke out and the well healed ladies and gentlement behind the strained police lines, who were waiting with little US flags for Bush, looked very concerned. The DSP-types tried to get everyone to the Lodge to listen to their speeches, and were not involved in defying the undemocratic attempts by police to hinder effective non-violent protest.

Finally we did go to the Lodge. When Bush left more scuffles broke out and one of our people, Victor, broke his ankle as you probably saw on TV.

Overall we had a great intervention, especially in getting our political agenda of defence of PBS on the table. A whole range of people are now interested either in joining SP or if already members, getting more involved and committed.

In today's Herald Sun (page 4) they comment on the massive Howard and Bush heads that SP brought to Canberra and how it was in the US media: "The Aussie sense of humour raised more interest in the travelling media (than Bob Brown's protest in Parliament). While Mr Bush addressed Parliament, American journalists were watching cable-TV spoof CNNNN rather than the antics of the Greens. "And the papier-mache heads of Mr Bush and John Howard - portrayed as the US President's dog - received more overseas coverage than Senator Brown's heckling. "I just laughed and thought, these people know how to protest," American Broadcasting Corportation producer Dan Cahn said." "

Irish Comrades report seeing the SP banner and SP people interviewed on Euronews TV. CNN (the real one) also had SP covered a lot.

Well done to all those people from our Red buses and everyone else who made it up to Canberra.

Politically it signified an embryonic revival of the anti-war, anti-globalisation movement in Australia after it was demoralised after the failure to stop the US invasion of Iraq.

Our task is to support and participate in this movement, but also to turn it out to the main game of ordinary workers who are fighting to survive in this capitalist world. The attempt we made at this during this weeks Bush protests was a good start.





This article comes from Socialist Party Australia
https://socialistpartyaustralia.org

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