Aussie pro-war PM to address the Dail

by Callout Sat May 20, 2006 15:07

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76115

by Digger Sun May 21, 2006 17:08

Is there a protest, if so, what tiime is it at?

by cool j Mon May 22, 2006 04:34

Once again the dail manages to embarass us across the world - I wonder would thay give Mr Chavez such a warm welcome - would they f***!!!!

by OZ Mon May 22, 2006 04:51

OZ Media reports today are running the line. "There is no doubt the pressure if off Howard (unlike U.S. where he was confronted by the anti-war movement & Canada where he was confronted by Trade Unionists) in ireland as there a very little policy differences between the countries (one would assume on the contiributing to U.S. warfare and treatment of refugees).

by kevo Mon May 22, 2006 08:47

as an irishman living in australia, it's very important that john howard is heckled outside the dail on tuesday.

John Howard's radical right wing agenda is changing australian society, his governmnent is dismantling social security here in Australia. for example, the recent industrial relations overhaul will severely reduce the rights of all workers in this country. his government has completely ignored human rights conventions in the treatment of refugees and its own indigenous population.
His direct policies have seen many children locked away in adult prisons. he's also attacked cvil liberties of citizens with a number of new "anti-terrorism" laws which allows the intelligence services here to question and interogate citizens on a mere suspicion.

his government's recent landslide victory gives him absolute control to fully corporatise all facets of Australian society and he's really giving it a go. the arrogance of this very dangerous solicitor from snobsville in north sydney knows no bounds and his recent pathetic daliance with a bush is nothing new. Bertie will lap it up.

is the public gallery open in the dail on tuesday? he should not be allowed to hold court in our dail - it's for publically elected irish men and women.

by Danny Mon May 22, 2006 14:24

Urgent. Following up "Digger" 's request, could we please have some concrete information re times and places for demos. against Howard?

by Briz Vegas Mon May 22, 2006 15:08

Remember it only took one guy in Washington DC to break the consensus of death during the Howard press conference in U.S. last week. There is an enormous OZ press pack there has carried dissent during Howard's travels....back to us here in OZ. Can someone post the time he is speaking in the Dail?

Any anti-war voices against the war from Ireland will back up the voice of Cindy Sheehan speaking in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane this week.

by Aussie Mon May 22, 2006 17:41

Howard to address dail tomorrow but Higgins will make his stand
The anti-war movement is set to mobilise around international war monger John Howard's visit to Ireland. The Australian PM will address the Dail tomorrow and may find some bed fellows there for his anti-immigration, pro-privisation, pro war stances.

Meanwhile Joe Higgins TD has vowed to boycott the PM's address due to his stances on the war, labour rights and in relation to the pillage of East Timor's natural resources.
Other stories on this issue:

Irish Australian Peace Activist Calls for Anti-War Reception for Prime Minister Howard
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76115

Aussie pro-war PM to address the Dail
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/76073

by NewsMan Mon May 22, 2006 17:42

Dáil Éireann, 18th May 2006.

Joe Higgins (Socialist Party): The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Howard, is not welcome in Ireland. Prime Minister Howard is a warmonger, complicit with Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair in the criminal invasion of Iraq and compliant with the ongoing occupation of Iraq, with Australian troops in that country. Prime Minister Howard is the author of vicious, anti-trade union legislation designed to strip away workers' rights which were hard won by the Australian working class over many generations. During the Australian general election of 2001, in order to win votes from an entrenched bigoted minority, Prime Minister Howard pedalled the monstrous falsehood that desperate refugees fleeing Iraq had thrown their children over the side of a ship as they were prevented from landing in Australia by the Australian navy. When it was proved that this was a vicious lie, he did not retract it or apologise.

Every day the Australian Government steals of €1 million worth of oil and gas from the Timor Sea, resources that by international law belong to East Timor. The unfortunate Timorese people live in abject poverty while their resources are stolen by the Australian Government. Not too many generations ago, an imperial power sent thousands of Irish people in chains to Australia after waging war against them, robbing their resources and telling the world of that time that they were savages. With Prime Minister Howard at its head, the Australian Government, now acting as a local imperial power, is replicating these injustices against the poorest people on earth.

The noted Australian folk hero, Ned Kelly, in his famous Jerilderie letter, railed against the repression of the poor by the powerful and the rich. I believe that is also the instinct of the Australian working class, one of the reasons Ned Kelly is held in fond memory. I do not know what he would say today with regard to Mr. Howard coming to this House given what he had to say about those in authority who repressed and brutalised his family and community. There should be a céad mile fáilte roimh Australian people in Ireland but not the Prime Minister.

by redjade Mon May 22, 2006 19:54

John Howard In UCD (May 22, 2006)

Impressively, he stuck around for coffee and chats, shaking hands and posing for photos as if he had all day to smooze the faculty and students. (I was introduced as a 'centre-right' journalist, which elicited a guarded smile.) You'd almost swear he had nothing else to do with his time, but it was very generous of him to make the space for a prolonged meet-and-greet with the locals. Never have I seen an openly pro-war speaker make such a great impression on the Belfield Sandalistas, though the mood has been noticeably less hostile for about a year. There wasn't a bad word to be heard about the man anyway.

more at
http://siciliannotes.blogspot.com/2006/05/john-howard-i....html
comments are no longer allowed on his site, btw.

by Starstruck Mon May 22, 2006 20:38

HELLO?!?!

by jjcale Mon May 22, 2006 22:03

War criminal? What atrocities has he been convicted of?

by Sub Mon May 22, 2006 22:32

Send Back Howard!
Bring Back Ciaron!

by OZ Mon May 22, 2006 23:42

Tues am TV media reports in OZ of 6 Irish MP's boycotting Howard's address to parliament.

Statement below of Michael D Higgins

http://sydney.indymedia.org/node/37083

by kevo Tue May 23, 2006 04:37

jaysus, get the finger out lads!

This Week in the Houses of the Oireachtas 22 - 26 May 2006

Friday 19 May 2006 17.00 edition
Tuesday 23 May 2006 Dáil Éireann Oireachtas Live

2.30 pm

* Questions (Taoiseach) (See Questions Paper)

3.15 pm

* Questions (Minister for Finance) (See Questions Paper)

4.15 pm

* Leaders Questions

4.36 pm

* Order of Business

5.15 pm

* Address by Australian Prime Minister John Howard

by OZ Tue May 23, 2006 10:01

Strong statements from Joe Higgins carried on evening teev news in relation to Howard's complicity in the war on Iraq. Thanks Joe, it nourishes the anti-war oppositinon here in OZ. Reports of 12 TD's planning to boycott Howard speech.

Maybe they couold be encouraged to hold an anti-war vigil outside the Dail during the speech and invite other citizens to join them?

by Howard's repsonse.... Tue May 23, 2006 11:26

Howard's patronising response to the boycott of his speech in the Dail "The Irish brought a lot of things to Australia. One of them was dissent. God bless'em!"

Hopefully someone will show Howard that it all wasn't exported like 90% of the beef.

by OZ Tue May 23, 2006 11:31

http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2006/05/113065.php

by ? Tue May 23, 2006 15:47

WHAT TIME?

by Fintan Lane Tue May 23, 2006 15:55

Anti-war protest outside the Dail at 5pm until 7pm.

by Seán Ryan Tue May 23, 2006 16:08

RTE 1 will be broadcasting Howard's speech from 5.15pm.

Will be interesting to see the reactions of our muppets to this muppet. Yesterday he glibly giggled that Ireland brought 'dissent' to Oz, as questions were raised about members of the Dáil snubbing his presentation. Let's hope he's taught the meaning of it while he's here.

by rob Tue May 23, 2006 16:36

I wish we had a leader like John Howard. Have your protest, and relish in your freedom to do so. Doesnt mean that the rest of us have to care.

by OZ Wed May 24, 2006 08:15

PERHAPS the world's best-known protester against the Iraq war, Cindy
Sheehan, has a clear message for Australians and their Prime Minister.

"My son was killed in an illegal and immoral war," she said yesterday.
"My
country is carpet-bombing innocent civilians, my country is torturing
people without due process. We, as members of humanity, need to reach
across borders to end this. Australians need to get out on the street
and
say to John Howard, 'You work for us, not Americans'."

Ms Sheehan caught the world's attention last year when she set up camp
in a
roadside ditch outside US President George W.Bush's Texas ranch.

Her son, Specialist Casey Sheehan, who served in the US Army, was
killed in
April 2004 after volunteering to go to the aid of other American
troops.

Her grief and outrage, along with that of other bereaved families, have
long been an embarrassment to the Bush administration.

Ms Sheehan said she was puzzled that Mr Howard was so close to the US
President and so strongly supported the war.

"George Bush's approval rating is 29 per cent," she said.

"He's not popular in the US, much less anywhere else. The opinion polls
are
definitely in our favour. I didn't speak up until my son was killed. I
can't bring my son back, but I won't be silent any longer."

Her trip to Australia will take in anti-war rallies in Sydney, Brisbane
and
Melbourne and has been sponsored by the Medical Association for the
Prevention of War, a group of Australian doctors who have campaigned
strongly against Australia's involvement in Iraq.

NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus welcomed her to Sydney and said: "Those
people who choose to criticise a parent who has lost a child should
walk a
mile in their shoes."

by Starstruck Wed May 24, 2006 14:13

From yesterdays demo.
The Peae Network is clearly the way forward-pretty much everyone but the SWP have realised the freefall that has happened and got out to keep the peace movement alive.

by MichaelY - iawm - Wed May 24, 2006 14:39

Dear starstruck,

Read with interest your wise comments in the other thread about the man with the hat and glasses outside the cathedral - you know the one organising the counter-crowwd the whole of last week. And I agree with you fully .
Then you go and spoil it all by some anti-SWP comments in this thread. Outside the Dail yesterday, when I left the vigil at 6.15, there were 3 young lads from the Socialist Party, two people from PANA, two friends I could identify from the Anti War Alliance, three of us from the iawm (one of whom in the SWP), four TDs and a couple of their friends, I suspect from SF.
Now where is the basis of your argument - and how does the SWP enter this equation? Interestingly, how did the star molecules focus on you in such a small crowd? Unless of course the spatial multitudes arrived after 6.15...LOL

by Ciaron - Ploughshares/Catholic Worker Wed May 24, 2006 14:55

I attended the largest anti-war gathering in Brisbane in quite some time this evening. It was addressed by Cindy Sheehan, she was great! She empahasised that polticians involved in this war shouldn't be allowed to leave their comfort zones without being publicly confronted with their complicity.

Many folks in the crowd expressed gratitude for the anti-war opposition to Howard's visit to Ireland. For the last 3 days anti-war dissent from Ireland to Australia's involvement in this immoral & illegal war has been carried around the nation. Many thanx to all who spoke out & acted up.

by Starstruck Wed May 24, 2006 15:05

"Now where is the basis of your argument ?"
Having admittedly been at work during the demo I can only but offer second-hand information of the numbers present.
But this much is undeniable-there was a complete lack of adequate preparation for the demo,vis--a-vis letting the activist community know about it to start with.
Many activists I spoke to yesterday had no idea there was a demo organised,much less did Indymedia readers until late Monday evening after repeated questioning on the thread about what time the demo was on at!
Now either the resources of the IAWM have whittled away unrepairably,the numbers have dwindled or everyone who was active has just fucked off in frustration with the way the organisation was being run-in any case there is a distinct impression among informed individuals that its use as a vehicle to certain groups has expired and thus so too has its value to them.And with them being the largest of the remaining groups in the movement,that in turn reflects itself in the weak performances we have seen of late and the uninspiring path that it is on.
There are SWP activists in the ShellToSea campaign and none of the above has occurred(yet) and hopefully won't do and that campaign is still full of energy and vitality as there is still pkurality,mutualism,cooperation and joint participation in control.
That cannot be said for the IAWM.

by MichaelY - iawm Wed May 24, 2006 15:51

You were working yesterday, Starstruck, fair play to you...you weren't there - fact - priorities priorities. So what's the point using this thread on Howard to attack an organisation of which some members were there...not as many as I would have wished for sure but there nonetheless.
Don't get me wrong - I do believe that some of your line of thinking has merits. The anti-war movement in Ireland has declined in support, influence and in numbers over the last couple of years....not just the IAWM, as an organisation, but the entire movement! And those of us who are working both in the IAWM and the Anti-War Alliance, along with the Cosantoiri, the AWI, the Anarchist Collectives and others are trying to do something about it.
I may be accused again here of repeating myself but pls - arguments about and against the SWP, and its members, should be addressed directly to them. However, and to be fair, the decline of the anti-war movement has a number of causes and should be examined by a variety of angles. The 'blame' , if there is indeed blame, cannot be put onto the shoulders of one lot of activists.
Incidentally, seeing that you are an anti-war activist yourself, come along to our meeting on Friday evening, in the ATGWU Hall, where a brother of a Guantanamo prisoner and Ed Horgan would be sharing a platform. About Guantanamo, about Iraq and our Government's collaboration through the use of Shannon. And this meeting is part of a national tour - meetings in Belfast and Cork are also taking place. And, I nearly forgot, a non-SWP woman member of the iawm would be facilitating the meeting here in Dublin. Now starstruck....that's a good and positive development is it not?

by Gaz B -(A)- Wed May 24, 2006 15:55

"seeing that you are an anti-war activist yourself, come along to our meeting on Friday evening, in the ATGWU Hall, where a brother of a Guantanamo prisoner and Ed Horgan would be sharing a platform."
why not put that up on the events calendar so people would know about it?

by MichaelY - iawm Wed May 24, 2006 16:02

Thanks Gaz

by Conor Cregan Wed May 24, 2006 16:10

Any chance this tour could be brought Shannon? Massey "the repentant" brought out a big crowd when he was here a few months back.

Please contact us here when you have speakers on "National Tours"

Thanks

by Gaz B -(A)- Wed May 24, 2006 16:32

i think thats an example of what starstruck was talking about with regards to the organisation. there was nothing about it on indymedia until today, i haven't seen any posters for it etc who organised it, was there open meetings, who decided on the speakers etc

if you want people to come along to these things then you have to inform people on things like indymedia. i'd be lost without the calendar.

by MichaelY - iawm Wed May 24, 2006 16:33

I contacted the iawm office - don't know if it's possible for you and your comrades to organise a meeting in Shannon on such short notice but from my end I know that Saturday is free....Dublin is Friday and Cork is Sunday...would you consider giving it a try?

by Conor Cregan Wed May 24, 2006 21:29

But we have a radio station here in Shannon that would do an interview. The Show starts at 8 pm if that would work?

by Ciaron Wed May 24, 2006 23:34

The problem with SWP/IAWM is the lack of mutuality, the same as in football, as in relationships, as in politics. If people aren't going to pass you the ball, you're eventualy going to tire of passing them it. Last night's large meeting in Briz was organised by a small Trot sect, the gig was given to them by their head honcho in Melbourne that is organising a national peace conference this weekend. If the gig had been organised by a more in a broad based network it would have been centrally located (in the city) and twice as big. As in Ireland, a small sect believes it owns the franchise to the anti-war movement in OZ. There objectives are to control the franchise, explot the exploitable and marginalise any other activist groups they see as competition.

How this plays itself on the night is that an autonomous group organising against a huge U.S. military exercise in Queensland are censored from the announcements made by the chair, members of the PIne Gap 4 in the audience facing a serious trial are not supported from the stage, myself as a "local boy made bad" returning to trial in Ireland is censored from the stage. So yes there are common themes. The best response is to get on with organising against the war and ignore the authoritiarian left and their most recent apologists.

You will never beat them in a game of stack and counter-stack to democratise fronts that they set up. Because that's where they put all their energy, rather than in direct resistance to the war and pro-active solidarity with resisters (military & civilian) before the courts & in jail for resisting the war. In iIreland they have what they want - their man as the media spokesperson for the anti-war "movement". That's all they ever wanted, it's a waste of energy engaging them. If you have to engage them to quote The Who "Don't Get Fooled Again"