COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA ISSN 1325-295X Telstra – … · struggle against capitalism and...

Bob Briton

“Telstra is no longer a government agency. Telstra is not community property. Telstra is no longer just a telephone company.” That was Sol Trujillo speaking to the National Press Club in June. He might as well have stood before a banner declaring “mission accomplished” like fellow Texan George W Bush did three years ago aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln to announce the achievement of his objectives in Iraq. In contrast to Bush’s hollow boast, Trujillo’s statement refl ects reality. The Howard Government has decided to offl oad a large chunk of the Australian public’s remaining 51.8 per cent stake in the country’s biggest telco and to put the rest into the Future Fund. The long-held neo-liberal mission of robbing the people of its telecommunications asset has indeed been accomplished.

The details of the sell-off have not been fi nalised and are due to be announced as The Guardian goes to press but it is clear that Howard & Co. are no longer waiting around for share market conditions to improve before dumping the remaining stock. It is expected that around $10 billion-worth of shares will be sold off to big institutional buy-ers. The rest will be placed in the Future Fund – the pot of money set aside when the government realised that it was facing a large shortfall in the monies needed to pay superan-nuation to its public servants. Those shares will be sold off over time.

Unlike the sales of the T1 and T2 tranches of Telstra, this time there is no eyewash about ma-jority Australian shareholdings, commitment to rural and regional

subscribers or “mum and dad” in-vestors. The talk is about things like ensuring shareholders get their div-idends next year. Right on cue, Sol Trujillo has pledged that the 28c dividend will be forthcoming at the end of the 2006/2007 fi nancial year.

“At the forefront of our minds, of course, are the interests of share-holders, Australian taxpayers and, of course, consumers of telecommuni-cations”, Communications Minister Helen Coonan said last week. She had just taken part in discus-sions with the PM, Treasurer Peter Costello, Trade Minister Mark Vale and Finance Minister Nick Minchin. It reportedly took them 30 minutes to fi nalise their sell-off plans. The whole tale of the treachery that has led to the complete privatisation of Telstra is, of course, much longer.

Telecommunications in Aus-tralia used to be the responsibility of the Postmaster General’s Depart-ment (PMG). In 1975, after a Royal Commission set up by the Whitlam Government, the PMG was divid-ed into Australia Post and Telecom Australia. Overseas telecommuni-

cations were handled by another of the new Government Business Enterprises (GBEs), OTC.

In 1988, These GBEs were put on an even more commercial basis with deregulation and the in-troduction of some commercial competition. Loss-making OTC was merged into Telecom Australia which, in 1991, was obliged to compete with Optus for fi xed-line services and Vodaphone for mobiles.

The name “Telecom Australia” was changed to the more commer-cial-sounding “Telstra” in April 1993. By this, stage Blind Freddy could see that the national telecom-munications company was being tizzied up for sale, even if its priva-tisation was not the open policy of the then Keating Labor Government. Keating did announce that by 1997, Telstra would be exposed to the blowtorch of full competition, but the election of the Howard Government in 1996 meant that a signifi cant speed-up of the privatisa-tion process could be launched.

T1 was typical of govern-

ment asset sales all over the world. Being the fi rst such fl oat, it simply had to be worthwhile and secure enough for a whole mass of fi rst-time small investors and to make them complicit in the scheme. The “success” of the fl oat (i.e. investors very quickly seeing an increase in the value of their holdings) would enable future sell-offs of the public silverware. Sure enough, T1 shares, which you could buy in two instal-ments, shot up in value from an initial $3.30 to a November 1999 peak of $9.16.

In June 1999, the Government secured agreement to sell anoth-er 16.6 per cent of its stake. This time, Howard would claim that the Commonwealth’s controlling 51.8 per cent holding would ensure that for households, especially those in remote and rural areas, it would be telecommunications business as usual. In the meantime, there was less need to mollycoddle buyers of T2 shares. They were also sold in instalments but from the start in October 1999, it was clear that the $7.40 shares were not going to en-

joy the same rapid rise of their T1 predecessors.

In fact, Telstra shares are hov-ering at near-record lows of around $3.50. Howard used to insist that he would wait for a share price of above $5 before moving to the fi nal sale. The impatience of monopo-ly investors (and greed) has meant that the PM’s last little display of restraint is to be abandoned. The fi re sale of the people’s assets will go ahead.

Much has been made of Mr Trujillo’s public protests at the government’s decision to grant com-petitor’s access to Telstra’s copper cable fi xed line network at a price of $17.70 per user (down from the pre-vious $22). He is being portrayed in some quarters as a defender of Telstra’s independence and viabili-ty. How much of this is playacting is not known – honesty and openness have not been the strong suits of the fi gures involved in the privati-sation of Telstra. In the longer term, Trujillo will be remembered as the wrecker of the huge public asset; the right man for the job. J

The GuardianThe Workers’ Weekly

COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA ISSN 1325-295X

August 302006

$1.50

# 1288

Tebet and the separatists’

agenda

Howard ‘s growing

enthusiam as “Deputy Sheriff”

3page 5page 6page 10page 12page

Bush targets Cuban churches

Interview:Raúl Castro

Howard’s history

Telstra – fire sale of people’s assets

Phot

o: A

nna

Pha

2 The GuardianAugust 30 2006 3The Guardian

August 30 2006

The GuardianIssue 1288 August 30, 2006

PRESS FUNDGuess who wants to buy Telstra? Last week a leading stockbroker commented that it was not a good time to sell Telstra because US investors were likely to be going on holidays soon! For his part, the Prime Minister stated that “We’ll try to do the right thing by the current shareholders of Telstra”, referring to the private individual and corporate shareholders. But hang on, don’t the taxpayers still own the major part of Telstra, and shouldn’t the government be serving their interests? If you still are a Telstra customer, then it’s not too late to let the company know that you will be looking elsewhere for your phone and internet services if the sale of the remaining shares goes ahead. While you’re at it, you should also invest in The Guardian Press Fund! You’ll benefit, and so will we, so how about setting aside something for the next issue? This week we offer our thanks to the following contributors:La Donna $10, Sam Moutsos $10, Fred Rouady $20, MH $60,“Round Figure” $10This week’s total: $110 Progressive total: $5940

The war on terrorismThe decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal to overturn the

conviction of Jack Thomas for alleged terrorist crimes has been met by a barrage of hysterical criticism of the judges who made the decision and the legal system in Australia generally. Extreme right-wing journalists such as Greg Sheridan (The Australian) and Piers Ackerman (Daily Telegraph) have been baying for changes which would, in fact, destroy Australia’s current legal system and replace it with some arbitrary process whereby those the police would like to arraign would be automatically convicted and held in jail for an endless period, just as those who are now suffering this fate in Guantánamo.

Sheridan claims that “our legal system is unable to cope with the reality of terrorism” while Piers Ackerman shouts from the columns of The Daily Telegraph that “Silken-tongued counsellors all too frequently condescend to assure the public that the only certain way to fight terrorism is through maintaining the rule of law, but maintenance of the narrowest view and the strictest letter of the law … tests one’s faith in the whole judicial process”.

Fortunately, not all journalists have been consumed by the me-dia-promoted hysteria. Mike Steketee (also of The Australian) writes: “Thank heavens for an independent judiciary in the age of terror”. He reveals a number of the facts behind the decision of the Appeals Court which the other journalists do not bother to mention.

Whether the Federal Government will use the Jack Thomas ac-quittal as an excuse for even more stringent laws in respect of alleged “terrorist” acts remains to be seen. Already a person can be held indefinitely in custody, not because they actually might have carried out or be planning some terrorist act, but merely on suspicion that they might know something that might help investigations.

The “war on terror” was launched by George W Bush at the time of the bombing of the World Trade Centre towers in New York. Interestingly, no-one has been prosecuted for this act and there remains considerable scepticism surrounding the US Government’s version of events.

The “war on terrorism” is a new type of war, not against a particular “enemy” country but against anyone or any organisation that a government finds it politically convenient to label and declare illegal. It takes place on the background of the rising resistance to the domination, exploitation, invasion and military occupation of countries by the imperialist powers, the US in particular. It has been turned into a religious crusade and presented as Christianity versus Islam. It is mainly directed against Middle Eastern countries which are the main providers of oil to the rich Western states. The Middle East is also the scene of a struggle against imperialism led by mainly religious (and sometimes fundamentalist religious) organisations such as in Iran and recently in Lebanon).

Of course, there are “terrorist” acts which should be condemned but they pale into insignificance compared to the bombing of civil-ians in villages in Iraq, Afghanistan and the unparalleled savagery of the bombing of civilian targets by Israel in Lebanon. This was jus-tified as part of a struggle against the allegedly terrorist organisation – Hizbullah. But the real crime of Hizbullah in the eyes of Israel and its Western supporters is that it forced an end to the Israeli military occupation of south Lebanon (which had been occupied for about 20 years) and, in the recent conflict, defeated the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Today, Hizbullah has deep roots among the people of Lebanon just as Hamas has deep roots among Palestinians, and is playing a central and decisive role in the struggle of the Lebanese people to defend their sovereignty.

While condemning terrorism as counter-productive in the struggle against capitalism and imperialism, the resolution adopted by the Congress of the Communist Party of Australia in October 2005, says that since 9/11 the war on terrorism has been used “to justify new wars and far-reaching anti-democratic measures against the people of many countries. [It] is being used to justify the re-colonisation of resource-rich and strategically placed nations. It is a weapon in the arsenal of neo-colonialism”.

“It is necessary to expose the real nature of the ‘war on terror-ism’ and fight against the attacks on democratic rights and the wars of imperialism which … advance imperialism’s own political and economic interests.”

UN to send police force to East TimorFaced with strong opposition from the Australian Government, backed up by the US, Japan and Britain, the UN Security Council backed away from the call for both military and police contingents to be under UN control in Timor-Leste. It decided last week to create a 1600 strong international police force to help the policing of East Timor. It is to be a police force, not a military contingent. It is not known at this time will command the UN police force.

The present military forces are to remain under Australian com-mand but are to be scaled back to about half their present num-bers. Malaysia, New Zealand and Portuguese contingents also make up the military component already stationed in East Timor.

The Australian Government argued in the Security Council dis-cussions that the build up of a UN force was not necessary and that the UN should confine itself to ques-tions of aid leaving Australians in command of the real military power in East Timor.

The International Federation for East Timor (IFET) (an East Timor support group) had called on the Security Council to create a new UN mission to Timor-Leste which fully integrates all international military components. “Any other arrange-ment will hinder the effectiveness of the overall mission and runs con-trary to the preference of the people

and government of Timor-Leste and the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General”, said John M Miller, IFET UN Representative. “Australia’s insistence on keeping its troops under a separate, national command structure will make co-ordination difficult, lessening the confidence and security that the UN Mission is intended to provide for the people of Timor-Leste.

Suspicion of motives“Many people in Timor-Leste

already suspect the motives, ca-pability and impartiality of the Australian forces there now, and Australia’s refusal to be part of a UN force increases that distrust”, said Charles Scheiner, International Secretariat for IFET.

The Timor-Leste NGO Forum, in support of an integrated mission, said that “there will be a greater de-gree of accountability for UN forces as it is a civilian-led, internation-al, neutral institution.” The group statement added, “There is an in-herently unequal relationship in Timor-Leste’s dealings with other more powerful countries on a bilat-eral basis. Working through the UN would avoid this situation.”

However the Australian Gov-ernment is ignoring these views together with those of the East Timor government which had called upon the UN Security Council to provide a UN military force to back up a bigger police

continent, thereby replacing the Australian force with one com-manded by the UN.

The UN decision appears to be something of a compromise with Australia forced to accept a much greater UN role. In a sign of per-haps more troubles ahead, a recent but largely suppressed report tells of street gangs stoning Australian troops and burning several of their vehicles.

While Australian campaign-ing and manipulation succeeded in forcing Mari Alkatiri to resign as Prime Minister, the Australian Government’s objective of turning East Timor into a neo-colony and a base directed against Indonesia and East Asia generally may not suc-ceed. The application of the East Timor Government to join ASEAN heads this new nation in a different direction.

That other countries are also suspicious of Australia’s motives is indicated by the remark of Brazil’s representative to the United Nations when he warned of the “danger of neo trusteeship”.

The next big event will be the general election due next year and Fretilin, which at present holds a clear majority of seats in East Timor’s parliament, is expected to retain the confidence of the ma-jority of the people of East Timor. President Xanana Gusmao has in-dicated that he will not stand for re-election. J

DVD documentaries1. Sa Ngalan Ng Tubo : A documentary of the heroic struggle of sugar-mill and farm-workers of the

Philippines in 2004 for wages, jobs, rights and land. Seven people were shot and killed by the military and police protecting the interests of one of the largest landowners in the Philippines.

2. Fidel – The untold story : His life and struggles in pictures and commentary by Estela Bravo

3. The Power of Community : How Cuba survived Peak OilHow to feed the population? How to create a low-energy society? The DVD tells the story of the Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity and triumph over adversity through cooperation, conservation and community. The Cuban experience provides a valuable example of how to successfully address the challenge of reducing our energy use.

4. Images of Cuba Cuba’s story : Told in pictures and text covering health, education, culture and sports together with official documents – talking points, a declaration by intellectuals and the White Book of 2005 dealing with Cuba and human rights.

Each DVD costs $10 including postage!

Order from SPA Books 74 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Payment by cheque, money order or credit card (for credit cards include name, type, number and expiry date)

PerthCUBA TODAY: A HOLIDAY WITH A DIFFERENCEAgriculture Lecture Theatre Room GO13 University of Western AustraliaSunday 10 September 3pm for refreshments 3.30pm to 5.30pm Entry Gold coin donation

What is happening in the real Cuba? Listen to people who have had the Cuban experience

Programme• 3:00-3:20 pm Refreshments• 3:20-3:30 pm Introduction by LefkiKailis• 3:30-3:40 pm Brigade intro by Vinnie Molina• 3:40-4:00 pm DVD past brigade• 4:00-4:10 pm Dr. Colin Hughes• 4:10-4:20 pm Gail Harper (May Day 06 Brigadista)• 4:20-5:00 pm Question & Answer time

For map ring 0419 812 872 The Australia-Cuba Friendship Society

Get inspired and

off you go!

Cuba is waiting

for you!


August 30 2006

Anna Pha

The Howard Government is set to launch a massive military recruitment campaign for an additional 2600 soldiers for the creation of two new army battalions. In a statement made last Thursday, PM John Howard said the battalions were required “to meet future regional and global security challenges”. Then, on Friday, he announced that the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) International Deployment Group (IDG) will be increased by 400, taking its total to 1200 at an additional cost of almost half a billion dollars over the next five years.

The Army will then have eight battalions at an estimated additional cost of $10 billion (over 10 years).

This is in addition to the 1500 new troops already being funded and recruited under the “hardened and networked army” initiative. This force relates to the build up of armoured forces for use with the US beyond our region, such as in the Middle East.

“As recent events in East Timor and the Solomon Islands have again shown, Australia has, and is seen to have, a leadership role in contribut-ing to security and stability in our region”, Howard gave as the reason for the additional forces.

Not everyone sees the Australian Government’s aims in this light. There was a strong reaction in PNG. PNG’s Post Courier suggested that Australia could play a vital role in boosting regional security by help-ing to strengthen the PNG Defence force, instead of assisting in its downsizing.

It criticised the Australian Government for not wanting to play a joint role with Pacific Island secu-rity forces. “In other words it wants to play the role of a regional sheriff,

taking pre-empting strikes against the smaller nations of this region as and when it sees fit.”

The National newspaper was just as blunt and scathing. It took the Howard Government to task for branding PNG as “inherent-ly unstable”, saying the Howard Government would like Australians to believe the additional forces were a response to “the fractious nations of the South Pacific who stubbornly pursue their own course rather than meekly follow the Australian blue-print for their area”.

“Never mind the recently-announced increased commitment to Afghanistan, forget the sad and sorry debacle in Iraq, ignore the highly unstable mess in Timor Leste”, said The National editorial, under no illusions about the agenda of the Howard Government.

The editorial went on to say that Howard’s accepting of the “role of South Pacific policeman , a sort of pale imitation of George W Bush’s image of his country’s global role”, is far from removed from how Howard portrays Australia’s role.

A “new and aggressive Australia” was emerging as an increasingly “slick aspirant to for world status, a nation of career-driven people with scant sympathy for the newly-emerging South Pacific”.

We should not forget that last year Australia was humiliating-ly forced by the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea to withdraw po-lice and other officials sent there under the so-called enhanced co-operation program.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not oppose the increase in Australian troops, but said Melanesian nations felt that Australia’s dominance of peace-keeping operations was tilted too far Australia’s way and called for it to be more balanced with allow-

ance for the recruitment of Pacific Islanders into the Australian army.

“Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it leaves no room for us on the receiving end of Australia’s military engagements to change our perceptions about Australia for the better.”

Police complement military

The International Deployment Group was set up in 2004. Its num-bers will be increased by 50 percent from 800 to 1200. The police are used for “law enforcement”, often alongside Australian troops. At pres-ent there are 470 members deployed overseas in the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Nauru, Vanuatu, Sudan, Cyprus and Jordan.

The government says that the extra numbers will enable the IDG to establish a 150-strong Operational Response Group “that is ready to re-spond at short notice to emerging law and order issues and undertake stabilisation operations.

“Australia must be prepared to respond and help in our region when necessary. Through this expansion,

our law enforcement officials will be even better placed to meet new challenges”, a press release from John Howard’s office claimed.

“Law enforcement has been a key component of recent Australian assistance missions to fragile states such as the Solomon Islands, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.”

RecruitmentQuestions are being widely

raised about the likelihood of the government being able to recruit the extra numbers. The army al-ready has a shortfall of more than 1000 due to its inability to attract new recruits. It is not surprising that young people are not keen to sign on and be sent to take part in the US’s illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or anywhere else for that matter.

Advertising is going to be jazzed up and millions more spent on it. School cadets are on the agenda – sickening images of young school children with rifles and uniforms from the 1950s have accompanied the coverage of the government’s plans.

Military and “security” budgets

already total more than $20 billion – $55 million a day – most of it di-rected at Australia’s deputy sheriff role to the US. This budget could easily be slashed by half if the gov-ernment instead adopted a genuine defence budget without the offen-sive component for fighting in US wars and other support for US mili-tary undertakings.

The billions of dollars saved could be directed to genuine aid to Australia’s South Pacific neighbours, to assisting their development, inde-pendence and self-determination. Australia could play a positive lead-ership role, using some of its wealth and resources in a positive manner according to the needs and wishes of those who it is presently seeking to dominate and bully.

Within Australia, the addition-al dollars could be used to bring an end to the crisis in public health system, to adequately fund and staff state schools, provide free ter-tiary education, subsidised public education, an increased age pen-sion, increased welfare benefits and many other measures to ensure the well being and security of the community. J

Australia

Enlarged military for regional sheriff

First control order issuedJoseph Thomas, whose terrorism-related conviction has just been quashed, has become the first person to be subjected to a control order under the Howard Government’s “anti-terrorism” amendments to the Crimes Act. Police. In a secret hearing, with Mr Thomas having no right to appear or be represented, a magistrate gave his consent to the order (which is interim) which was also approved by Attorney General Phillip Ruddock.

Mr Thomas now has the right to challenge the order in the Federal Court, which his legal representa-tives are expected to do this week.

Under the order Mr Thomas must remain in his home between the hours of midnight and 5:00am and report to police three times a week.

According to his lawyer Rob Stary, Mr Thomas has also been given a list of people he is not to contact, including Osama Bin Laden and other high-profile figures.

Last February a court found him guilty of accepting $5,000 and a plane ticket from an al-Qaida agent in Pakistan and sentenced to a five-year jail term.

On August 18, the Victoria Court of Appeal ruled that some of the evidence used against Mr Thomas was not admissible at his trial, and overturned the sentence. He was freed but still faces the pos-sibility of a retrial.

The Federal Attorney-General’s spokesman Michael Pelly said that the interim control order was measure until a court hearing on September 1. The court has the power to issue an ongoing order.

Under the legislation, control orders may be issued by certain fed-eral courts (the Federal, Family or Federal Magistrates Courts) under the Criminal Code at the request of a senior member of the Australian Federal Police, with the Attorney General’s written consent.

Control orders are granted through a highly secretive process, with the victim having no right to challenge the reasons given for the

request for an order which could be based on hearsay, suspicion or ru-mour. It is only possible to appeal after the order is in place.

It is sufficient that the police member “suspects on reasonable grounds that the person has provid-ed training to, or received training from, a listed terrorist organisation”, or that the police member be-lieves that the control order “would probably substantially assist in pre-venting a terrorist act”. Proof is not required.

The possible orders include house arrest for up to 12 months at a time, wearing a tracking device, not communicating or associating with specified persons (this could include the person’s lawyer, family mem-ber or journalists), or remaining in a certain place.

The penalty for contravention of a control order is imprisonment for five years.

The details of such orders do not have to be made public, on-ly the number of orders need be reported to Parliament. In this par-ticular case, the Attorney General has decided to go public immedi-ately with the name of the person in what can only be described as a very dirty piece of character assas-sination which puts into question the ability of Mr Thomas to have a fair trial.

In the eyes of the Ruddock and the media, anyone targeted under a terrorist-related “crime” appears to be guilty by accusation. Accusations, suspicion, associa-tion are replacing charges, trials and juries. J

Pete’s Corner


August 30 2006

Kevin Andrews is fiddling with the government’s General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme – known as GEERS – while dodgy companies plan the wholesale plunder of redundancy and retirement entitlements. Andrews’ talk of doubling GEERS sounds great until the detail is examined. Entitlements for sacked workers are set to rise from a maximum of eight to 16 weeks wages, which would still leave long-serving workers dudded millions of dollars under the scheme.

Marrickville auto component manufacturer, Tristar, is a stark ex-ample. If Tristar closes its doors after next month’s expiry of its col-lective agreement, Andrews’ GEERS changes would mean long-serving employees could be short-changed up to $135,000, instead of being robbed of up to $141,000.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) organis-er, Martin Schutz, said entitlements were central to the retirement plans of many long-serving production workers. “A lot of these people earn $700-$800 a week. Obviously a nine percent super levy isn’t go-ing to provide much of a nest egg”, he said.

“Their families rely on the en-titlements they have built up over decades of service and they are en-titled to; it’s their money.”

Tristar has slashed its workforce from around 350 in 2001 – when Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott accused Tristar workers of “treason” for striking in a bid to pro-tect their entitlements – to about 60.

Those left are long-term em-

ployees, with up to 40 years of service, and the most accrued entitlements.

Tristar agreed to take out a $17 million insurance bond to cover those entitlements but it is part of the collective agreement and, under Howard’s regime, a company can apply to terminate an agreement, leaving staff with only bare bones legal minimums. Nobody is saying Tristar will try it on but the threat exists and the fear amongst those left is palpable.

Unions, including the AMWU, have lashed GEERS as corporate welfare that rips off taxpayers as well as workers.

They have pushed for insurance bonds and industry-wide insur-ance schemes to cover defaulting employers.

GEERS was introduced after National Textiles, headed by John Howard’s brother Stan, went bust in the lead-up to a federal election, leaving employees without accrued entitlements.

ACTU Secretary Greg Combet said Andrews’ adjustment to GEERS wouldn’t even cover the av-erage displaced worker until he or she found a job. Studies show the average length of unemployment for redundant Australian workers is 22 weeks.

Combet said the Federal Government should be moving to protect jobs, rather than planning to lose them. “What we are seeing is a Federal Government that has waved the white flag on Australian jobs and industries”, Combet said.

“What displaced workers want is what they are entitled to – 100 percent of their entitlements.” J

Union official sued for millionsThe Federal Government is pursuing fines of millions of dollars against senior trade union leader for, alleging he tried to halt the spread of wage-cutting individual contracts.

Construction Division CFMEU Assistant National Secretary Dave Noonan faces the charges, as 107 Perth workers prepare to face charg-es that could see them fined up to $28,600 each.

Mr Noonan faces fines of up to $2.5 million under legal ac-tion to be initiated by the Howard Government this week. Lawyers for Mr Noonan have been informed that papers alleging a breach of the Trades Practices Act will be served on him as well as his union this week.

The action will be bought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission under sec-ondary boycott provisions drafted by John Howard in the 1970s.

They allege Mr Noonan col-luded with Bovis Lend Lease in terminating a Canberra sub-con-tractor’s contract for employing independent contractors in 2003.

“This is a politically motivat-ed attack from a government that is preparing to personally sue 107 workers for taking industrial ac-tion”, Dave Noonan says. “I am being pursued for standing up for decent conditions and job security in the building industry.

“This prosecution raises a num-ber of questions about the political

nature of supposed independent government agencies. First, why is the agency choosing the eve of elections for National Secretary of CFMEU Construction, for which I am standing, to launch a prose-cution against me after more than three years of delay?

“Secondly, it shows the ex-tent the Howard Government is prepared to go in order to prevent union officials from protecting the rights of working men and women.”

The secondary boycott provi-sions specifically outlaw actions by a union or workers that restrict the trade of a third party – some-one or a company that is not their employer. It applies to situations such as refusal to cross a pick-et line by workers who are not employees of that company or re-fusal to provide services to that company. It also covers situations where certain restrictions are placed on the ability of a business to trade as a condition of doing business. J

Andrews fiddles with GEERS

Retail body attacks young workers’ rightsA peak retail body in Queensland is using WorkChoices to promote deals that rob young people of minimum shifts and annual holidays. The Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (QRTSA) is flogging a $750 deal to show bosses how to bypass award conditions.

An advertisement posted on the Association’s website promises to let bosses in on the secrets of how to: • make casuals work more than 30

hours per week;• combine meal and rest breaks;• chip away at public holiday rates;• use a flat weekend rate;• cash out annual leave;• make workers pay for till

shortages;• make workers pay for their

uniforms; and• have workers provide medical

certificates for one day absences.The ad says an agreement with

these conditions “may make your

business more attractive to potential purchasers!”

“In fact, your workplace agree-ment could be one staff meeting away!”

ACTU president Sharan Burrow labelled the association’s approach “the ugly side of the Howard Government’s new IR laws”.

“The QRTSA is even encourag-ing retailers to take advantage of the Federal Government’s new IR laws to exploit young people by requir-ing juniors to work short shifts and avoid paying for a minimum block of three hours”, Ms Burrow said.

“If one employer takes up the opportunity that the federal gov-ernment has given it to cut wages and conditions you can be sure that it won’t be long before others are forced to follow suit.”

Awards, such as the National Fast Food Retail Award, require a minimum of three hours paid work for each rostered day. J

Condition criticalMedibank Private is following the leads of Qantas and Telstra by imposing individual contracts on staff in the lead-up to privatisation. Market-friendly AWAs have started to roll out across the 1500-strong Medibank workforce, located in over 100 locations across the country.

The individual contracts average the 38-hour week over 12 months, remove limits on the days or times an employee can be directed to work and cut overtime payments for late night or weekend work.

The targeting of working conditions is made easier by in-creased powers employers have under WorkChoices, according to Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) National Secretary Stephen Jones. “With women form-ing the majority of our members,

often working in branches with small staff numbers, balancing work and family life is a top concern and a constant juggling act.

“These AWAs make it easi-er for staff to be directed to work whenever management wish, while removing incentives like overtime that will strike a real blow on al-ready stretched family budgets”, he said.

With the Government mak-ing no secret of its plans to sell off the national health insurer, maxi-mising the share price before any sale by driving down labour costs is proving a powerful incentive to management.

“It’s a classic case of workers being hit with a double-whammy – much tougher bargaining laws due to WorkChoices and the proposed sale of Medibank”, Jones said.

“Not only will any sale of Medibank have a negative impact on workers, we believe the sale will be bad news for the community, Medibank members, premiums and the health system in general.

“Not one of Medibank’s three million members has even been con-sulted about the plans to privatise.”

In response, the CPSU has kicked off a national campaign that raises questions over the Government’s plans to sell the lat-est piece of the family silver. Since releasing a survey this week about the planned sale, Jones said the union had received hundreds of re-sponses.

Once Medibank is sold off, then don’t be surprised if there is a new round of office closures, staff cuts and even more pressure on wages and conditions. J

New IR front opens as workers and families face courtIn the first test of the Howard Government’s new building and construction IR laws, 107 workers and their families will front court on Tuesday this week in Perth, facing prosecution for taking industrial action following the sacking of their union representative. The workers face fines of up to $28,600 each.

Solidarity actions have been or-ganised in Perth and other cities as the prosecution hits the court.

Secretary of the West Australian Branch of the CFMEU, Mr. Kevin Reynolds, said that the court appear-ance of 107 workers puts on display

the punitive nature of the Howard Government’s IR agenda.

Mr Reynolds said that Australians would be shocked to know the real extent of the Howard Government’s attack on workers’ rights, with workers now facing investigations, interrogations and prosecutions for fighting for better conditions and safe workplaces.

“The only reason that building workers have achieved decent safety standards and wages and conditions in this country is because the union exists”, Mr. Reynolds.

“Under the Howard Govern-

ment, the basic right to vote to take strike action in support of bet-ter conditions and a safe workplace has now been criminalised”, Mr Reynolds.

“Let us be very clear – the em-ployer is not taking these workers to court today – John Howard is.

“What’s happening in Federal Court today in WA is a Federal Government using all its powers to intimidate workers so that big inter-national corporations like Leighton can drive down wages, conditions and safety in our industry,” Mr. Reynolds said. J


August 30 2006 Australia

Peter Mac

The Howard Government is continuing its attacks on the teaching of history in Australian public schools. Howard has claimed: “We are not seeking some sort of official … nostalgic return to a particular version of Australian history.”

However, the government is trying to dictate both the form and content of the teaching of history in Australian schools. To achieve this they are seeking a uniform national history syllabus, with history as a “stand alone” subject, compulsory for years 9 and 10, with a national year 10 examination. Most impor-tantly, they want the history taught to be acceptable to their own social class. To ensure this happens, they appear to be contemplating the re-striction of federal education grants to states which teach history as ap-proved by the Howard Government.

The government is now offer-ing a $100,000 prize for a historical work. The judges for this exercise (assuming they will not be govern-ment ministers) will most certainly be well attuned to the government’s view of history.

Les Terry, lecturer in Australian studies at Victoria University, noted that the demand for the teaching of “facts” has accompanied the gov-ernment’s offer of grants for the erection of school flagpoles, and its proposal for a jointly-funded anti- secular education “chaplains in schools” program.

State history education under attack

To achieve its objectives, the government is claiming that the states are downgrading the teach-ing of history, and that they don’t emphasise dates and facts. Howard himself recently complained: “How you can just teach issues and study moods in history, rather than com-prehend and teach the narrative has always escaped me.”

Behind his posing of dates and times against themes, there is an agenda to restrict or even eliminate the teaching of history according to historical themes.

In fact, thematic teaching of history is crucial for imparting an understanding of subjects such as the dispossession of the Aboriginal people, or Australia’s involvement in US-led wars. As Vietnam veter-an and Labor MP Graham Edwards remarked caustically after a nation-al history summit in Canberra last week, “Teaching history … might keep us from being involved in more follies and more wars.”

In contrast, a Howard gov-ernment history course would comprise a narrow narrative of government-defined nation-shaping events. As an example, it would emphasise the dates of Cook’s ex-ploration of the Australian coast, but would reveal very little about the motive forces for British colonialism.

State ministers shut out

Consistent with the govern-ment’s contempt for state education authorities, state education minis-ters were not invited to the Howard team’s conference on the teaching of history. Conference participants appear to have been dominated by those who favour the government’s approach. One foreshadowed his attendance with a public attack on what he described as “the black armband view of history”.

Education Minister Julie Bishop brushed aside criticism of the gov-ernment’s overall method of dealing with the issue, saying “I have cho-sen a group of individuals who I believe have a great deal to offer in terms of providing advice to me and armed with that advice I’ll be in a position to work with state and ter-ritory governments.”

She later declared proudly that “The Australian Government has … taken a lead in restoring Australian history to a key place in Australian schools.”

Ms Bishop labelled those attend-ing the conference as “the sensible centre” of historians. Presumably she would describe working parents who disagree with her viewpoint on history education as at best con-fused. However, the working people are the ones with the strongest in-terest in rejecting the government’s policy on the teaching of history in Australian schools. J

Howard’s history is certainly bunk

As the Howard Government is moulding the country into the “51st State of the Union”, one has only to follow social and economic developments in the US to be able to forecast what will happen in Australia. Last week in the US Homeland Se-curity chairman Peter King declared that airport screeners shouldn’t be hampered by “political correctness” and endorsed requiring people of “Middle Eastern and South Asian” de-scent to undergo additional security checks because of their ethnicity and religion. Meanwhile in Britain the former commis-sioner of London’s Metropolitan Police wrote in a column in the News of the World newspaper that Muslims were to blame for “terrorist networks” in the country. “When will the Muslim community in this country accept an absolute, undeniable total truth: that Islamic terrorism is their problem”, said Lord Ste-vens He also pushed racial profiling. “I’m a white, 62-year-old, suit-wearing ex-cop – I fly often, but do I really fit the profile of a suicide bomber?” Depends on your definition of terror-ist. So, get ready for the rise and rise of racial profiling here.

You may recall that at the last election John Howard’s scare campaign was about interest rates. Any statement he makes always has an escape clause and his jibe about interest rates was no exception. After the election when his govern-ment put up interest rates, Howard simply stated, “I never said interest rates would not go up under my government. I said they would go up under a Labor government.” Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane clearly wasn’t impressed that Howard claimed rates would remain low, another election spin. The outgoing governor last week stated: “I mean, they make those claims … ‘Vote for us – you’ll have low interest rates’, which obviously we found annoying.” The list of enemies in the public service this government has made grows by the day.

The privatisation of water is one of the aims of the Howard Government. It has sidestepped around actually saying so in as many words, but the person pushing their water agenda – Parliamentary Secretary Malcolm Turnbull – edged closer to admitting it with the release last week of a discus-sion paper on water which promotes “increased private sector involvement”. The paper proposes outsourcing and public-private partnerships. There are also third-party access agreements which would see private companies having ac-cess to publicly owned infrastructure. All for profit, of course.

Anti-union mining transnational BHP Billiton last week announced a record $13.7 billion profit. At the same time, at the food-for-oil investigation into the Austra-lian Wheat Board’s bribes to the former regime of Saddam Hussein, BHP was named in a $5 million wheat deal to Iraq in exchange for access to the country’s oil.

CAPITALIST HOG OF THE WEEK: is James Hardie Industries. In particular its directors who have pulled every trick in the book to avoid paying compensation to the victims of Hardie’s asbestos products. They have an-nounced they will double their annual directors’ fees.

River health goes down the drainThe NSW Labor Government continues to look for quick fix bandaids to NSW’s water and environmental crisis. It’s latest proposal is to drill a tunnel to shift water from Shoalhaven River north to metropolitan Sydney. “This is an attempt by the Iemma Government to sweep Sydney’s water crisis under the carpet and delay the inevitable for a water-guzzling city”, Ian Cohen, NSW Greens Upper House MP Mr Cohen said.

“Hundreds of millions of dol-lars would be spent to drill a tunnel

to shift 30 billion litres of the Shoalhaven’s flows at a cost to the local environment and industry.

“The environment of the Shoalhaven River has already seen high levels of degradation with cur-rent levels of extraction. Platypus communities are under threat, and salt inundation has seen jellyfish numbers dramatically increase. Local tourism and fishing industries also stand to suffer.

“This short-sighted government races to adopt big infrastructure projects that promise a short-term solution rather than take a leader-

ship role on the future of Sydney’s water supply.

“Every year, 450 gigalitres of wasted effluent flows into the ocean. Rather than spending mil-lions to suck water out of regional communities, the government should move to recycle this wast-ed resource, which would deliver water arguably cleaner than our current supply.

“It would cost a lot less to in-stall rainwater tanks in Sydney homes, effectively moving the catchment to the coast, where rain-fall is highest.” J

BOOKSHELFComposer and Nation $18 (p&p $2.50) by Sidney FinkelsteinThis is a study of national expression in music and the use of folk and popular music by great composers from the 17th century to the present day. Finkelstein’s work provides new insights into both popular and classical music, to the relationships between music and society and the influence of folk music upon the whole of our musical heritage.

Brother Bill McKie. Building the Union at Ford $16 (p&p $2.50) by Phillip BonoskyHenry Ford boasted that he would never accept a union and for over 20 years he kept the union out of his huge River Rouge factory with guns, goons, black-lists and frame-ups. Here is the inspiring story about auto’s rank and file – like “Brother” Bill McKie – how they fought a long and bloody struggle and how, together, they won!

The Case of Joe Hill $15 (p&p $1.50) by Philip FonerThe famous Wobbly poet, songwriter and organiser was executed in Salt Lake City on November 19, 1915. Many felt that he was not guilty of the murder he was charged with, that he did not have a fair trial and that he was the victim of class persecution. American labour historian presents the first complete study of this important labour case based on exhaustive research from a wide variety of sources. His conclusion is that Joe Hill was the victim of a colossal frameup.

Timor Leste: A very Australian coup. $5 (p&p $1.50) This booklet provides a collection of articles republished from The Guardian and from material from the internet written by independent academics and journalists.

Order from SPA Books, 74 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010Payment by Cheque, Money Order or Credit Card (give name, number and expiry date on card)


August 30 2006Magazine

Raúl Castro Ruz: “No enemy can defeat us”

Granma: Comrade Raúl, our people joyfully received the message and photographs of the Comandante en Jefe [Commander in Chief] published in the press and the sub-sequent television report of the encounter with president Chávez. Nevertheless, taking advantage of this opportunity, it would be great-ly appreciated by millions of people who have attentively followed in-formation on the state of health of compañero [compatriot] Fidel, to hear your personal assessment, as someone always so united to him.

Raúl Castro Ruz: Without any doubt, what most interests all of us at this time is the Jefe’s health.

On behalf of all the people, I will begin by congratulating and thanking the doctors and the other compañeros and compañeras who have attended to him in an excel-lent manner, with an unsurpassable professionalism and, above all, with much love and dedication. This has been a very important factor in Fidel’s progressive recovery.

Moreover, I think that his ex-ceptional physical and mental nature has also been essential to his satis-factory and gradual recovery.

G: We Cubans, even when we don’t see you for a while on televi-sion or in the written press, know that you are there, at your combat post as always. But I think that these words of yours will also disarm the speculation and lies present in some of the foreign media.

RCR: If you are referring to those in other countries who en-tertain themselves by speculating about if I am going to appear on television or in the papers or not; well, I appeared with Fidel on Sunday (August 13) and when I re-ceived President Chávez , although really those comments don’t bother me in the slightest. What does in-terest me greatly is what our people are thinking, although, fortunately, we live in this geographically small island, where everything that we are doing is known. I can confirm that when I talk with the population or other local leaders in my tours of the country.

As a point of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in

public, except at times when it is required. Many tasks related to de-fence should not be made public and have to be handled with maximum care, and that has been one of my fundamental responsibilities as FAR Minister. Moreover, I have always been discreet, that is my way, and in passing I will clarify that I am thinking of continuing in that way. But that has not been the fundamen-tal reason why I don’t appear very often in the mass media; simply, it has not been necessary.

G: No essential operation has been overlooked.

RCR: Effectively, the Coman-dante en Jefe’s Proclamation gave the information that could be given at that time and moreover, proposed specific tasks for everyone. The main thing is to dedicate oneself in body and soul to fulfilling them. That is what all the leaders at differ-ent levels have been doing, together with our people who have known how to maintain an exemplary disci-pline, vigilance and working spirit.

Support for RevolutionOn behalf of the Comandante en

Jefe and the Party leadership, I will take the opportunity of thanking ev-eryone for the innumerable displays of support for the Revolution and for the content of his Proclamation, as well as the demonstrations of af-fection that have been expressed by figures from the cultural sector; professionals and workers in all sec-tors; farmers, soldiers, housewives, students, pioneers; among them nu-merous believers, public figures and religious institutions from the overwhelming majority of denomi-nations; finally, the people of Cuba.

It has been a conclusive demon-stration of their unbreakable unity and their revolutionary conscious-ness, essential pillars of the fortitude of our country.

G: The breadth of support com-ing from all over the world has also been impressive.

RCR: Yes, really heartening. That is why I should also like to express thanks for the numerous messages of solidarity and re-spect from all over the world, from people of the most diverse social

categories, from simple workers to intellectual and political figures, as well as a significant and representa-tive number of religious institutions and figures. All of them have done so without any conditions whatso-ever. Messages from the few who did not act in that way were not ac-cepted or acknowledged.

Also, they have been joined to date (August 17) by some 12,000 signatories supporting the call made 10 days ago by prominent cultur-al personalities from more than 100 countries, among them various Nobel Prize winners, condemn-ing the interfering and aggressive statements of the government of the United States. This exposes the openly interventionist nature of the Bush Plan, as we are calling that monster that would seem to be dust-ed off from the times when – as at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th – they frus-trated the independence of Cuba and imposed their administrators on us.

Supposed “transition”Now they have also designed

one for the supposed “transition”. One Caleb McCarry [the Bush ad-minstration’s “Cuba Transition Co-ordinator”], who recently stat-ed that the United States does not accept the continuity of the Cuban

Revolution, although he didn’t say how they are thinking of averting that.

G: One gets the impression that the enemies of the Revolution have been left speechless by the conclusive reaction of the Cuban population, immune to their giant and disgraceful campaign of of-

fences and lies. They are talking with surprise at the calm reigning in Cuba, as if it was something un-usual and not exactly normal, and which all of us here knew would happen in a situation such as this.

RCR: Yes, it would seem that they have come to believe their own lies. The most probable is that their “think tanks” and many of their analysts are now drawing other con-clusions.

As you were saying, absolute tranquility is reigning in the coun-try. And something even more important, the serene, disciplined and decisive attitude that can be felt in every workplace, in every city, in every neighbourhood. The same one that our people always assume in moments of difficulty. If we were to be guided solely by the internal situation, I am not exag-gerating in affirming that it would not have been necessary to mobil-ise even one pioneer from among those who guard the ballot boxes in the elections.

But we have never ignored a threat from the enemy. It would be irresponsible to do so when faced with a government like that of the United States, which is declaring with the greatest audacity that it does not accept what is established in the Cuban Constitution. From over there, as if they were the rul-ers of the planet, they are saying that there must be a transition to a social regime of their liking and that they “would take note of those who oppose that”. Although it seems in-credible, this boorish and at the same time stupid attitude was as-sumed by President Bush a few days ago.

G: They’ll have to waste a lot of paper and ink ...

RCR: A lot. For that reason I would advise them to do the op-posite. To “take note”, as they say, of the annexationists on the payroll of the US Interests Section here in Havana, those who are going to re-ceive the crumbs of the announced $80 million earmarked for subver-sion, because the bulk of it will be distributed in Miami, as is usually the case.

On the contrary, the list is going to be interminable. They would have to list the names of millions and mil-lions of Cuban men and women, the same ones who are ready to receive their designated administrator with rifles in hand.

Normalise relationsAt this juncture, they should

be very clear that it is not possible to achieve anything in Cuba with impositions and threats. On the con-trary, we have always been disposed to normalise relations on an equal plane. What we do not accept is the arrogant and interventionist policy frequently assumed by the current administration of that country.

Recently rereading Party Con-gress documents, I found ideas that seemed to have been written today. For example, this excerpt from the Central Report presented by Fidel

to the Third Congress in February 1986:

“As we have demonstrated many times, Cuba is not remiss to discussing its prolonged differenc-es with the United States and to go out in search of peace and better re-lations between our people.” And he continued:

“But that would have to be on

the basis of the most unrestrict-ed respect for our condition as a country that does not tolerate shad-ows on its independence, for whose dignity and sovereignty entire gen-erations of Cubans have fought and sacrificed themselves. This would be possible only when the United States decides to negotiate with se-riousness and is willing to treat us with a spirit of equality, reciprocity and the fullest mutual respect.”

Similar formulations are con-tained in the documents from the other Party Congresses and have also been reaffirmed by its First Secretary on diverse occasions.

G: Nevertheless they are con-tinuing with the same aggressive and arrogant policy as always.

RCR: That is the reality. More than 20 years have passed since Fidel pronounced the words that I have just cited; they have that 485-page interventionist plan that I already mentioned, approved in 2004, in which they detail how they propose to dismantle the achieve-ments of the Revolution in health, education, social security; agrar-ian reform and urban reform; in other words, to kick the people off their land, out of their homes so as to hand them back to their former owners, etc. etc. etc.

Fidel continues to improve

On the contrary, our defence plans are transparent and legal, simply because they do not threaten anybody; their sole objective is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of

the homeland; they do not violate any national or international law whatsoever.

Lazaro Barredo Medina

“No enemy can defeat us”, affirms Raúl Castro Ruz, in a statement to Cuba’s national daily newspaper Granma. The conversation took place in his office at the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) and focused on the principal events of recent days. He affirmed that Fidel continues to improve and thanked people for the thousands of messages of solidarity and support from Cuba and abroad. He assured the people, both Cubans and international supporters, that measures have been taken to prevent any attempt at aggression.

Raúl Castro in 1958, broadcasting during the revolution on Radio Rebelde


August 30 2006 Magazine

US intervention planTo cap it all, just a few days ago,

on July 10, President Bush officially approved a document complement-ing the former one, and which they had posted with a very low pro-file on the internet in June. They have openly stated that it includes a secret appendix that is not being published “for reasons of national

security” and “to ensure its effective implementation”; those are literally the terms that they used, and which constitute a flagrant violation of in-ternational law.

For a while now we have been adopting measures to confront those plans. These were reinforced particularly when the current US Government initiated the unbridled warmongering policy that it has maintained to date, including the announced intention to attack with-out previous warning any of those places that they call the “sixty or more dark corners of the world”.

G: A notable escalation of ag-gression…

RCR: Effectively, and in 2003 the plans became more explicit. On December 5 of that year, Mr Roger Noriega, then Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, declared – I don’t know if it was intentional or a slip – that “the transition in Cuba – in other words – the death of Fidel – could happen at any moment and we have to be prepared to be agile and de-cisive.” That “the United States wanted to be sure that the regime’s cronies have no hope of holding onto power” and, so as to leave no doubt, he added that they were working “to ensure that there was

no succession to the Castro re-gime”. Subsequently he and other senior US officials have returned to the theme insistently.

Plan of ResistanceWhat other form exists for

obtaining these goals that is not mil-itary aggression? Thus, the country adopted the pertinent measures for

counteracting that real danger.Faced with similar situations,

Martí taught us what to do: “Plan against plan. Without a plan of re-sistance, a plan of attack cannot be defeated”, he wrote in the news-paper Patria on June 11, 1892. The United States Government is not re-vealing the contents of that appendix because it is illegal. Its publication

must be demanded, above all now that they have spoken about its exis-tence in order to threaten Cuba.

On the contrary, our defence plans are transparent and legal, sim-ply because they do not threaten anybody; their sole objective is to guarantee the sovereignty and inde-pendence of the homeland; they do not violate any national or interna-tional law whatsoever.

The country’s media has in-formed about the seriousness and reach of the measures that we have been adopting recently to steadily strengthen our defence. Just over a month ago, on July 1, the issue was analysed extensively by the Fifth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party.

G: Some of the empire’s war hawks thought that the moment had come to destroy the Revolution this past July 31.

RCR: We could not rule out the risk of somebody going cra-zy, or even crazier, within the US Government.

Consequently, at 3am on August 1, in fulfilment of the plans ap-proved and signed on January 13, 2005 by compañero Fidel, and after having made the established consul-tations, I decided to substantially raise our combative capacity and readiness via the implementation of the projected measures, includ-ing the mobilisation of several tens of thousands of reservists and mi-litia members, and the proposal to our principal units of regular troops, including the Special Troops, of missions demanded by the political/military situation that has been created.

All of the mobilised person-nel has completed or is currently completing an important cycle of combat training and cohesion, part of that under campaign conditions.

These troops will rotate, in ap-proximately equal numbers, as the proposed objectives are attained. All of the reservists and militia mem-bers who are to participate in these activities will be informed, with the necessary anticipation, of the date of incorporation into their units and the time that they will remain in these to fulfil their guard duty to the homeland.

MobilisationTo date, the mobilisation that

we began on August 1 has devel-oped satisfactorily, thanks to the magnificent response by our reserv-ists and militia members, as well as the commendable labour undertaken by the military commands and es-pecially by the Defence Councils, under the leadership of the Party, at every level.

It is not my intention to exag-gerate the danger. I never have done so. Up until now, the attacks dur-ing these days have not gone further than rhetorical ones, except for the substantial increase in subversive anti-Cuba broadcasts over radio and television.

G: They have announced the use of a new airplane...

RCR: Previously, they were us-ing, at varying intervals, a military airplane known as Comando Solo. From this past August 5, they began using another type of aircraft that has effected daily transmissions. On August 11, it did so in conjunction with the aforementioned Comando Solo.

In fact, on the 5th and 6th, our radars detected that transmissions were being made from internation-al waters, in outright violation of the agreements of the International Telecommunications Union, to which the United States is a sig-natory, which once again we are condemning via the corresponding channels and agencies, given that moreover these transmissions are af-fecting broadcasting in our country.

In reality, we are totally uncon-cerned at the hypothetical influence of this crude and abysmally-made propaganda, very much below the cultural and political levels of the Cuban population and which more-over our people reject, just as they reject the little signs on the US Interests Section. That is not what this is about; it is above all a mat-ter of sovereignty and of dignity. We would never passively allow the consummation of that aggres-sive act, and that is why we inter-fere with it.

All things considered, they are spending millions in US taxpayers’

money to achieve the same result as ever: a TV that is not seen. I add to these reflections on the country’s defence an idea expressed by Fidel in 1975, in his Central Report to the First Party Congress, which I have quoted so much that I know it by heart: “As long as imperialism ex-ists, the Party, the State and the people will give their utmost atten-tion to the services of defence. The revolutionary guard will never be neglected. History shows with too much eloquence that those who for-get this principle do not survive the error.”

That has been our guide throughout many years, and con-tinues to be today for more than enough reasons.

G: I think that we Cubans have shown during these days that we all share that conviction.

RCR: I agree with you, and that is why I conclude by rati-fying my congratulations to the Cuban people for their overwhelm-ing demonstration of confidence in themselves; a demonstration of ma-turity, serenity, monolithic unity, discipline, revolutionary conscious-ness and – put this in capital letters – FIRMNESS, which reminded me of the conduct of the Cuban peo-ple during the heroic days of the so-called Missile Crisis in October 1962.

They are the fruits of a Revolution whose concept Fidel summed up in his speech of May 1, 2000, in 20 basic ideas that consti-tute the quintessence of ideological political work. They are the results of many years of combat that, under his leadership, we have waged. Let nobody doubt, as long as we remain like that, no enemy will be able to defeat us. J

Raúl Castro Ruz: “No enemy can defeat us”

Fidel continues to improve

On the contrary, our defence plans are transparent and legal, simply because they do not threaten anybody; their sole objective is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of

the homeland; they do not violate any national or international law whatsoever.

REVOLUTION is a sense of the historic moment; it is changing everything that should be changed; it is complete equality and freedom; it is being treated and treating others like human beings; it is emancipating ourselves through ourselves, and through our own efforts; it is defying powerful dominating forces inside and outside of the social and national sphere; it is defending values that are believed in at the cost of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness, altruism, solidarity and heroism; it is fighting with audacity, intelligence and realism; it is never lying or violating ethical principles; it is the profound conviction that there is no force in the world capable of crushing the strength of truth and ideas. Revolution is unity, it is independence, it is fighting for our dreams for justice for Cuba and for the world, which is the foundation of our patriotism, our socialism and our internationalism.

Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro RuzMay 1, 2000

VINIMO A LA GUERRA“The elements of the past are still here, as alive as phantoms and wandering souls. The subsoil of Chiapas is full of murdered Indians, petrified forests, abandoned cities and oceans of petroleum.”Anthropologist Tono Garcia de Leon

Where had they come from?When they looked south to Mexico their American brothers and sisterssaw they had emerged, thattheir hands and eyes and feet and bodieswere all individual yet of themselves.

Such moments are a revelation.To be one with an entiretybut still retain yourself as entity;to see a great land mass, connected and borderless,yet maintaining and strengthening its uniqueness;truly such an insight is staggeringfor its simplicity and the question“Why didn’t we see this before?”

The Zapatistas in their green trousers, their black topshome sewn, their shotguns, machetes, assault rifles,the black, yellow and red of the paliacates tiedround their necks or masking their faces.“Vinimo de aqui’ proque no aguantamos, ve?”We come because we couldn’t take it anymore, see?Now in control of six cities in Chiapas, the capital San Cristobal de las Casas, theirs,the road to Guatemala, the Lacandon jungle.

Whole towns and communities without electricityin the shadow of hydroelectric dams, no sewage systems - illiteracy, death from hunger and curable diseases, torture at the hands of the army, assassination by the big land grabbing elite.

Days, years, decades, centuries turned overin calloused hands; unemployment, poverty, humiliationrunning like grain, like clean water, through the fingersuntil the interior world – the phantoms, the whole of history -fuses with hardened reality and the meaning of it all can be foundin a simple action like the grinding of corn:“Vinimo a la guerra” – We came to the war.

by Tom Pearson


August 30 2006

Marilyn Bechtel

SAN FRANCISCO: Supporters of 1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada – the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq – welcomed his father, Bob Watada, last week for a whirlwind tour of the Bay Area.

“I feel the support is really building up”, Bob Watada told an August 21 press conference here near the start of the tour. He said many organisations, including Iraq Veterans against the War, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, the National Lawyers Guild and others, are ac-tively supporting his son. Events during the week, organised by peace, veterans and religious groups, were also slated for San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and Berkeley.

The elder Watada described the evolution of his son’s thinking about the war in Iraq. Ehren Watada joined the Army in “the fervour of the patriotic fever young people felt after September 11”, he said, “be-cause he wanted to do something for his country, and he felt that was the right thing to do.”

Transferred back to the US af-ter serving in Korea, Ehren Watada even sought immediate deployment to Iraq, but the Army rejected the request. “And that was perhaps a misfortune for the Army”, said Bob Watada, because his son “began to study what was going on in Iraq, and started developing some strong feelings about this war”, including the daily killings of civilians and the Bush administration’s lies about weapons of mass destruction.

Calling the war a violation of the US Constitution as well as in-ternational law, Bob Watada said his son was acting to uphold the Constitution, including his right to free speech.

Following a preliminary hearing at Ft. Lewis, Washington, last week, Ehren Watada now faces a court martial trial, possibly in November, for missing a movement, contempt toward officials and conduct unbe-coming an officer – the latter based on his public criticism of the Iraq war as a violation of US and inter-national law. He has been reassigned to a desk job at Ft. Lewis.

If convicted, Lt. Watada faces a possible seven and a half years in prison and a dishonourable discharge.

Joining Bob Watada at the press conference were Marti Hiken, co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild’s Military Law Task Force, and San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Hidachi.

Hiken presented a statement by the task force, calling Ehren Watada’s resistance “a response to the deception and illegality sur-rounding this war as well as the increasing resistance to it on the part of those forced to fight it.”

Calling Lt. Watada’s position “a moral one”, the statement con-cluded that “all people of honour, whether in the military or not”, should reject the Army’s insistence that he “abandon his core beliefs and integrity to support this uncon-scionable war.”

“When people enter the military, they don’t automatically give up

their rights”, Hiken said in a later in-terview. “The Bush administration’s attempts to silence dissent have a far-reaching impact on all of us”, she added. “We want the American people to be able to hear what sol-diers are saying about the war.”

Hidachi told the reporters, “We in the Japanese community should be proud that a Japanese American soldier has taken a stand against this illegal war.” Prosecuting a sol-dier for stating his views on what is commonly known – that the Bush administration misled its citizens when it claimed Iraq had weap-ons of mass destruction and was connected to September 11 – “is particularly unjust and immoral”, Hidachi added.<www.thankyoult.org> features a petition and further information on Lt. Ehren Watada’s situation.People’s Weekly World J

International

On civil liberties and the Middle East crisisStatement Communist Party of Britain

Support grows for Lt. Ehren Watada

There can be no basis for peace and security in Britain while the British Government promotes war and destitution in the Middle East. In the name of a “war on terror”, the peoples of Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq have been terrorised and traumatised in their millions by the Israeli, British and US war machines.

In the name of so-called “Western values”, British and US military intervention has plunged Iraq into mass bloodshed and sectarian civil war. In the name of a struggle against “Islamic terrorism”, the state terrorism of the British, US and Israeli Governments is driving thousands of recruits into the arms of sectarian, obscu-rantist and reactionary organisations which resort to individual terrorism.

Now, in the name of defending our freedom here in Britain, new measures are being planned to restrict our civil liberties still further. On the eve of the August 10 arrests and airport emergencies, Home Secretary John Reid delivered a speech to the right-wing Demos or-ganisation in which he called for our freedoms to be “modified” while whipping up hysteria about a global struggle between good and evil.

The proposal from EU Justice Commissioner Franco Fratelli for a Europe-wide response to a renewed terror-ist threat should alert us all to the danger of a renewed assault on our liberties.

An immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Lebanon is the precondition for re-storing peace and security in Lebanon and Israel. The rapid withdrawal of British and US forces from Iraq is the precondition for liberating the Iraqi people from all forms of terrorism.

Justice for the Palestinian people on the basis of UN resolutions 194, 242, 465, 478, 2326 and many others is the precondition for securing peace and stability in the whole Middle East including Israel.

The refusal of Britain, the US and Israel to abide by the UN Charter and UN resolutions will never persuade other governments and organisations to act in accor-dance with international law.

It is now urgent that the labour movement in Britain comes out loud and clear in defence of national sover-eignty and international law in the Middle East, and of democratic liberties here in Britain. Blair and the whole New Labour clique must be removed from office before they do any more damage at home and abroad, clear-ing the way for Britain to pursue an independent foreign policy which genuinely promotes peace, justice and stability.Robert Griffiths, General Secretary and John Foster, International Secretary Communist Party of Britain J

Cuban Popularity in IndonesiaTom Fawthrop

Many of the international aid teams that descended on Indonesia after the May 27 earthquake in Java have packed up and gone home. But a medical team from Cuba has proved so popular that locals have asked it to stay on for another six months.

More than two months after the quake, the 135-strong Cuban team sees up to 1000 patients a day at two field hospitals set up in the earth-quake zone, 30 kilometres from Jakarta.

Nearby, there are crushed hous-es and rubble – ugly reminders of the earthquake that killed more than 6000 people and destroyed 100,000 homes.

The Cubans are the last hope for many Indonesians given the scant primary health care services provid-ed by the government in Jakarta.

But it is not only here in Java that they are playing an important role – Cuban medical teams have quietly assumed a major role in global humanitarian relief opera-tions usually seen as the domain of wealthy nations.

“Most important is the relation-ship between doctors and patients”,

explains Cuban doctor Oscar Putol, who works in the Intensive Care Unit at the Gantiwarno field hos-pital. “The patients trust us – they appreciate we are not just doctors, we are also human beings.”

Khalida Ahmad of UNICEF, who witnessed Cuban teams work-ing in the Pakistan emergency, agrees: “They treat patients like people, not just cases. Everyone I spoke to from the affected areas was so grateful. They felt they could al-ways go to the Cuban doctors to ask a question, despite language difficulties.”

Most of the Cubans had previ-ous experience in Indonesia and Sri Lanka helping survivors of the mas-sive tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean in December 2004.

Regional health coordinator Dr Ronny Rockito in Klaten is enthu-siastic about the impact of Cuban aid.

“I appreciate the Cuban medical team. Their style is very friendly. Their medical standard is very high. The Cuban hospitals are fully com-plete and it’s free, with no financial support from our government. We give our special thanks to Fidel Castro”, he says.Granma J

TUNE IN TO WORKERS’ RADIOSYDNEY 88.9FM WEEKDAYS 5:30AM – 9:00AM

Indonesia: year-long industrial struggle pays offStatement by Securicor security workersWe want to express our thanks to the Service Employees’ International Union, Labourstart, and particularly to the more than 6000 people who wrote emails de-manding that the company respect our rights and our country’s laws.

More than 150 security workers for Securicor Indonesia won a 15-month struggle with your help – and emails from more than 6000 other people de-manding the company respect their rights and the country’s laws. These workers were fired illegally by Securicor and then refused back pay even after the Indonesian Supreme Court ordered the company to obey the law.

Over the past 15 months, Securicor Indonesia has tried to ignore, intimidate, and undercut our struggle to demand our rights. Through solidarity, we have been able to show them that Indonesian workers can take on international corporations and win.

We have heard from the company how much the involvement of unions and individuals from around the world has infuriated them. They thought they could ignore our rights and our laws without any con-sequences, but instead they found themselves in an international spotlight.

This victory will make a huge difference in our lives and those of our families. We will keep fighting for the rights of the thousands of Group 4 Securicor workers in Indonesia.

We hope that this international support will continue for them and for the other Group 4 Securicor work-ers around the world whose rights are being violated. Hopefully our victory will be a step towards teaching Group 4 Securicor management that they must respect all workers’ rights.Timboel Siregar, Association of Indonesian Labor Unions J


August 30 2006

Bill Quigley

Bernice Mosely is 82 and lives alone in New Orleans in a shotgun double. On August 29, 2005, as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the levees constructed by the US Corps of Engineers failed in five places and New Orleans filled with water.

One year ago Ms Mosely was on the second floor of her neigh-bourhood church. Days later, she was helicoptered out. She was so dehydrated she spent eight days in a hospital. Her next door neigh-bour, 89 years old, stayed behind to care for his dog. He drowned in the floodwaters that covered their neighbourhood.

Ms Mosely now lives in her half-gutted house. She has no stove, no refrigerator, and no air-conditioning. The bottom half of her walls have been stripped of sheet-rock and are bare wooden slats from the floor halfway up the wall. Her food is stored in a styrofoam cool-er. Two small fans push the hot air around.

Two plaster Madonnas are in her tiny well-kept front yard. On a blazing hot summer day, Ms Mosely used her crutches to gin-gerly come down off her porch to open the padlock on her fence. She has had hip and knee replacement surgery. Ms Mosely worked in a New Orleans factory for over 30 years sewing uniforms. When she retired she was making less than $4 an hour. “Retirement benefits?” she laughs. She lives off social se-curity. Her house had never flooded before. Because of her tight bud-get, Ms Mosely did not have flood insurance.

Thousands of people like Ms Mosely are back in their hous-

es on the Gulf Coast. They are living in houses that most people would consider, at best, still under construction, or, at worst, uninhab-itable. Like Ms Mosely, they are trying to make their damaged hous-es into homes.

New Orleans is still in intensive care. If you have seen recent televi-sion footage of New Orleans, you probably have a picture of how bad our housing situation is. What you cannot see is that the rest of our in-stitutions, our water, our electricity, our healthcare, our jobs, our educa-tional system, our criminal justice systems – are all just as broken as our housing. We remain in serious trouble. Like us, you probably won-der where has the promised money gone?

Ms Mosely, who lives in the upper ninth ward, does not feel sorry for herself at all. “Lots of people have it worse”, she says. “You should see those people in the Lower Ninth and in St Bernard and in the East. I am one of the lucky ones”.

Housing Hard as it is to believe, Ms

Mosely is right. Lots of people do have it worse. Hundreds of thou-sands of people from the Gulf Coast remain displaced. In New Orleans alone over two hundred thousand people have not been able to make it home.

Homeowners in Louisiana, like Ms Mosely, have not yet received a single dollar of federal housing re-building assistance to rebuild their severely damaged houses back into homes.

Over 100,000 homeowners in Louisiana are on a waiting list for billions in federal rebuilding as-

sistance through the Community Development Block Grant pro-gram. So far, no money has been distributed.

Renters, who comprised most of the people of New Orleans be-fore Katrina, are much worse off than homeowners. New Orleans lost more than 43,000 rental units to the storm. Rents have skyrock-eted in the undamaged parts of the area, pricing regular working people out of the market. The official rate of increase in rents is 39 percent. In lower income neighbourhoods, working people and the elderly re-port rents are up much higher than that. Amy Liu of the Brookings Institute said “Even people who are working temporarily for the rebuild-ing effort are having trouble finding housing”.Information Clearing House J

International

PAKISTAN: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced fully funded scholarships to be offered to Pakistani stu-dents by the Cuban Government for graduate studies in General Comprehensive Medicine (equivalent to MBBS), in leading Cuban Medical institutions. All students will be required to learn Spanish and undergo a one year language training program in Cuba. The programs include regular graduate programs in General Comprehensive Medicine. Selection will only be based on merit.

RUSSIA/IRAN: Although Russia agreed to the Security Council’s resolution on July 31, Defence Minister Sergei B Ivanov has made it clear that Russia will not support the imposition of sanc-tions on Iran or its leaders. Russia has repeatedly expressed opposition to punitive steps, even as President Vladimir Putin and others have called on Iran to cooperate with international inspectors and suspend its enrichment activity. Mr Ivanov said the issue was not “so urgent” that the Security Council should consider sanctions and expressed doubts about their effective-ness. “I know of no cases in international practice or the whole of previous experience when sanctions achieved their goals or were efficient.” Mr Ivanov stressed that Russia would continue “to advocate a political and diplomatic solution to the problem.”

PHILIPPNES: There are disturbing reports from Central Lu-zon about the terror tactics employed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the name of “counter insurgency”. Four people were killed by balaclava-wearing men on motor-cycles, and two abducted between August 14 and 16. Under the command of Major General Jovito Palparan, the Armed Forces of the Philippines units in the region are seeking to isolate the popular leaders of workers, peasants and human rights groups, and terrorise the general population. Central Lu-zon Commander, Major General Palparan announced recently that he will “cleanse” the region of “communist insurgents and their supporters” before he retires on September 11. A recent report by the Uniting Church said that the 14 cases of murder and summary execution it looked at “suggest the use of serial killings and systematic violence by the Philippine military and the police to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.”

USA: Breaking a long-standing position of neutrality on the issue of abortion, the California Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, voted to oppose a November ballot question that would require parental notification before a minor could have an abortion. The federa-tion represents 2.1 million workers in 1100 local unions and is the largest in the country. The Catholic Church, which has worked in coalition with the state federation, said it would continue to stay on board with labour on immigrant rights and organising. “It would be unrealistic to expect every group to believe the same way we do about every issue”, said Tod Tamberg, a spokes-man for the Archdiocese. “It doesn’t preclude us from working together on those areas where we do share common concerns.”

Global briefs

New Orleans a year after Katrina

Hizbullah to house the homelessBEIRUT: United Nations agencies and Lebanese NGOs say almost everyone displaced by the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel has either returned home or found alternative accommodation.

About 15,000 houses were destroyed in the 34-day conflict be-tween Israel and Hizbullah and many more damaged, accord-ing to the Lebanese Government. However, through extended fam-ily networks, second homes or accommodation paid for with com-pensation monies, most of the 252,184 Lebanese who lived in the now damaged or destroyed houses have found somewhere to stay.

“Basically people are relying on token mechanisms and people from middle-income families tend to have a residence in the south and in Beirut”, said Stewart Shepard of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “Other people are relying on the extend-ed family network. We have been meeting people whose houses have been destroyed but they are staying with family.”

Out of the almost one million people forced to flee their homes, it is estimated that about 3000 remain in centres for the displaced across Lebanon. Most will be able to find

accommodation soon, according to Samidoun, a local NGO.

“There are still some people in two schools in Beirut. They are mostly from the southern suburbs [of Beirut]. They went back but their homes were completely destroyed so they prefer to stay in the schools until they find an alternative”, said Ghassan Makarem from Samidoun, adding that many were waiting for compensation from Hizbullah.

Hizbullah has pledged US$12,000 to every homeowner whose house has been destroyed to enable them to rent somewhere until homes are rebuilt. This process has already begun.

While the party is reluctant to disclose the sources of their funds, they have indicated that much of it has come from wealthy Lebanese donors in Africa, Latin America and the United States – though Iran is widely believed to have contributed a significant amount.

Immediately after the ceasefire on August 14, Hizbullah made sur-veys of the destroyed properties and then organised the compensation programme through a wing of the party called Jihad al-Bina, mean-ing “jihad for construction”. It has pledged that all homes will be re-built within a year.

To date, Qatar has said it will rebuild the southern villages of Khiam and Bint Jbeil, where about 60 percent of the houses have been destroyed. A Saudi Arabian compa-ny has said it will rebuild the Haret Hreik area in south Beirut, where the scale of destruction is similar.

The Lebanese government is al-so working towards rebuilding the homes and lives of its citizens. At a press conference last week Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora an-nounced that the government would be compensating home and business owners who lost property.

“All the people whose houses were damaged or destroyed will be entitled to compensation”, said a government spokesman. “What the Prime Minister announced today are steps to be taken by any individual or business [property] damaged so as to have their rights covered.”

Although Beirut has a surplus of properties, there are fears pric-es could rise. “That’s obviously one of the conclusions we have al-ready drawn. When you have tens of thousands of people looking for accommodation it is going to affect demand and supply”, Shepard said.This item is from IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service J


August 30 2006

Letters to the EditorThe Guardian74 Buckingham StreetSurry Hills NSW 2010

email: [email protected]

Australians & the US War in VietnamI have read the many letters to the Australian press that have been generated by the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Lon Tan in Vietnam with interest. It is often said that the first casualty of war is truth. From what I have been reading, it would appear that truth is still a casualty of what the Vietnamese call the American War.

John Howard has recently apol-ogised for the indifference and hostility that many Vietnam veter-ans suffered when they returned to Australia. He should apologise to them, but he should also have apol-ogised on behalf of the Liberal Party that these men were sent to this im-moral war in the first place.

Of course, as The Guardian arti-cle said in the article “On Apologies and Saying Sorry”, there was no apology to the Vietnamese peo-ple for Australia’s contribution in an invasion of their country that was entirely unprovoked. If people do not believe this, can they tell me when the Vietnamese bombed Canberra or Washington or invaded Australia or the US?

About two million Vietnamese

died in the American War, the peo-ple endured saturation bombing, napalm and anti-personal weapons. The countryside was doused with Agent Orange and was littered with mine fields that still claim thousands of victims each year.

Neither the US nor Australia ev-er paid one cent in compensation for this horrific destruction and loss of life that they caused.

Even Malcolm Fraser, a for-mer minister who sent Australian soldiers to Vietnam, has said in more recent times that this war was wrong.

However, the men who fought in Vietnam should not be vilified. Some years ago, I was privileged to be a member of a group that visited Vietnam.

Inevitably, there was a discus-sion about the American War. The attitude towards Australian and US veterans, I thought was very ci-vilised and humane. The Vietnamese told us that it was necessary to fight them because they had to defend their country.

They also said that they did not blame them for invading; but they did blame the Australian and US politicians who sent them. The Vietnamese told us that they consider that the veterans were vic-tims of that war, just as they were. There was also recognition of their courage. The Vietnamese want to cooperate with the veterans to share their experiences of alleviating the suffering caused by the effects of defoliants and other chemicals used by the US.

Australian governments have not been very generous in helping veterans who have had those health

effects and have tried to deny they exist.

There is currently a debate in Australia on the importance of his-tory. The fact that Mr Howard has sent more Australians to fight in US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan means that we as a nation are not learning much from history.

Andrew (Andy) AlcockForestville, SA

Independence for the National Art SchoolOpen letter to John HowardOn behalf of Friends of the National Art School (FONAS), its patrons and supporters I write to convey to you the utter dismay of the arts community, and the community at large, regarding the ongoing “process” of merging the National Art School with the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

The UNSW already has an art school, the College of Fine Arts, and it is implausible to sug-gest that they would maintain two arts schools on a long-term ba-sis. The merger, and the inevitable sublimation of NAS within the ad-ministrative structure of UNSW, would destroy an institution that is widely regarded as a national treasure.

The National Art School edu-cates more artists of national and international acclaim than any other art school in this country. Merging this centre of excellence with the university sector will impact neg-atively, and irreparably, on art edu-cation within Australia.

The National Art School is this

nation’s oldest art school and is sit-uated in the magnificent historical buildings of the Darlinghurst Gaol in Sydney. Its proven and unique studio based teaching methods de-serve to be conserved, and not discarded simply to facilitate bu-reaucratic convenience.

We urge the Federal Government to recognise the National Art School for its past and present contribu-tion to the cultural life of Australia and grant it federal status and fed-eral funding as a member of the Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence.

We therefore call upon you, Prime Minister, to preserve our in-stitution as an integral part of this nation’s cultural heritage and future. We ask you to include the National Art School alongside similarly fed-erally funded institutions, such as the National Institute of Dramatic Arts and the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.

On behalf of FONAS, its pa-trons and supporters, I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerelyBernadette Mansfield

President, Friends of the National Arts School

Who can you bank on?What is the safest way to invest your savings? For many workers this is not a hypothetical question. Retirees will increasingly be facing this as their superannuation payments need investing. The choices range from promises of very high returns with high risk through to low returns for low risk. The safe bet being a bank

After all, your money is guaran-teed in a bank. That’s where I put my savings. I have never thought much about who guarantees my savings. Just assumed it was the government. And I was right for all those years I had with the Commonwealth Bank and the State Savings Bank before they were sold off.

When these banks were owned by the government they were guar-anteed by the government. But the government sold our banks off and left it to the bank to protect the sav-ings it holds.

That means that when a bank goes belly-up – savings go belly up to.

What got me going on this was a story in the paper which said a Reserve Bank survey that found that 60 percent of people surveyed thought the government protected their savings in banks, building so-cieties and credit unions. They are not protected.

The government is worried about political fallout if more fi-nancial outfits follow in footsteps of HIH, especially as it continues to deregulate the financial sec-tor. So it has suggested that there be some form of protection – like insurance of deposits for banks, insurance companies and credit unions.

Banks are screaming blue mur-der – another cost – and it might encourage people to take more risks.

Well there is one solution. Nationalise the major banks and insurance companies. A bit more regulation wouldn’t hurt either.

June HamiltonSydney, NSW

Bush administration targets Cuban churchesChurch leaders the world over have objected to a misleading reference to the Cuban Council of Churches that appeared in the July 10 report from the President Bush’s “Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.”

The report states that to “tighten regulations for the export of human-itarian items”, Washington plans to “ensure that exports are consigned to entities that support independent civil society and are not regime administered or controlled organisa-tions, such as the Cuban Council of Churches.”

The Cuban Council of Churches has been coordinating church-based humanitarian aid in Cuba for 71 years. The Reverend Lucius Walker, director of the US organisation Pastors for Peace, said that the council is the oldest such group in Latin America and the most inclusive in the Western Hemisphere.

Council President Rhode González Zorilla, a pastor of the Christian Pentecostal Church and the first woman to hold the job, as-cribed allegations of government control “to a deliberate disregard of the history of the work of Cuban churches and of the council itself.” She pointed out that “relations be-tween the churches of Cuba and the United States are historical. Nothing

will be able to keep us apart as churches.”

Past council President Pablo Oden Marichel, an Episcopalian priest, accused the US Government of preparing to “kill the ecumeni-cal movement in Cuba, one of the strongest in Latin America.”

The Cuban Council of Churches presently includes 23 Protestant and evangelical denominations plus three churches in observer roles, six “fraternally associated” groups (including Cuba’s Jewish commu-nity), and 12 other Christian and ecumenical formations viewed as “collaborators.”

The Reverend Samuel Kobia, Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, characterised US policies as “ a fla-grant violation of religious liberty and an obvious interference in re-ligious affairs”. He called upon the councils of churches of all nations to express solidarity with the Cuban Council.

Marti Shupack of the World Council added, “To disturb this ac-tivity – cooperation with Cuban churches – strikes at the heart of our religious identity. Religious liberty was a fundamental principle for the founders of the American republic.”

Church World Service (CWS) is the service arm of the US National Council of Churches, representing 35 US denominations. Executive Director Johan L McCullough al-so characterised interference with his organisation’s ability to pro-vide basic humanitarian aid as an assault on religious liberty. He re-called that CWS has maintained relations with Cuban churches for 40 years and concluded, “We have no doubt that the Cuban Council of Churches is an authentic expression of Christianity.”

The Council provides sup-port and humanitarian aid to the elderly, the disabled, and victims of natural disasters. It also promotes community gardens and the use of

renewable energy sources. Cuban church leaders say that help from US religious groups has been cru-cial to this work.

Walker said Pastors for Peace has sent 3000 tonnes of humani-tarian aid to Cuba’s Ecumenical Distribution Committee. He sug-gested that in its report, the Bush administration is indirectly attack-ing his own organisation for its assistance to the Cuban people.

Walker said he finds it contra-dictory that the US Government, after denying the existence of church life in revolutionary Cuba for many years, now acknowledg-es its reality through repression. Bush’s “inserting his own politi-

cal hostility into Cuba’s religious affairs” may serve to solidify ties between the government there and Cuban churches, he said.

In a related development, in Birmingham, Alabama, mem-bers of the Baptist Church of the Covenant and several other churches recently hoped to build a sister-church relationship with the Baptist Church of Boca de Muriel in Cuba, having sent a delega-tion to Cuba in 2005. Instead they were slapped with a $34,000 fine from the US Department of the Treasury.

The Treasury Department claims that the church delegation violated a US ban on tourism to Cuba.

The Church of the Covenant is part of the Alliance of Baptists, a moderate group representing 117 congregations that broke with the Southern Baptist Convention in the late ’80s when it elected ultra-conservative leaders. Alliance Executive Director Stan Hastey said the group will appeal the fine, which is about 10 percent of its an-nual budget.

Other congregations involved in the Cuban sister-church proj-ect are the First Baptist Churches of Washington, DC, Savannah, Georgia;, Greenville, South Carolina; and the Glendale Baptist Church of Nashville. People’s Weekly World J

Rev. Lucius Walker, founder of Pastors for Peace, gives an overview of his organistion’s work and the cruel effects of the US embargo

Culture&Lifeby WT Whitney


August 30 2006

Sun Sept 10 – Sat Sept 16

In this week’s Science: Killer Cure (SBS 8.30pm

Sunday) the question is put: can too much of a good thing cause a global health crisis? Killer Cure reveals the potentially catastrophic consequences of our reckless misuse of antibiotics, and a possible approach to dealing with it. Following the personal journey of desperate men and women in search of a medical miracle, this documentary records sick and exhausted patients as they chase down their last desperate chance for a cure, all the way to the dilapidated medical lab in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, where bacteriophage – tiny viruses that kill bacteria – exist.

This documentary investigates the strange story of “the phage”.

It explores the Eastern European lab that houses this miracle cure, suffering in sub-standard conditions, stuttering along with intermittent electricity and funding, while the Western entrepreneurs, who have invested millions in the project, watch to determine when they will finally have their return-on-investment.

Elizabeth (ABC 8.30pm Sunday) begins in

Whitehall Palace, London in 1579. Elizabeth (Helen Mirren) has been on the throne for 20 years and has so far refused to marry. There is no direct heir and as a consequence there is a danger of civil war between those competing for succession. The Queen’s old friend Leicester (Jeremy Irons) warns her that he does not trust the Duke d’Anjou (Jeremie Covillault), the Frenchman her advisors want her to

mary to divide the Catholic powers of Spain and France.

In Rome the Pope has declared Elizabeth a heretic. Philip of Spain sends the Duke of Parma against the Dutch after which he plans to move against England. A fine cast, that also includes Martin Savage, but mired a little by the mixing of the interpersonal relationships of the principals.

Australia By Numbers – Sydney 2000 – The

Foundation (SBS 5pm Monday) traces the birth and life of The Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs. What begins as a program on the conditions for Kooris in the 1960s, at a time when many of them were moving from the country to the city – unfolds into a complex commentary on indigenous social and political events of the 1960s and 70s.

The Foundation, which helped the mob to help themselves, was an organisation that through its welfare and social activities became a pivotal focus for Kooris and the crucible for political activities such as the Tent Embassy that brought Indigenous issues to the attention of all Australians. Features interviews with Chicka Dixon, Gary Foley, Joyce Clague, Esther Carroll and Ray Carroll, combined with previously unseen archival footage that which brings the 1960s to life.

In the movie 11.9.01 – September 11 (SBS 10.40pm

Monday) eleven top international directors were invited to make a film lasting exactly 11 mins, 9 secs and one frame in response to the events of September 11, 2001. The film was widely hailed as a masterpiece, and was the first major work of fiction based on the events of that day.

The most outstanding con-tributions come from Samira Makhmalbaf of Iran, who depicts a class of isolated primary school students who cannot comprehend the event she is describing to them. Claude Lelouch gives insight into the world of a deaf woman living in New York who is oblivious to the events unfolding around her. Actor Sean Penn directs with poignancy a story of an elderly man who

has lived many years in the Trade Centre’s shadow.

The other contributing directors are Youssef Chahine, Danis Tanovic, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Ken Loach, Alejandro Gonzelez Inarritu, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair and Shohei Imamura.

The Vertical Ray Of The Sun (SBS 1pm Tuesday) was

made official selection at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, 2000. With the brilliant Vietnamese summer as the setting, this film focuses on three sisters, Khanh (Le Khanh), Suong (Nguyen Nhu Quynh) and Lien (Tran Nu Yen Khe), who have come together after the death of their mother. Each sister has a secret that they desperately want to keep hidden. As the story unfolds, each sister’s secret is explored. Directed by Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya, 1993).

Global Village (SBS 6pm Tuesday), presented by

Silvio Rivier this week heads to the desert in Egypt. – According to legend, Abu Mena became a Christian martyr who performed miracles after his death in the middle of the Egyptian desert. That is why, in the 4th century AD, the town of Mena was considered a sacred place during early Christianity. The town was

abandoned in the 10th century and was buried by the sands of the desert. Declared a World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO, today its existence is threatened by the approach of the Nile underneath the ruins.

In part two The Mosos are a group of people that live in south-western China, on the foothills of the Himalayas, at an altitude of 2700 metres. It is a matriarchal so-ciety, where brothers and sisters live together grouped around the mother who runs the house hold and gives the family its name. The Mosos do not marry. Each man or woman is free to accept or refuse at any time the advance of the other and often the relationship between them lasts no more than one night. Children are brought up by the mother’s fam-ily and usually don’t know who their father is.

In an At The Movies special (ABC 10.05pm Tuesday)

Margaret Pomeranz goes Behind The Camera to talk to two of Australia’s most awarded and prolific Directors of Photography, Dion Bebe and Don McAlpine.

Don began his career as an as-sistant cameraman at ABC TV, before moving to feature films. In the 1970s he was part of the rise of Australian filmmaking that in-cluded The Getting Of Wisdom, Don’s Party and Patrick. In 1979 he filmed My Brilliant Career and in 1980 Breaker Morant.

Dion trained at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and quickly made a mark for himself in the local industry with films such as Praise and Holy Smoke.

There are about 3000 profoundly deaf children

in Australia. Many of these are teenagers who must one day make their way into the hearing world. Bethany and Scott are two ordinary teenagers, who live in the extraordinary world of the deaf. To Bethany and Scott, their deaf world is a rich culture of human possibility, with its own language – Auslan – and with its own rules, challenges and inspirations. It is a culture that few people know or fully understand.

Storyline Australia: Welcome 2 My Deaf World (SBS 8.30pm Thursday) follows Bethany and Scott through the last few months of their schooling at the Victorian College for the Deaf (VCD), Australia’s first school for deaf kids, and now the only place that teaches in sign language from Prep to Year 12. With dreams of creative, sporting and academic success, both teenagers are eager to move beyond their sheltered lives and enter the wider world.

Joanna Lumley as Davina Jackson and Denis Lawson

Al Jackson star in Sensitive Skin (ABC 10.05pm Friday), a six-part comedy set in metropolitan London. They were able to afford a new lifestyle for themselves after selling the family home, including a funky central London pad. In this first episode Davina has hit 60, although she doesn’t look it and nor does Al. Lumley’s presence is what recommends the show: she has always been associated with first rate material. J

Worth Watching

The Guardian74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, 2010Ph: 02 9699 8844 Fax: 02 9699 9833

Email:[email protected]

Editor: Anna Pha

Published byGuardian Publications

Australia Ltd74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, 2010

Printed by Spotpress105-107 Victoria Rd

Marrickville 2204

Responsibility for electoral commentis taken by T Pearson,

74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, 2010

Subscribe to The Guardian� 12 MONTHS: $88 ($80 conc.) � 6 months: $45 ($40) � 3 months: $23 ($20)

NAME: ___________________________________________________

ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________

_______________________________________POSTCODE:____________

Pay by � Cheque � Money orderto: Guardian Subscriptions

74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australiaor by credit card: � Bankcard � Mastercard � Visa

Card # ��

Amount: ________ Expiry Date: ____/____ Date: ________Signature:________________________________________

POLITICSin the pub1 SeptemberWELFARE CHANGES – PUNISHMENT AND THE ROLE OF CHARITIESMichael Raper, Pres National Welfare Rights NetworkJohn Falzon, CEO National Vincent De Paul SocietyBill Mitchell, Professor of Economics Newcastle University, Director, Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE)

8 SeptemberTHE ILLEGALITY OF MILITARY TRIBUNALS – JUSTICE FOR DAVID HICKSKep Enderby, QC, former Attorney General in the Whitlam GovernmentNick McNally, International Commission of Jurists to be confirmed

15 SeptemberMIDDLE EAST INJUSTICES – NON VIOLENT SOLUTIONS?Prof Ahmad Shboul, Semitic Studies, Uni SydneyVivienne Porzsolt, Member of Jews against the Occupation, Sydney

Sydney

Every Friday 6pm ’til 7.45Gaelic Club

64 Devonshire Street Surry Hills

Pat Toms 02 9358 [email protected]

www.politicsinthepub.org

previewsABC & SBS

Public Television

A school teacher in an isolated village in Iran attempts to explain the concept of “skyscraper” to her class (11.9.01 – September 11 SBS 10.40pm Monday)

Sydney

Fundraiser to support Anvil Hill Alliance campaignDr David Suzuki“The Challenge of the 21st Century, Putting the World Back Together”Monday 4 September Enmore Theatre, NewtownDoors open 6pm for 7pm sit down/show start – Dr Suzuki on stage at 8.10pm

The Anvil Hill Alliance is a grassroots community campaign dedicated to stopping the proposed Anvil Hill coal mine in the Upper Hunter Valley from being approved. The mine’s impact on loss of biodiversity will be enormous. It’s also a symbolic campaign to arrest the runaway expansion of the coal industry in NSW and stem the tide of climate change chaos.

Please support the Anvil Hill Alliance’s major fundraising eventSupport acts: Karifi – The African Experience; Les Saxby of Yidaki Didj and Dance on his didgeridooPrice: $71.90 / Concession: $61.40. Ticket sales at the Enmore Theatre Box Office, or www.ticketek.com.au or phone 132 849 or 02 9550 3666

12 The GuardianAugust 30 2006

Communist Party of AustraliaCentral Committee:General Secretary: Peter SymonPresident: Hannah Middleton74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, 2010Ph: 02 9699 8844 Fax: 02 9699 9833Sydney District Committee:Rob Gowland74 Buckingham St, Surry Hills, 2010Ph: 02 9699 8844 Fax: 02 9699 9833

Newcastle Branch:303 Hunter StNewcastle NSW 2300Ph: ah 02 4926 1752South Coast Branch:Janice Hamilton16/26-30 Hutton AveBulli NSW 2516Ph: 02 4283 6130

Riverina Branch:Allan Hamilton11 Geraldra St Stockinbingal 2725Ph: 02 6943 1634Melbourne Branch:Andrew IrvingPO Box 3 Room 0 Trades HallLygon St Carlton Sth 3053Ph: 03 9639 1550 Fax: 03 9639 4199

West Australian Branch: Vic Williams5B Jemerson St Willagee Perth 6156Phone: 08 9337 1074Brisbane Branch: David MattersPO Box 33, Camp Hill, Qld 4152South Australian State Committee:Bob BritonRm 5, Lvl 1, 149 Flinders St,Adelaide 5000 Ph: 08 8232 8200

Website: www.cpa.org.auEmail: [email protected]

Website: www.cpa.org.au/guardian/guardian.htmlEmail: [email protected]

The Guardian

Tibet: An inalienable part of ChinaRolf Berthold

After many years abroad, the Tibetan Dainmba returned home to China. He had spent time at a special training camp for Tibetans in Colorado, USA.

In May 1991 he commented about his stay in Colorado – alleg-edly a political instructor at this camp declared that it was intended to prevent the China from becom-ing rich and powerful, and for that purpose China was to be divided whilst it was still poor. The first goal was to detach Tibet, then Xinjiang, then Inner Mongolia and finally Manchuria.

The USA was running a number of camps where they were prepar-ing Tibetans for special missions. According to official US statements these camps were supposed to be dismantled after President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, and the es-tablishment of diplomatic relations between the USA and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1976. Financial and military assistance for Tibetan separatists was supposed to be terminated. The cited instruc-tor’s statement clearly spells out US policy.

If one looks at history it be-comes evident that borders between states reflect power relativities, vio-lence, and wars. This could not be any different in times of feudalism and the development of capitalism.

In the year 641AD a Chinese royal princess was married to the king of the Tibetan realm. This was the beginning of Tibet’s attachment to China. In the mid-13th century Tibet had become officially incor-porated into China’s territory. Like all other parts of China, Tibet was administered within the structure of the Chinese empire.

The policy of developed capital-ist powers to divide China up among themselves into areas of influence was especially pushed ahead in the second half of the 19th century. China was degraded into a semi-colony. In 1888 and 1903 British troops attacked Tibet from their Indian colony, for the purpose of in-corporating this territory into their sphere of influence. For a while British troops occupied Lhasa, the Dalai Lama had to seek refuge.

Under British pressure Tibetan officials produced a “Declaration of Independence” in 1913. This was opposed by the Chinese central government and failed to be recog-nised internationally. Great Britain demanded control over Tibet’s fi-nances and defence, as well as the gradual colonisation.

It is historically incorrect to claim (as does the bourgeois press and some history books) that Tibet had de facto been an independent state in the period between the col-lapse of the Chinese empire in 1911, and the founding of the PRC in 1949.

In his inaugural address the First Provisional President of the Chinese

Republic, Sun Yat Sen, proclaimed the unification of the Han, Manchu, Mongols, Hui and Tibetans in one state as members of one large family.

The Constitution unequivocally affirmed that Tibet was part of the territory of the Republic of China. The representatives of Tibet’s local government participated in the offi-cial steps taken by the Kuomintang towards the formation of a nation-al government and the National Assembly. In line with a procedure dating back several centuries, the 14th Dalai Lama, too, was affirmed in 1940 by the central government. The Kuomintang Government had its representatives stationed in Tibet.

In the final stages of the civil war, when the defeat of the Chiang Kai-shek forces was clearly evident, and especially after the founding of the PRC, the USA intensified their activities in the region.

The USA sent envoys for talks in Tibet. In the USA a press report was published, saying that “the US was ready to recognise Tibet as an independent and free country”. Weapons and ammunition were supplied to Tibet in order to orga-nise opposition to the arrival of the People’s Liberation Army.

On the July 8, 1949 the Tibetan local government, on American ad-vice, expelled the Kuomintang officials, so as to prevent Tibet’s lib-eration by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

When the Korean War started in July 1950, Tibet became a link in America’s strategic chain for the encirclement of the East. On June 13 the US State Department an-nounced, in a note to the British ambassador in Washington, that ac-tions were pending to encourage and support Tibetan ambitions to se-cede from China.

In the war of liberation from Kuomintang rule Tibet’s neigh-bouring provinces were peacefully liberated. But Tibet’s local govern-ment officials refused to talk with the new central government and massed troops in the Eastern part of Tibet. Hence the territory of Qamdo in Eastern Tibet was liberated by the PLA in 1950, and in May 1951 an agreement about the peaceful libera-tion of Tibet was signed between the Central Government and the Local Government of Tibet.

In 1954, Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama participated in the First National Congress, which ad-opted China’s Constitution and which also stressed the principles of national regional autonomy.

Slavery existed in Tibet into the 1950s. Five percent of the popu-lation constituted the ruling class, among others the secular and spir-itual nobility in the monasteries. Ninety percent of the population were serfs and five percent were slaves. The feudal rulers opposed reforms and with the support of the CIA, promoted separatism.

In March 1959 they incited an

armed revolt in Lhasa. On March 17 the Dalai Lama, at the time 23 years old, was brought to the Indian bor-der, accompanied by agents trained in America. After the collapse of the revolt, the Dalai Lama and his supporters crossed the border into India.

Since then, the Dalai Lama propagates “Tibet’s independence” the world over.

Not surprisingly, the Parliament of Europe, in Strasbourg, is an es-pecially receptive forum. The PRC is, as always, ready to talk to the Dalai Lama, but not to discuss the “independence of Tibet”. After the collapse of the revolt of 1959, dem-ocratic reforms were introduced in Tibet, slavery abolished and a mil-lion serfs liberated.

On the basis of the Constitution of 1954, in September 1965 the Autonomous Region of Tibet was officially established. Tibet cov-ers a territory of 1.2 million sq. kilometres and has 2.6 million in-habitants (of which 94% Tibetans and 6% Han). Tibetan and Chinese are the official languages. Even un-der extreme climatic conditions, and communications problems in a country at a height of more than 4000 metres, the economy and living standards have markedly im-proved. Culture, education, and health services are on the rise. The reconstructed Potala Palace witness-es the region’s development.

In 2001, the 50th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet was marked with appropriate festivities.

In a government White Book the progress of Tibet on the road to modernisation is recorded. In 2000 Gross Domestic Product reached US$1.4 billion (A$1.8 billion), or 30 times that of 1951. Eighty-six percent of school-age children go to school. In Tibet, 25 scientif-ic institutes and four universities are in operation. Eighty percent of cadres in Tibet are of Tibetan nationality or of other minorities. Tibet is covered by 21,000 km of fortified roads, and an oil pipe line of more than 1000km length runs from Golmud to Lhasa, supply-ing fuel.From the German communist monthly Red Fox.Kindly translated from German by Dr Vera Butler. J

A map from a Tibetan separatist web site

showing “China” and the so-called

“occupied territories” of Tibet, Xinjiang,

Inner Mongolia and Manchuria

��

��

��

��

Amnesty: Israel deliberately hit civilian targetsRights group Amnesty International has accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians during its campaign against Hizbullah in Lebanon and said the Jewish state may be guilty of war crimes.

Not only were food shops pur-posely destroyed by shelling and air attacks, Amnesty said, but aid con-voys were deliberately blocked and hospitals and public utilities like water and power plants put out of action to force people to flee.

“The evidence strongly sug-gests that the extensive destruction of public works, power systems, civilian homes and industry was de-liberate and an integral part of the military strategy rather than collat-eral damage”, Amnesty said.

Israel says it did not target civilians and had warned non-com-batants to leave south Lebanon. It also accused Hizbullah of launching rockets from civilian areas.

Amnesty called for the United Nations to quickly set up an inde-pendent inquiry into breaches of international humanitarian law.

“In the context of the attacks on

Lebanon’s infrastructure, Israel has specifically violated the prohibition on indiscriminate and dispropor-tionate attacks”, it said.

“Israel may also have violated other prohibitions, including that on direct attacks against civilian objects. These violations are war crimes”, Amnesty added.

In a report, “Israel/Lebanon: Deliberate destruction or ‘collateral damage’”, Amnesty said that be-tween July 12 and August 14 when a fragile UN-brokered ceasefire came into force, Israel carried out more than 7000 air attacks against 7000 targets.

At the same time the Israeli Navy mounted a further 2500 bom-bardments and long-range artillery fired an untold number of shells into southern Lebanon.

The attacks killed more than 1100 people – of whom one-third were children – with more than 4000 injuries and 970,000 people or one quarter of the population forced to flee north.

“Many of the violations exam-ined in this report are war crimes

that give rise to individual criminal responsibility”, Amnesty said.

It said the Lebanese Government estimated 31 key fa-cilities from airports to power plants and water and sewage treatment plants had been completely or par-tially destroyed, as had 80 bridges and 94 roads.

More than 25 fuel stations and 900 other businesses had been hit, with more than 30,000 homes, offic-es and shops razed to the ground.

“Israeli Government spokes-people have insisted that they were targeting Hizbullah positions and support facilities, and that damage to civilian infrastructure was inci-dental or resulted from Hizbullah using the civilian population as a ‘human shield’”, Amnesty said.

“However, the pattern and scope of the attacks, as well as the number of civilian casualties and the amount of damage sustained, makes the jus-tification ring hollow”, it added.

Total estimated damage is put at US$3.5 billion (A$4.66) – $2 bil-lion for buildings and $1.5 billion for infrastructure. J

COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA ISSN 1325-295X Telstra – … · struggle against capitalism and...

Documents

Transcript of COMMUNIST PARTY OF AUSTRALIA ISSN 1325-295X Telstra – … · struggle against capitalism and...