15 May – Al Nakba commemoration May 17, 2009

Rally observes a minute's silence for the victims

Several hundred members of the Palestinian community along with supporters from all walks of life rallied at the State Library on Friday to mark the 61st anniversary of some see as the birth of the state of Israel, but others as the catastrophe that overtook the people of Palestine on that day. Also remembered was the ongoing struggle of Indigenous people in Australia, and the sufferings of Tamils in their homeland.

The rally began with an acknowledgment of Aboriginal ownership of the land, and a minute’s silence for the dead. There were several speakers, and a group of Palestinian dancers. Then a march to Federation Square, to join a vigil in protest at the current killings in Sri Lanka.

Links:
Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Tamil Community portal – Melbourne

Indigenous Social Justice Association – Melbourne

Some of the following images are included in a slideshow on YouTube:

Some of the banners and placards at the rally:

Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Swinbourne Student Union/Students for Palestine

LaTrobe University Students for Palestine

Monash Students for Palestine

Indigenous Social Justice Association - Melbourne

One protester was wearing this patch on her back

(Sondos Ismael was on board the SIEVX, which sank on 19 October 2001 on route from Indonesia to Christmas Island, with the loss of 353 lives. She survived, and was eventually reunited with her husband in Australia, but her three young daughter drowned. See http://www.tonykevin.com.au/TheTragedy.html)

Some of the speakers:

Hisham Mustafa of the Islamic Council of Victoria

The leaflet Hisham is waving is a key part of the campaign to boycott transport company Connex, which currently runs Melbourne’s train network and is tendering for a renewal of the contract. It has also won a contract for a light rail system connecting Jewish settlements on the West Bank – see the link to Dump Connex.

Pratheepan Balasubramanian

As already mentioned, the rally ended with a march to Federation Square, where it merged with a vigil held by the Tamil community. Pratheepan Balasubramanian spoke at the rally, tracing the history of the present conflict back to the end of British colonial rule and the creation of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in 1948, the same year as the ‘birth’ of Israel.

Alison Thorne of ISJA (see above)

Here is the text of what she said:

On behalf of the Indigenous Social Justice Association — Melbourne, greetings! On the occasion of the 61st anniversary Al Nakba we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We support this struggle as we support the Tamils, Maori, West Papuans and indeed all oppressed nations battling occupation, theft of land, suppression of culture and genocidal practices.

It is vital that we acknowledge that we too are standing on occupied land and that Aboriginal Australians experienced their own catastrophe in 1788.

Just as anti-Zionist Jews in Israel must take action to stop the atrocities of the Israeli State, every one of us has a responsibility to make the connections and integrate the struggle to win justice for Indigenous Australians into every aspect of our organising.

The apartheid state of Israel is not only a catastrophe for the Palestinian people, it is also a death trap for Jewish people who want to live in peace. Because there can be no peace without justice. And there can be no justice when Palestinian refugees have no right of return, live in crowded refugee camps and have their miserable fragments of territory divided by an apartheid wall, Zionist settlements and roads and restrictive checkpoints.

And there can be no peace in this country built on the theft of Aboriginal land when Aboriginal people continue to die in custody, have their incomes quarantined, see their languages disappearing, die too young and live in overcrowded and poorly maintained homes.

But what we do really does make a difference. When we build international multi-racial coalitions, draw the links and challenge land theft and occupation we are a force to be reckoned with. And our message must be clear — without real justice, there can be no damn peace!

Before the march set off, a group of Palestinian dancers took the ’stage’:

Dancers

Dancers - another view

On the march:

On the march

Connex again

At Federation Square, where the Tamil vigil is in progress:

Tamil vigil at Federation Square

Looking down at the combined protests

Protest at G4S/GSL over Aboriginal death in custody – 14 May May 14, 2009

The Indigenous Social Justice Association – Melbourne organised a picket at the Melbourne headquarters of global security giant G4S, parent of GSL, which amongst other things provides transport of prisoners. On 27 January 2008, an Aboriginal elder from Warburton, WA, Mr Ward, was arrested for allegedly drink driving. “He was charged with one count of drink-driving and taken to the local lockup. He was then driven 570 kilometers to a courthouse, remanded in custody and driven a further 352 kilometers to a prison.
“As they approached the prison it was noted that he was unconscious. He died shortly after. He was Aboriginal. His death can be added to the eight black deaths in custody in 25 days in the Northern Territory already this year. If eight white teenagers died in custody in Victoria in 25 days there would be uproar.
“When wealthy white businessmen and sporting personalities are picked up for drinkdriving, they are charged and then allowed to go home. We know that some of them
have been abusive and non-compliant but they are still not locked up. Why was this man transported nearly 1000 kilometers in over 40-degree heat for a similar charge? It will likely be more than a year before a coronial inquiry. An apology is long overdue as is equality and justice for Indigenous Australians.”
(The Age, Feb. 2 2008, Letters: “Justice long overdue”, Pamela Curr)

The protest was in two parts: first a number of speakers, including a relative of the dead man, then Alison Thorne of ISJA read a statement of demands and invited those present to accompany her up to the offices of the company to present the letter, since no-one from the company had responded to her invitation to come down to the picket.

Placard at the picket

To view footage of the delivery of the letter, click on the above image.

Extracts from the speeches should be available soon.*

There is extensive coverage of the death of Mr Ward on the Safecom website.

This protest was held at the request of Mr Ward’s family, and coincided with a protest being held at the Perth office of GSL. Today was also scheduled as the final day of the inquest being held into the death of Mr Ward.

*See:

Click on this image for extracts from speeches at the protest

Fix the Solar Feed-in Tariff — Rally at Parliament House 6 May 2009 May 6, 2009

Rally on steps of Parliament House Victoria

The organisers, Environment Victoria will have been pleased with the response to their short-notice callout for a protest at the Brumby government’s failure to deliver promised support for renewable energy in Victoria:

[Media release from Environment Victoria, Alternative Technology Association, Friends of the Earth, Moreland Energy Foundation];

“Now’s your big chance Ted”, solar protestors tell Victorian Liberals

More than 100 concerned Victorians will gather on the steps of Parliament today to condemn the Brumby Government’s proposed solar feed-in tariff as a fake, and to call on the Opposition and other parties to improve the flawed legislation when it is voted on in the Upper House.

Environment Victoria’s campaigns director Mark Wakeham said today’s protesters would be calling particularly on the Liberals and Nationals, to take the opportunity to deliver the support for Victoria’s solar industry that the Brumby Government has not provided.

“The Brumby Government has failed to deliver clean, affordable solar power for Victorians and new green collar jobs across the State. It’s now the moment of truth for Ted Baillieu’s Liberals and the other Upper House parties. It’s time to improve the scheme and ensure a sunny future for Victoria’s solar industry,” he said.

Damien Moyse, the Alternative Technology Association’s (ATA) Energy Projects and Policy Manager, said the government’s proposed ‘net tariff’ scheme would not make it economically attractive for Victorians to invest in solar panels because it did not value all of the energy they produced.

“The scheme we are advocating for, known as a gross feed-in tariff, involves premium payments to solar panel owners for all the solar energy they produce,” he said.

“Under the Premier’s scheme this won’t happen and community buildings and small businesses, including farmers, will be totally excluded – despite the government’s election promise to include businesses.

“A Sustainability Victoria report tabled in Parliament, found that up to 2000 jobs could be created under the gross feed-in tariff scheme that we’ve been calling for. Today we’re asking why the government is turning its back on 2000 new green solar jobs for Victorians during these tough economic times.”

Moreland Energy Foundation CEO Paul Murfitt said although the government’s tariff had been altered to lift the subsidy cap from a proposed 2 kilowatts to 3.2 kilowatts (kW) an hour, it would still not provide enough support for Victorians to invest in renewable energy.

“The scheme must value energy produced from systems up to 10kW if we are going to encourage families and organisations to invest in solar systems big enough to feed large volumes of energy back into the grid,” he said.

“If the government is serious about supporting community action on climate change, they’d be supporting a real feed-in tariff, and helping communities to make the solar switch.”

Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth said it was disappointing that the Government had missed this opportunity for real action on climate change.

“The ALP has failed to learn from the experience of over 40 nations in designing its solar scheme. Now it’s over to the Liberals, the National Party, the Greens and the DLP to improve the legislation and make it work,” he said.

“This is Ted Baillieu’s big opportunity to demonstrate his green credentials and create a thriving industry and new jobs.”
[end]

In the event it seems the vote had been put off, but the message was delivered, with speakers condemning the previous day’s budget for its missed opportunities to create green jobs, amongst other things.*

All ages were represented:

All ages in the protest

And there was even a solar dog:

Tintin the solar dog

For some environmentalist comments on the budget, see “Climate and environment missing from Budget” (Friends of the Earth) and “Retro budget forgets climate change” (Environemnt Victoria).