Stop the War Coalition (Australia)

The Australian Stop the War Coalition (StWC) (German: Stop-den-Krieg-Koalition ) is the parallel organization to the English Stop the War Coalition . The Australian anti-war organization dedicated in 2003 in Sydney and 2004 in Melbourne mainly in response to the US led war in Iraq (2003) and Afghanistan formed (2001), is against the war on terror ( war on terror ) , in which the Australian government is heavily involved as an ally.

The StWC organized the largest mass protest in Australia, involving more than a million people on World Anti- War Day on February 15, 2003, in response to the imminent attack by the Coalition of the Willing .

Campaigns

Protest against Barack Obama

The StWC was involved in organizing the protest against US President Barack Obama , who visited Australia in March 2010. She criticized the Obama administration for the dramatic escalation of the Afghan war ("dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan"), since it had until then the dropping of more aerial bombs and more targeted attacks on people in Pakistan than the former US President George W. Bush had arranged throughout his reign. StWC also accused the US government, led by the Democratic Party , of making military threats against Iran and bombing threats against Yemen . The anti-war organization disapproved of the threats made by Israel against Palestine by the US and Australian Labor governments by Kevin Rudd .

Iraq and Afghanistan war

In the past, the StWC has been involved in raising people against Prime Minister John Howard's in- government Conservative Liberal Party of Australia and against its strong support for the military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the support of the US War by the Australian Rudd government of the Australian Labor Party (" Australian Labor Party ") to achieve the complete withdrawal of military personnel from both countries and the replacement of the Australian military by Australian auxiliaries ("the complete withdrawal of military personnel from both countries and for Australian military spending to be replaced by Australian aid to those countries ").

War on terror

The StWC protested against the controversial Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 planned by the Australian government , which was passed by the Australian Parliament on December 6, 2005. The bill included the 1960s Anti-Seditious Act. The Australian Associated Press and the Sydney Morning Herald reported that 1,000 people protested in Sydney the day before the bill was passed.

The StWC was one of many organizations that protested the detention of detainees, such as David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib , who were detained without a judgment on Guantanamo Bay . She also supported the campaign for Joseph Terrence Thomas , who was the first Australian to fall under anti-terrorism laws, and for Mohamed Haneef , an Indian doctor accused of being involved in planning an act of terrorism, and a work visa by the Australian Secretary of Immigration Kevin Andrews . The StWC accused the Australian government of conducting racist, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim attacks and of making excuses in response to cases presented. After the race riots in Cronulla in 2005, StWC representative Pip Hinman compared the political climate with the climate of anti-Asian racism during the White Australia Policy and blamed the government for this dispute; He also accused that it was reminiscent of the ultra-right platform of Pauline Hanson , the leader of the One Nation movement in the 1990s.

The StWC also organized the protest during the visit by US Vice President Dick Cheney about his role in the Iraq war. This protest took place on February 22nd during the 3-day visit to Cheney, where the unpopular participation of Australia in Iraq and the general approval of participation in the war on terror should be clarified. About 200 protesters were refused by the police to march through the streets of Sydney, which were closed to the US Vice President due to the highest security measures.

War in the Gaza Strip (2008-2009)

The StWC called on the Rudd government to sever all relations with Israel during its bombing in the " Operation Cast Lead " in the Gaza Strip. Julia Gillard , the incumbent Prime Minister, declined to criticize the Israeli offensive and instead condemned Hamas' rocket attacks . 5,000 protesters marched through Sydney and more than 12,000 gathered in Melbourne to protest Israel's attacks in Gaza on January 18, 2009, and on the same day Israel announced the ceasefire. StWC and other groups declared the ceasefire to be a sham.

APEC Conference (2007)

On September 8, 2007, the StWC initiated the protest demonstration against the APEC conference and against the visit of former US President George W. Bush to Sydney. The figures about the protesters varied widely, according to the police it was 3,000 and according to the organizations of the protest 10,000. During this summit the largest security measure in the history of Australia took place with the participation of 3,500 police and security guards as well as 1,500 defense guards. Prime Minister John Howard and New South Wales Prime Minister Morris Iemma and the police have been heavily criticized for these measures in what has been termed a heavy-handed tactic because Greg Mcleay, a 53-year-old accountant with his eleven Year-old son was arrested without bail when he crossed a street and got too close to an official motorcade, a 2.8 meter high barrier was erected to protect the city from the public, a 600,000 AUD high-pressure water cannon was specially made for them Protest was acquired and identification numbers were taken by numerous police officers during the demonstration.

G20 summit (2006)

The StWC was involved in the protest against the G20 summit on the occasion of the visit of the former US security chief Paul Wolfowitz in Melbourne. The demonstration of about 2,000 peaceful demonstrators took place on 18 November 2006. However, a small group of 70 made in another part of town anarchists so-called civil disobedience in a black bloc and fought against the police. Early the following year, police arrested those they believed were involved in the violent clashes in Sydney and Melbourne. The StWC criticized the Black Bloc tactics and condemned the attack as an attempt to take the lead against the 2007 APEC meeting in Sydney.

Lebanon War 2006

The StWC took part in the protest against Israel's war against Lebanon in 2006 . On August 6, 2006, on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , protesters in Melbourne burned the Israeli flag in Melbourne's parliament because the war was still ongoing. This led to public criticism from some members of the Australian Green of Victoria who were there. The StWC did not describe Israel's invasion of Lebanon as an anti-terrorist measure, but as a war of annihilation and military expansion.

Observation

In 2008, The Age newspaper revealed that Victoria Police were monitoring certain activists and groups in Melbourne, including the StWC, when an officer from the controversial Security Intelligence Group was smuggled into organizations as an activist. The police action was condemned by the activists and commentators.

Associations and well-known supporters

There is no formal membership in the StWC, it is formed by different groups, organizations and individuals. The following organizations, although not listed in full, were either organizing, supporting or working for the StWC.

• Aid / watch
• Andrew Ferguson
• Anti-APEC Network
• Anti-Bases Coalition
• Architects for Peace
• Australian Democrats
• Australian Greens
• Australian Lawyers Alliance
• Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
• Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network
• Australian Student Environment Network
• Bill Hartley
• Brian Brunt
• Campaign for International Cooperation and Disarmament
• Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group
• Carmen Lawrence
• Chilean Popular and Indigenous Solidarity Network
• Civil Rights Defense
• Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
• Committee for Peace and Justice in Lebanon
• Communist Party of Australia
• Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
• Daryl Melham
• Electrical Trades Union of Australia
• Fair Go for David
• Federation of Australian Muslim Students and Youth
• Freedom Socialist Party
• Gaza Defense Committee
• Geelong Trades Hall
• General Union of Palestinian Workers
• Greenpeace Australia Pacific
• International Socialist Organization (Australia)
• Islamic Council of Victoria
• Islamic Friendship Association
• Islamic Girls and Women's Group
• Japanese for Peace
• Jews Against the Occupation
• John Robertson
• Just Peace Western Australia
• Justice Action
• Justice for Hicks & Habib
• Kerry Nettle
• La Trobe University SRC
• Labor Council of New South Wales
• Latin America Solidarity Network
• Maritime Union of Australia
• Marrickville Peace Group
• Medical Association for the Prevention of War
• Melbourne Palestine Solidarity Network
• Monash Student Association
• Moonie Valley Peace Network
• National Union of Students (Australia)
• New South Wales Teachers Federation
• Nuclear Free Australia
• Peace Organization of Australia
• Pennant Hills Peace Group
• Queensland Peace Network
• Radical Women
• Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)
• Research Initiative in International Activism
• Resistance (Socialist Youth Organization)
• RMIT Student Union
• Rod Quantock
• Socialist Alliance (Australia)
• Socialist Alternative (Australia)
• Stop Bush Coalition
• Stop G20 Collective
• Students Against War and Racism
• Students for Palestine
• Swinburne Student Union
• Sydney Korean Progressive Alliance
• Sydney University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies
• Terry Hicks
• Union Solidarity
• Unity for Peace
• University of Melbourne Student Union
• Victorian College of the Arts Student Union
• Victorian Trades Hall Council
• Western Sydney Peace Group

Web links

• Stop the War Coalition Sydney website
• Stop the War Coalition Melbourne website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Website of the Stop the War Coalition Sydney . ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed January 22, 2009. 
2. ^ Website of the Stop the War Coalition Melbourne .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed January 22, 2009.  
3. ^ Voices from the world's biggest anti-war protest on Socialist Worker, Issue 1839, February 22, 2003. Accessed January 25, 2009.
4. ↑ Join protests during Obama visit,  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Socialist Alternative, March 9, 2010. Accessed March 9, 2010.  
5. ↑ Protest Obama & Rudd's wars, ( Memento of the original from December 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Stop the War Coalition Sydney , February 11, 2010. Accessed March 9, 2010. 
6. ↑ Be alert! Be alarmed! Bush is coming to Australia ( Memento of the original dated November 1, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Stop Dubya website . Accessed January 23, 2009. 
7. ^ War protesters demand action from Rudd, in: Herald Sun, December 9, 2007. Accessed January 23, 2009.
8. ↑ Submission paper to the Australian Government (PDF file; 40 kB) dated September 30, 2008, on the website of the Australian Government's Department of Defense . Accessed January 23, 2009.
9. ↑ Senate passes counter-terrorism laws ( memento of the original from January 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: ABC News, December 6, 2005. Accessed January 25, 2009. 
10. ↑ New sedition laws target anti-war movement ( Memento of the original from November 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Green Left Weekly , Issue 647, November 2, 2005. Accessed January 25, 2009 
11. ↑ Terrorism laws "ridiculous", protesters told in: Australian Associated Press and Sydney Morning Herald, November 5, 2005. Accessed January 25, 2009.
12. ↑ ^{a b} Cheney visit prompts protests in: Sydney Morning Herald, February 22, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
13. ↑ Stop the War Coalition formed ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Green Left Weekly, topic 552, September 3, 2003. Accessed January 25, 2009. 
14. ↑ Jack Thomas' lawyer speaks in Sydney ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Sydney Indymedia, August 23, 2006. Accessed January 25, 2009. 
15. ↑ Haneef police “pushed legal boundaries” in: ABC Sydney of September 2, 2008. Accessed January 25, 2009.
16. ↑ ^{a b} Media releases: Stop the War Coalition response to the Sept 4 Age article, “An Unholy Alliance”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated September 6, 2006 on the Stop the War Coalition Melbourne website . Accessed January 25, 2009.  
17. ↑ From Cronulla to Canberra: racism gets the official go-ahead ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Green Left Weekly, topic 657, February 22, 2006. Accessed January 25, 2009. 
18. ↑ Cheney gets frosty reception in Australia in: International Herald Tribune, February 25, 2007. Accessed January 24, 2008.
19. ↑ Iraq War Protests Greet Cheney's Australia Trip ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Reuters of February 22, 2007. Accessed January 24, 2008. 
20. ↑ Stop the War Coalition calls on Rudd to cut ties with Israel ( Memento of the original from August 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Green Left Weekly, topic 777, December 30, 2008. Accessed January 22, 2009. 
21. ↑ Gillard refuses to criticize Israel ( January 6, 2009 memento in the Internet Archive ) in: Australian Associated Press January 3, 2009. Accessed January 25, 2009.
22. ↑ Gaza protest chokes central Sydney in: ABC News, January 18, 2009. Accessed January 23, 2009.
23. ^ Thousands march through Melbourne to condemn Israel-Gaza was in: Australian Associated Press of January 18, 2009. Accessed January 23, 2009.
24. ↑ Ceasefire a sham, say protest organizers ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated January 2009, on the Stop the War Coalition Sydney website . Accessed January 23, 2009. 
25. ↑ Stop Bush! Stop APEC! Protests planned ( Memento of the original from July 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Sydney Indymedia, September 11, 2006. Accessed January 22, 2009. 
26. ↑ 17 charged following APEC protest in: ABC News of September 8, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
27. ↑ PM defends heavy-handed APEC security ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: The Australian of September 10, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009. 
28. ↑ Heavy-handed APEC police criticized in: ABC Sydney, September 10, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
29. ↑ Pumped-up cops are stepping over the thin blue line in: Sydney Morning Herald, September 9, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
30. ↑ Sydney braces for tough APEC security in: ABC News, August 16, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
31. ↑ Protesters shrug off APEC water cannon threat in: Australian Associated Press, August 20, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
32. ↑ Hundreds of APEC police removed badges: photos in: ABC News of September 19, 2007. Accessed January 22, 2009.
33. ↑ G20 protest - a success: Statement from Melbourne Stop the War Coalition ( Memento of the original from December 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Melbourne Indymedia, November 24, 2006. Accessed January 22, 2009. 
34. ^ The battle of Collins Street The Age, November 19, 2006. Accessed January 23, 2009.
35. ^ Five charged over G20 protests in: Herald Sun, March 4, 2007. Accessed January 23, 2009.
36. ↑ Hiroshima Day Rally 2006, on the Australian Greens Victoria website . Accessed January 24, 2009.
37. ↑ Anti-war march fuels flames of protest in: The Age of August 7, 2006. Accessed January 22, 2009.
38. ↑ Police spying on activists revealed in The Age, October 16, 2008. Accessed January 22, 2009.
39. ↑ Nothing new about cops spying on the left of Socialist Alternative, Issue 135, November 2008. Accessed January 22 of 2009.
40. ↑ Rights-Australia: Police Spying "Infringing on Civil Liberties" ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Inter Press Service News Agency October 31, 2008. Accessed July 10 of 2009. 
41. ↑ Surveillance & spies: Undercover police in Melbourne in Mutiny, topic 32 of November 23, 2008. Accessed July 10, 2009.
42. ↑ National day of action - Five years too long - Bring David home now!  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Melbourne Indymedia, December 4, 2006. Accessed January 27, 2009.  
43. ↑ The Iraqi and Afghan Peoples' Refugee Nightmare ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Sydney Indymedia, July 11, 2008. Accessed January 27, 2009. 
44. ^ Judge backs police ban in: Sydney Morning Herald, September 5, 2007. Accessed January 27, 2009.
45. ↑ Gallery: Hiroshima Day peace rally  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the Stop the War Coalition Melbourne website . Accessed January 26, 2009.  
46. ↑ Open letter ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. by Union Solidarity on September 29, 2005. Accessed January 29, 2009. 
47. ↑ G20: Akin Sari sentenced to 28 months in: Slack Bastard, November 19, 2006. Accessed January 29, 2009.
48. ↑ Rally to stop the bombing - Israel out of Lebanon and Palestine ( Memento of the original of July 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Maritime Union of Australia August 12, 2006. Accessed January 29, 2009. 
49. ↑ Union support grows for “Troops out!” Rallies ( memento of the original from March 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Green Left Weekly, topic 586, June 23, 2004. Accessed January 29, 2009. 
50. ↑ US Iraq was vet speaks out ( memento of the original from July 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Students For Palestine, November 16, 2009. Accessed January 8, 2010. 
51. ^ Protest Against Visiting Israeli Deputy PM! ( Memento of June 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) in: Maritime Union of Australia of August 20, 2007. Accessed January 30, 2009.