anti-war 'teach-in'

[rioters bloc]

hey punks

this looks set to be interesting, entertaining, and informative anyone who can should come [even if you have to come down from newie *hint*]

Anti-War Teach-In

Organised by Stop the War Coalition and Students Against War

Saturday 26th November 10:30am - 4pm
UTS Tower Building, Broadway
A day of information and discussion on militarism and our movement against it.

Sessions

Imperialism: Iraq and Beyond
10:30-12:00

Howard tells us that Australian troops are in Iraq securing the transition to democracy, preventing civil war and facilitating a process of 'reconstruction'. Speakers for this session will investigate the true nature of the occupation and the ways it is being resisted by ordinary Iraqis. They will also explore the ways military intervention in Iraq fits into the broader US imperialist project, the role of the oil industry, privatization, and of economic competition between the US and China or the EU. In this session we will begin discussion on how we can help build a critical analysis of the Iraq war within Australia and support people in the Middle East struggling for self-determination.

Workshops:
12:30-1:30

- Australian military intervention in South East Asia
- Terrorism laws and the crack down on dissent
- Universities and militarism

Anti-War movements: From Vietnam to Iraq
2:00-4:00

Speakers for this session will look at how people successfully organised against the Vietnam war on campuses, at work, in communities and on the streets. They will compare the movement against the Vietnam War with the one we have today. What were the differences between the major moratorium marches of the early 70s and the massive anti-war demonstrations in 2003? What lessons can we learn from this period? How can we build a movement capable of standing up to recent attacks on our right to dissent and pushing back Howard's militarism?


Why we’re calling an anti-war “teach-in”

Because of what our government and others are doing to the Iraqis:

We reject the idea that the occupying troops have any role to play in “reconstruction” or “cleaning up the mess” they have made of what used to be a modern national infrastructure. Anyone who reads about the lack of clean water and medicine in many parts of Iraq will realize that the occupying armies have done nothing to assist in raising the living standards of Iraqis, even in the ‘more stable areas of the country. When Bush planned the invasion he had no interest in offering Iraqis a better life, and the same is true of the ongoing occupation. The only “reconstruction” on offer is projects that create profits for US corporations.

We think it is our obligation as those who oppose the war to understand why Australian, British and US governments are in Iraq, and what strategies they are using in their attempts to overcome the resistance of ordinary people around the world to this occupation.

Because we need to learn from other movements that have challenged imperialist wars

There is a world of history and theory created by people who have resisted imperialism. Our movement needs to explore new ways to turn the war into a crisis for the Howard Government. The teach-in can be a chance to take a step back from week-to week strategies and consider what power we have to resist. The anti-Vietnam War movement came from being a deeply unpopular fringe campaign, and in a few years was able to rock Australian campuses and deeply effect the entire political culture for decades. We hope to draw what we can from the lessons of this movement, and also engage with the successes of current anti-war movements in the US and Britain.

Because we need a broader, stronger more effective movement to push back Howard’s “War on Terror”

We have moved into a frightening period where Howard’s power to use the police and the courts to silence his opponents is at its peak. Paramilitary operations in the suburbs, Secret raids, deportations of anti-war activists, racial profiling, indefinite home detention, sedition laws that criminalise supporting anti-imperialist movements overseas, industrial relations laws that criminalise union membership and industrial action, and laws that aim to crush student unions. Howard’s ability to pass these laws is built on the back of a fear of terrorists that the Liberals have intensively and deliberately cultivated since 2001, with the shameful support of Beazley and the ALP.

This situation has to be undone, the laws need to be broken and made inoperable. But while more people than ever think Iraq is a mess, the invasion was wrong and that troops should be pulled out, confidence to take on the Government is low.

We need a movement that brings people together regularly in networks of opposition. We need informed and analytical activists, and people with new ideas for creating confidence in those who oppose the war that we can convince the rest of society to stop the fear and stop the murders.