鈥淭he worst genocide of this century鈥 was how Paul Newman, professor of human rights at the University of Bangalore, described what has happened to the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
Newman was delivering the Eliezer memorial lecture, in memory of Professor CJ Eliezer, the founder of the Eelam Tamil Association of Victoria, at Monash University on August 25.
Newman was speaking on democracy in south Asia. He began by outlining some common features of the south Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, before discussing Sri Lanka in more detail.
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Soft brown eyes flicked furtively towards the guard鈥檚 room, then back to the ripe luscious strawberry she had carefully placed on the table鈥檚 edge. She waited for the guard鈥檚 laconic indifference to blend into the certainty of distraction, then secreted the treasure in her loose pocket.
鈥淔or my friend,鈥 she confided, while a hint of defiance momentarily lit up eyes that for most of our visit had spilled out a lifetime of sorrow and loss. 鈥淢y pregnant friend.鈥
The proposed fate of Istanbul鈥檚 Gezi Park has much in common with the current re-development plans for Barangaroo in Sydney鈥檚 East Darling Harbour. Sydneysiders concerned about the Crown/Lend Lease takeover bid can draw inspiration from the Gezi Park occupiers and send a clear message of defiance to James Packer鈥檚 fawning peons in the Barry O鈥橣arrell government.
All over the world, the privatisation of public space is growing. As Anna Minton, leading policy analyst and author of Ground Control, has pointed out in connection with the situation in Britain.
Supporters of the Freedom Flotilla to West Papua, including the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy, gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Brisbane on September 2.
They were protesting against the arrest of four supporters of the Freedom Flotilla in the West Papuan city of Sorong on August 28 and who are now facing charges of treason for raising the West Papuan Morning Star flag.
The released this statement on September 12.
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Evading the Indonesian navy, two tiny boats met near the Australia-Indonesia border to ceremonially reconnect the indigenous peoples of Australia and West Papua. The ceremony was the pinnacle of a 5000 kilometre journey beginning in Lake Eyre, in which sacred water and ashes were carried and presented to West Papuan leaders.
The first marriage equality rally in Nowra, south of Wollongong, was held on September 6. About 100 people attended the rally and chalk rainbows were drawn on the footpath.
Rally organiser Tobi Harris told the Illawarra Mercury: 鈥淭he seat of Gilmore has been held by the Liberals for 17 years, and we want to remind them to stand up for the gay community.鈥
Long-time queer rights activist Paola Harvey addressed the crowd. Her speech is reprinted below.
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Well, turns out some bastards won the federal elections. I knew some bastards would win. I said it beforehand, I said: 鈥淪ome bastards are going to win this one, you wait and see.鈥
I was right. I even tried to put some money on some bastards winning, but no bookies would give me odds.
The fight to defend public education is shaping up to be a key campaign against the cutback agenda of the Colin Barnett government in Western Australia. Thousands of teachers and education assistants rallied outside state parliament on September 3 in two separate mobilisations and further industrial action is planned.
The government claimed it has not cut education funding. However, the central issue is not about overall funding but the cuts to staffing levels. In August, the government announced they were planning to cut 500 education assistants and other support workers.
The NSW firefighters union has slammed the Barry O鈥橣arrell state government for recent budget cuts that left five fire stations closed as more than 60 bushfires raged across the state on September 10.
Socialist Alliance members in Geelong have been victims of a vicious, post-election smear campaign. Federal police are investigating a Facebook page that called for the assassination of PM-elect Tony Abbott.
The creator of the page has not been identified, but they claimed an association with the Geelong branch of the Socialist Alliance and appeared to be posting from Geelong Trades Hall, where Socialist Alliance has its office.
Australia鈥檚 recent federal election should be remembered as the election that forgot about climate change. Serious action to address climate change was a non-issue for the two big parties and the mainstream media, despite the country experiencing its , and warmest 12-month period on record.
September 11 marked 40 years since a brutal military coup brought down the left-wing government of President Salvador Allende in Chile.
The "Other September 11" represented the state terrorist actions of the US government and the CIA in subverting and overthrowing a democratically elected progressive government 鈥 one of many such right-wing coups sponsored by the US in Latin America over the past century.
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