A conference on Australian militarism took place last Saturday in Sydney
and was a great success, with about 100 people attending from Queensland,
NSW, ACT and Victoria.
The conference was sponsored by the Campaign for International Cooperation
and Disarmament, the Central Coast Peace Council, Earthworker, the Nuclear
Disarmament Party, the Anti Bases Coalition, Byron Bay Friends of East
Timor and Socialist Worker.
There was lively and useful discussion, involving everyone from veterans of
the movement to those getting involved for the first time.
In a spirit of unity, the conference adopted the following statement
unanimously:
"This conference expresses its extreme concern at the growth of threats to
world peace, which is a function of weapons proliferation and aggressive
arms exports. Indeed, there are signs of a renewed arms race in our region.
In Australia, links between police, paramilitaries and the military grow
ever closer.
"We believe that military spending is a waste of resources that could be
better spend on improving the living standards of the people. We note, for
example, that the Federal Budget allocates $800 million a year for a
military presence in East Timor while giving just $100 million over four
years for reconstruction there. We call for genuine independence for East
Timor, Bougainville, Aceh and West Papua.
"The Howard Liberal government's intention to increase military spending
and its aggressive foreign policy, formulated as the Howard Doctrine, not
only add to existing tensions, but are linked to its conservative attacks
on welfare at home.
"We are pledged to build support for independent union movements and other
social movements across the region as a counterweight to growing
inter-governmental tensions and the competition between multinational
corporations that these tensions reflect. We also pledge to strengthen
networks among anti-militarists and to support each other in protests
against military expansionism."
For more information, contact David Glanz on 0418 316 310 or
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html
Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop
Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink
Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
