Post by christine on Jun 3, 2006 15:28:42 GMT -5
Cindy Sheehan, a softly spoken and courageous US
anti-war activist, took Australia by storm on a whirlwind tour of
Australia last week. “It’s so urgent that we get off our butts and try
to stop this bullshit war for profit in Iraq”, was the challenge
Sheehan threw out to Australian activists. Sheehan was a keynote
speaker at the Unity for Peace conference in Melbourne on May 27, which
was attended by some 280 people.
Along with Dr Salam Ismael from Doctors for Iraq, Sheehan talked
up the need for international solidarity against the occupation of
Iraq. “I can guarantee you that the troops will come back [home]. I can
also guarantee that the world will never forget my son Casey, his
buddies and the people of Iraq will never be forgotten in this bullshit
war for profit”, she said to cheers.
Activists from across Australia talked about how to step up the
campaign to bring the Australian troops back from Iraq, and how to
combat the government’s anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism. They also
decided to step up the campaign against any attack on Iran, with
Melbourne Stop the War Coalition urging peace groups to use the
upcoming Hiroshima Day anniversary protests in August to highlight
opposition to nuclear power and uranium mining. The conference decided
to support the international day of action in September against an
attack on Iran and to coordinate where possible national anti-war
initiatives.
At a 500-strong Sydney public meeting on May 23, veteran
anti-war campaigners, newcomers and even skeptics came to hear Sheehan
speak about why the international campaign against the war and
occupation in Iraq and any future war in Iran had to continue. The
Sydney leg of her tour was supported by the Sydney Stop the War
Coalition, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney
University and the Medical Association for Prevention of War.
Sheehan, a mother of four, says she was not “political” before
her son Casey was killed in Fallujah in 2004. Recounting her own
political awakening, Sheehan connected very powerfully with activists
and non-activists alike.
Since camping outside US President George Bush’s Texas ranch
last August, Sheehan has been on a non-stop circuit of national and
international anti-war tours, including to Venezuela for the World
Social Forum in January. There, she addressed a crowd she described as
so immense she couldn’t see where it ended. She described how
overwhelmed she was with the response to her calls for Bush to be
impeached. When she said, “We want to get Bush tried for war crimes”,
the crowd went wild. It wasn’t until later on that Sheehan discovered
her translator had adlibbed a little, telling the massive crowd, “We
want Bush executed!” (Sheehan is a pacifist now, although she said she
wasn’t always.)
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez “is demonised [by Bush] for
kicking Chevron out of Venezuela”, Sheehan said , but then the White
House hypocritically pushes US corporate interests in countries all
over the globe. “The US government provides equal opportunity for war
profiteers.”
On the “most frequently asked question” about whether pulling
foreign troops out of Iraq would lead to an even greater catastrophe,
Sheehan was unequivocal: the troops have to come out “because they are
not wanted there”. She went on: “Iraq was once the cradle of
civilisation ... Iraqis have the intelligence to solve their own
country’s problems and they don’t need the US administration, or any
other, to help them. Anything less is racist.”
Sheehan said her son, Casey, was killed by someone in the Mahdi
Army controlled by Moqtada al Sadr. But she bears no animosity towards
the Iraqi resistance fighters. She told the meeting that the mother of
an Iraqi fighter had written to her afterwards saying that Iraqis
didn’t want to kill young Americans, but that they did want the US to
get out. “They wanted my son out of their country”, she said simply,
adding “I wish they didn’t have to, but the Iraqi people have the right
to resist the occupation”.
Sheehan slammed the lies told to justify the invasion of Iraq,
the war profiteering, the neglect of UN conventions and the US’s use of
chemical weapons such as napalm. “This war is not about WMDs, or
terrorism. It’s about controlling Iraq’s natural resources so that
Exxon, Haliburton, Bechtel and Blackwater Security and other US
corporations can profit.”
When Sheehan “sat down in a ditch in Crawford” outside Bush’s
ranch last August, 51% of people in the US disagreed with the war in
Iraq. Now, more than two-thirds are opposed. This relatively fast
change of heart relates to the overwhelming majority opposition to the
occupation by Iraqis, the more than 2400 US soldiers who have been
killed there, and the breadth of the US anti-war movement, which
involves a significant number of the troops’ families.
Sheehan’s remarkable story of how one committed person can have
an impact on a movement has lifted anti-war activists’ spirits in
Australia.
While conditions for building the movement in the US and the
rest of the world differ from those in Australia, there are
nevertheless lessons activists here could take from Sheehan’s
experiences. Sticking to a core demand — troops out — was central, and
trying to link up with everyone who opposes the war, regardless of
their background, was also critical, she said.
Building practical solidarity with the people of Iraq was
another important focus for the movement, and Dr Ismael’s trip has
already kick-started a new network of young doctors for peace in
Australia.
The Unity for Peace conference agreed to invite organisations
to elect representatives to a new peace network to try and better
coordinate strategies “to enable rapid and effective media responses to
major events; coordinate national speaking tours; help network people
working on specific aspects of campaigns and help in the sharing and
cross-promotion of resources”.
anti-war activist, took Australia by storm on a whirlwind tour of
Australia last week. “It’s so urgent that we get off our butts and try
to stop this bullshit war for profit in Iraq”, was the challenge
Sheehan threw out to Australian activists. Sheehan was a keynote
speaker at the Unity for Peace conference in Melbourne on May 27, which
was attended by some 280 people.
Along with Dr Salam Ismael from Doctors for Iraq, Sheehan talked
up the need for international solidarity against the occupation of
Iraq. “I can guarantee you that the troops will come back [home]. I can
also guarantee that the world will never forget my son Casey, his
buddies and the people of Iraq will never be forgotten in this bullshit
war for profit”, she said to cheers.
Activists from across Australia talked about how to step up the
campaign to bring the Australian troops back from Iraq, and how to
combat the government’s anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism. They also
decided to step up the campaign against any attack on Iran, with
Melbourne Stop the War Coalition urging peace groups to use the
upcoming Hiroshima Day anniversary protests in August to highlight
opposition to nuclear power and uranium mining. The conference decided
to support the international day of action in September against an
attack on Iran and to coordinate where possible national anti-war
initiatives.
At a 500-strong Sydney public meeting on May 23, veteran
anti-war campaigners, newcomers and even skeptics came to hear Sheehan
speak about why the international campaign against the war and
occupation in Iraq and any future war in Iran had to continue. The
Sydney leg of her tour was supported by the Sydney Stop the War
Coalition, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney
University and the Medical Association for Prevention of War.
Sheehan, a mother of four, says she was not “political” before
her son Casey was killed in Fallujah in 2004. Recounting her own
political awakening, Sheehan connected very powerfully with activists
and non-activists alike.
Since camping outside US President George Bush’s Texas ranch
last August, Sheehan has been on a non-stop circuit of national and
international anti-war tours, including to Venezuela for the World
Social Forum in January. There, she addressed a crowd she described as
so immense she couldn’t see where it ended. She described how
overwhelmed she was with the response to her calls for Bush to be
impeached. When she said, “We want to get Bush tried for war crimes”,
the crowd went wild. It wasn’t until later on that Sheehan discovered
her translator had adlibbed a little, telling the massive crowd, “We
want Bush executed!” (Sheehan is a pacifist now, although she said she
wasn’t always.)
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez “is demonised [by Bush] for
kicking Chevron out of Venezuela”, Sheehan said , but then the White
House hypocritically pushes US corporate interests in countries all
over the globe. “The US government provides equal opportunity for war
profiteers.”
On the “most frequently asked question” about whether pulling
foreign troops out of Iraq would lead to an even greater catastrophe,
Sheehan was unequivocal: the troops have to come out “because they are
not wanted there”. She went on: “Iraq was once the cradle of
civilisation ... Iraqis have the intelligence to solve their own
country’s problems and they don’t need the US administration, or any
other, to help them. Anything less is racist.”
Sheehan said her son, Casey, was killed by someone in the Mahdi
Army controlled by Moqtada al Sadr. But she bears no animosity towards
the Iraqi resistance fighters. She told the meeting that the mother of
an Iraqi fighter had written to her afterwards saying that Iraqis
didn’t want to kill young Americans, but that they did want the US to
get out. “They wanted my son out of their country”, she said simply,
adding “I wish they didn’t have to, but the Iraqi people have the right
to resist the occupation”.
Sheehan slammed the lies told to justify the invasion of Iraq,
the war profiteering, the neglect of UN conventions and the US’s use of
chemical weapons such as napalm. “This war is not about WMDs, or
terrorism. It’s about controlling Iraq’s natural resources so that
Exxon, Haliburton, Bechtel and Blackwater Security and other US
corporations can profit.”
When Sheehan “sat down in a ditch in Crawford” outside Bush’s
ranch last August, 51% of people in the US disagreed with the war in
Iraq. Now, more than two-thirds are opposed. This relatively fast
change of heart relates to the overwhelming majority opposition to the
occupation by Iraqis, the more than 2400 US soldiers who have been
killed there, and the breadth of the US anti-war movement, which
involves a significant number of the troops’ families.
Sheehan’s remarkable story of how one committed person can have
an impact on a movement has lifted anti-war activists’ spirits in
Australia.
While conditions for building the movement in the US and the
rest of the world differ from those in Australia, there are
nevertheless lessons activists here could take from Sheehan’s
experiences. Sticking to a core demand — troops out — was central, and
trying to link up with everyone who opposes the war, regardless of
their background, was also critical, she said.
Building practical solidarity with the people of Iraq was
another important focus for the movement, and Dr Ismael’s trip has
already kick-started a new network of young doctors for peace in
Australia.
The Unity for Peace conference agreed to invite organisations
to elect representatives to a new peace network to try and better
coordinate strategies “to enable rapid and effective media responses to
major events; coordinate national speaking tours; help network people
working on specific aspects of campaigns and help in the sharing and
cross-promotion of resources”.