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SchNEWS This Time Last Year

SchNEWS 376
America want to save the world - who's gonna save the world from America?

SchNEWS 375
Hundreds of thousands on the streets, this can't be Britain...

SchNEWS 373/4
Let's not bomb Iraq, eh?

SchNEWS 372
September 11th comes round again... and again...

SchNEWS 371
Summit still horribly wrong...

SchNEWS 370
Even the UN admit it - we're doomed!

SchNEWS 369
More dodgy dealings at the Earth Summit...

SchNEWS 368
Summit up with Johannesburg?

SchNEWS 367
The US hots up on Iraq...

SchNEWS 366
The latest from the no borders frontline...

SchNEWS 365
Brighton Beach Bloated Belly Boy Bonanza

SchNEWS 364
What are you having for dinner today?

SchNEWS 363
Thought you were more than a number?

SchNEWS 361/2
Rio+10 (coats of green wash) -> Johannesburg

SchNEWS 360
Coca-Killers Co-opt Community's Cleanwater

SchNEWS 359
The FBI gets a taste of its own medicine...

SchNEWS 357/8
The brink of nuclear war (again)

SchNEWS 356
Casual labour and railways turn out to be a deadly combination

SchNEWS 355
Iraqi situation hots up...

SchNEWS 354
Welsh Green Gathering gutted... again!

  Home | Friday 18th October 2002 | Issue 377

WAKE UP! IT'S YER BACKPACK OF LIES
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SchNEWS
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Story Links:
Sari Sightl | Indomnesia | Crap Arrest... | War Briefs | S-Pacific Target | Inside SchNEWS | SchNEWS In Brief | Doubled Duch | Pain In The Ukraine | One Sizewell Fits All | and finally...

SARI SIGHT


   

The horrific bombing in Bali last weekend was not the first act of terror Indonesia has suffered. But somehow, other events that have claimed thousands of Indonesian lives have never managed to dominate the world’s news pages. Australian tourists killed by terrorists must matter more than Indonesians killed by religious conflicts or an Australian and US-backed dictator.

In the wake of the bombing of the Sari night club, little has been said about the deaths of the Balianese men and women who make up 40% of the victims, or the injured locals who are left to suffer in third rate hospitals while westerners are flown out. It’s the same with Iraqi civilians who are targeted by bombs, sanctions and depleted uranium and pronounced ‘collatoral damage’ because they have the wrong leader; or refugees fleeing in the hope of a better life who are jailed and sent back if they don’t face quite enough hardship at home. It’s September 11 all over again, kids - when Westerners die, people just pay more attention. Here’s one Australian’s take on the unfolding events in Bali:

“There’s a well known song in Australia titled ‘I’ve Been to Bali Too’. ‘Wired home for money, short of cash; A dose of Bali belly and a tropical rash; Daddy came through - American express; Bali t-shirts, magic mushrooms, Redgum bootlegs. I’ve been to Bali too,’ go the lyrics.

“Bali has a special place in the hearts of many Australians. For most, two week holidays are cheaper there than traveling interstate – and the shopping!! Well, those locals really know how to please us Aussies. And then there’s the cheap beer, cocktails, mushrooms and sexploitation. Bali really does epitomise the global consumerist tourist culture. A tiny island in the Indonesian archipelago, its entire social fabric has been irrevocably altered by Western tourism. The handicraft sector is now completely tourist-oriented, as well as about 80% of employment on the island. How do I know all this? Because I’ve been to Bali too – three times in fact – the first time as a very naive, very white, middle-class, Australian 14-year-old.

“Australia is now shocked by the events of the last 24 hours… Why us? The horror of it! We’re being plied with images of ‘our own’ running down the streets (which many of us have been to), blood pouring down faces, skin peeling off bodies. And yes, it’s horrid. But so was the drowning of 353 refugees off the coast of Australia only one year ago, while our government sat by and watched. Not only watched, but blamed those trying to save their children for ‘throwing them overboard’. Not only that, but our government has now been caught – and not for the first time either – assisting in the sabotage of boats such as these...

INDOMNESIA

“This time around, however, the Government has jumped to the defence of innocents, with promises from the Prime Minister, John-munchkin-Howard, that ‘all of the resources of the Air Force will be available for the task’ of bringing the injured back to Australia for treatment. How blatant is our government’s treating of some lives as more important than others? After being caught in the blast, the Forbes Rugby Club President explained how important it was to get the injured Australians home, because ‘he wouldn’t admit his dog to the hospital he was treated in’.

“But the most worrying thing about these events is the ability of our government to use them to justify its slavish military support for the US-led, so-called ‘War on Terror.’ Already Howard is talking of a national review of security measures against terrorism. And of course we are now being bombarded with constant reminders that this, or something like it, could happen to any of us, anywhere, at any time. In practice this means the tightening of immigration border controls and even harsher treatment of refugees (who have become one of the Australian targets of the ‘War on Terror’), a bolstering of the proposed terror laws in Australia, and most importantly, a huge push for the war in the Gulf. But as demonstrated by the 40,000 people on the streets of Melbourne last Sunday, not all Australians back this war.

“Amid the current hysteria, one bright commentator is even claiming that ‘This is the worst act of terror in Indonesia’s history,’ (Gen. Da’i Bachtiar, the national police chief). Please! We have such short memories!! It was only a few decades ago that the Indonesian Government, enthusiastically cheered on by Australia, the US and Western Europe, massacred millions of Communists, activists and anyone associated with them, as part of the coup that installed the hated Suharto regime in Indonesia. Sorry – not just cheered, but advised, encouraged, armed and even directed.

The Sari nightclub is not simply a random target. While the clientele may change throughout the year, the description is essentially the same – drunken, obnoxious, young(ish) Australians. It is a hated symbol of Western imperialism for many – no matter what the age of the ‘revellers’ inside. Every year thousands travel to the island, stay in their Western Hotels, visit their Western nightclubs, flaunt their money and feel like royalty for two weeks, then travel home to a country which supports the repressive regimes of the world. As the Sex Pistols put it, it’s ‘a cheap holiday in other people’s misery’.

“That’s not to say I support what happened last night. But let’s be clear… as long as our governments continue to wage war on the world’s poor and working class – whether through economic, diplomatic or military means – our government will develop enemies… enemies which unfortunately mistake us for our governments.”

For the full article check out http://melbourne.indymedia.org The site also includes stories on the Indonesian military’s links to extreme Islamic groups including Jemaah Islamiyah, the group being blamed for the blast.

* Read John Pilger’s ‘Lethal Hypocrisy’ about the Bali bombing http://pilger.carlton.com
* If you would like to financially help the Balinese victims left in the chaotic and hopelessly overstretched hospitals with no medical insurance, no government support and few facilities email: idep@dps.centrin.net.id


Crap Arrest of the Week

For bad taste in literature…

Egyptian webmaster Shohdy Surur has been given a one year jail sentence for posting a poem on a website! Kuss Ummiyat, a poem written by Surur’s late father 30 years ago, has been on the US-based www.wadada.net for the past three years, and although Surur senior was never prosecuted for writing it, Egyptian authorities are now justifying Shohdy’s sentence by claims that the poem contains passages that are “an affront to public morals.” Nothing to do with the fact that the poem also harshly criticises Egyptian culture and society, of course! www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4030&var_recherche=surur

War BRIEFS

  • The old Brighton Peace Centre in Gardner St. is still being squatted by anti-war kidz. Visit them Friday (18) and Saturday (19) nights for radical films & good food. £1.50 7:30pm-10:30.
  • Last Saturday saw an anti-war demo at Shannon airport, where US war planes land daily to refuel before heading to the Middle East. Around 10 people were arrested and then released without charge. http://struggle.ws/wsm/news/2002/shannonOCT.html
  • Anyone interested in anti-war propaganda being put out in Manchester, take a look at: www.uhc-collective.org.uk/warpages/warpages.htm
  • An anonymous caller to a San Jose, California TV station took credit for a pre-dawn fire at a military recruiting office on Monday. Three military cars were set on fire, and the words “pre-emptive strike” were painted across the front of the office in red lettering.

S-Pacific Target

The people of Bougainville are attempting to sue British mining giant Rio Tinto over the genocide and environmental devastation that were a regular part of Rio’s 25 years of operations on the small South Pacific island. The lawsuit seeks compensation for every person who suffered during the nearly three decades of mining that went on at the giant, now-defunct Panguna copper mine located smack in the middle of Bougainville.

Bougainville is only a small island, but it’s one that has been under siege since Papua New Guinea (PNG) took control of it from Australia in 1975. Even before this, CRA, an Australian subsidiary of Rio Tinto, had forced its way onto the island to build the Panguna mine. 220 hectares of rainforest were destroyed to build Panguna, and after 20 years, the mine had grown to a huge crater half a kilometre deep and nearly 7 km in circumference, creating over a billion tonnes of waste. This waste was dumped in the Jaba River Valley, creating a wall hundreds of metres high and turning one of the island’s biggest river systems fluorescent blue.

By 1988, the islanders had started to fight back, successfully closing the mine. The PNG government, which relied on the mining for 45% of its export earnings, responded swiftly and violently with Australia’s help. But despite ten years of violent oppression, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army managed to keep the mine closed and eventually PNG got out. Bougainville is now in the midst of seeking its independence.

In solidarity with all indigenous peoples of the South Pacific, there was a week of actions from October 5-12 targeting companies and groups involved in ecological and cultural destruction in the region. Rio Tinto was the first to be targeted. Entrances to Anglesay Aluminium, a North Wales subsidiary of Rio Tinto, were blockaded for most of Thursday (10). A Toyota office in Redhill was paint-bombed, highlighting Toyota’s involvement in logging in the South Pacific. On Wednesday, the Indonesian embassy in London was forcibly entered in protest over the country’s continued occupation of West Papua and the murder of an estimated 100,000 indigenous people. And last but definitely not least, the New Tribes Mission offices were paid a visit at their UK headquarters in Grimsby. The missionary group has stated that it is their intent to reach and preach to every “dark corner” of the planet. But the people of West Papua have declared missionaries to be one of the 4 biggest threats to free peoples--one of the biggest reasons being that they build airstrips in remote jungles which are eventually used by businessmen, corporations and military personnel. First comes Christianity, then comes Coca Cola. For more details on the week of actions, see www.eco-action.org/ssp For more Bougainville history, check out the excellent film “The Coconut War.”

Inside SchNEWS

Please send letters of support to the 5 Stop Huntingdon Life Sciences protestors who are on remand and facing charges of “Conspiracy to Harass”. This raucous, harassing mob include Gavin, who is partially sighted, and Rylma, a 70 year old pensioner…Gavin Medd-Hall [JK4564], Kevin White [JK4576] and Paul Baker [JK4584], HMP Canterbury, 46 Longport, Kent, CT1 1PJ, Robert Lewis [JK4563], HMP Elmley, Church Road, Eastchurch, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 4AY, and Rylma White [KV4069], HMP Holloway, Parkhurst Road, London, N7 0NU

The Jeff ‘Free’ Luers’ zine we mentioned in last week’s SchNEWS is available from Brighton ABC. Send 80p and a stamped self-addressed envelope to PO Box 74, Brighton, BN1 4ZQ, East Sussex.

SchNEWS in brief

  • Eviction of the Lappersfort Woodland protest site in Brugge, Belgium started on Monday with numerous arrests. The protestors, who have been living in the forest for over a year, are trying to disrupt council plans for a four-lane highway and industrial estate. They are asking for people to organise solidarity actions at Belgian embassies across Europe or to come to the site itself. www.lappersfront.tk
  • Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of the ironically named Business Action for Sustainable Development (see SchNEWS 361/2) was custard pied in London last week before speaking at the Global Development Forum. The former Shell boss, now heading the corporate lobby group that likes to sound like Mother Teresa whilst making damn sure the Big Business profits keep rolling in at any cost, shrugged off the attack by protestors saying, “It was meant in good fun”. Yeah right Mark, we love you really!
  • Lt General Shaul Mofaz, Israeli commander of the illegal occupation of Palestine from May 98 to July this year, is coming for some dinners in the UK this month. He’ll be in Glasgow (26), Liverpool (28) and Leeds (29). Contact Leeds Earth First! to make sure his tour goes off without a hitch. leedsef@ukf.net
  • The second issue of SchOUND OFF!, Plymouth’s direct action newsheet, is out now. To subscribe, email schound_off@hotmail.com
  • This Sat (19) London Animal Action are celebrating anti-McDonalds day by having a demo at the Kings Cross branch of McD’s, cnr Belgrove St and Euston Rd, WC1, from 4pm onwards – just up the road from the Anorak’s Bookfair.
  • The Park Nook woodland protest site, near Liverpool, has been squatted for the last five months and now has a 24-hour presence. An eviction is imminent and people are needed to defend the space! 0780 360 9721 http://rts.gn.apc.org/diary.htm
  • Police tactics of mass arrests at Faslane Blocades have been undermined by the recent High Court ruling that Tommy Sheridan’s breach of the peace charge doesn’t stick, which will set a precedent for hundreds of others facing similar charges. www.tridentploughshares.org
  • The folks at Counter Information news-sheet are holding meetings to discuss the future of the paper. If you’re interested in going to a meeting or getting involved with the paper, contact them in Edinburgh on 0131 557 6242 (ask for CI) or email ci@counterinfo.org.uk
  • There’s still room on the Brighton mini-bus going to the protest at the Dover Removal Centre this Saturday (19). For a mere £3/£5, you get a seat on the bus, as well as a ferry ride across the Channel to attend a later protest at the Sangatte Red Cross Centre, soon to be shut down by the French government. The bus leaves early (7am!!) but plans to be back to Brighton on the same day. To book your spot, phone the Unemployment Centre on (01273) 540 717.
  • SchNEWS Of The World is now up on our website. Or if paper’s more your style grab a copy from us for £7 this weekend at the Anorak’s Bookfair.


Doubled Dutch

When is a political refugee not a political refugee? When the Bush administration decides they’re not. Prof Jose Maria Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has lived in the Netherlands since 1987, where he is seeking asylum as a political refugee. But now he’s been labelled a terrorist by the American and Dutch governments, his ‘funds’ (a meagre joint bank account shared with his wife) have been frozen, and he is being threatened with extradition to the US. There is a meeting on Oct. 24, 4-9pm in support of Sison at the Tohum Cultural Center, 2A Belgrade Rd, London N16. There’s also an action on Oct 21, 12-2pm, outside the Dutch Embassy, 38 Hyde Park Road, London. http://defendsison.be/


Pain In The Ukraine

On September 30, anti-nuclear campaigner Ruslan Syninvsky was gunned down by an unidentified man in Kiev. One month earlier, Public Control, an organisation Syninvsky was deeply involved in, had filed a lawsuit against the Ukrainian government’s plans to build two new nuclear reactors in a country still haunted by Chernobyl.

The police’s official story is that Syninvsky was killed in a bungled robbery attempt, but the fact that the Ukrainian Secret Service has been harassing and threatening anyone who openly opposes the new reactors makes the official version kind of hard to swallow.

In the Ukraine, whose population suffered the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the vast majority of people oppose nuclear energy. Knowing the opposition the project would face, Energoatom (the nuclear company contracted to build the new power stations) skirted the issue by neglecting to hold legally required public meetings on the topic, and didn’t publish any information about the reactors in Ukrainian!

Funding for the proposed reactors would come from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and from one of the European Commission’s ‘EuroAtom’ loans (set up to find new markets for Western Europe’s stagnant nuclear industry). The whopping £400 million EuroAtom loan would be nearly impossible for the Ukrainian government to repay, not to mention that it comes with major strings attached—one of the loan conditions is that the Ukraine allow for privitisation of its energy industry as well as an immediate hike in energy rates. Bottom line—the average Ukrainian’s energy bill would rise by 30% or more.

The EBRD’s support for the project has been pure comedy. EBRD’s president, Jean Lemierre, went on record as saying his bank would not support the reactors unless they were proven safe and economically feasible. To prove this point, EBRD hired their own team of experts to investigate. Unfortunately for Lemierre, the experts issued a report stating that the building of the two new reactors was neither safe nor affordable. Not being what the Bank wanted to hear, they then commissioned Stone and Webster, a US-based nuclear contracting company, to produce a second report. Surprise, surprise, the second report stated that the new reactors were a fantastic idea! www.aseed.net/publications/ebrdreader
http://russia.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=3389&group=webcast


One Sizewell Fits All

150 Greenpeace activists occupied the roof of Sizewell B nuclear power station this week. Greenpeace have produced a report showing that a quarter of the UK’s energy demands can be supplied by offshore wind in East Anglia, but the nuclear industry insists that our ever increasing needs can only be met by them. www.greenpeace.org.uk

...and finally...

What goes around comes around… A local politician in a village near Lugansk, Ukraine, was out one night taking his dog for an evening pee when an over-zealous officer – albeit junior in rank to him – pointed out that his dog was in fact in breach of regulations by being off a lead, and unmuzzled. An argument broke out between the two men – culminating in the politician pulling a hand grenade from his pocket, pulling the pin, and throwing it at the young officer. What he didn’t bargain for was his loyal pup running to chase the grenade... and faithfully bringing it back to his master. The macho man politician and his poor dog were both killed in the explosion.

Disclaimer
SchNEWS assures all readers - they’ll never bomb Bognor Regis. Honest.


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