AUSTRALIA: BringDavidHome
Jason Hart and Graeme Dunstan | 08.02.2007 09:01 | Analysis | Repression | Social Struggles | World
BringDavidHome
BringDavidHome
BringDavidHome
We did magnificently on the Convergence. All of us. Big success as protest: uplifting, media grabbing and movement building. Thank you, thank you, one and all.
Big effort for this old man and my beloved Jennifer the Maremma. She has always enjoyed a parade, but aged and ailing now, that march to the US Embassy was near the end of her.
We do best we can. Let's have other collaborations soon!
Let making the evil greed of Cheney visible and publicly reviled in Canberra and elsewhere be our next action together.
Let Howard and his minders try to suppress information about Cheney's itinerary but let that be a creative challenge for us.
Already we can say for certain that he will be staying at the US Embassy while in Canberra and that there will be some kind of reception there for him and the rich and powerful of this land.
Let the chase for the where and the when be shared and a media event in itself.
I reckon a good next step would be to call a public meeting to bring together local people who commit to making Cheney and the people that he meets with in Canberra and elsewhere highly visible.
Let some of us provide, gather and disseminate information; let others act together as quick response teams.
As part of the lead up, I suggest we set up a hotline and website to receive leaked information, that we publicly invite police, media people, politicians, politician's servants, baggage handlers, chauffeurs, anyone anywhere who gets a whiff of the whereabouts of Cheney or where he may be headed next, to become citizen informers.
Let us commit to hounding Cheney at every opportunity with quick assembling crowds and street theatre.
Bring a sign. Bring a costume. Bring a pot and bang it!
Maybe the step after calling such a public meeting might be to announce a creative making workshop where volunteers will prepare signage, flags, and costumes, rehearse street music and street theatre.
May we overwhelm Cheney and transcend his evil.
May our path be creativity and good humour.
And may we make many friends along the way.
In Eureka spirit!
For peace. For justice. For the Earth!
Graeme Dunstan
Peacebus.com
PS Feel free to put this out on your networks. In fact let's begin an email
list at once.
Related:
Hicks: Campaign Kits
Also in the Current Issues section of the website, read the UN's comments on Australia's counter terror laws.
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/02/139038.php Hicks fundraiser: Guess who came to spoil dinner?
I'm proud to be in the same photo frame as this extraordinarily brave and committed father and my own brother who my family and I love as a human being and not the distorted bogeyman that we read about in the papers.
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/02/138831.php Hicks: Canberra Convergence
Thanks to supporters in Canberra an add will be appearing in the Canberra media Thursday 1/2 & Saturday 3/2. Looking forward to see you all.
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2007/01/138271.php
Jason Hart and Graeme Dunstan
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Guantanamo chief 'judging Hicks guilty'
08.02.2007 22:15
Rear Admiral Harry Harris says Hicks is a dangerous terrorist and is only allowed out of his cell for two hours a day because he is a security threat.
Rear Admiral Harris says claims that Hicks is depressed are not true.
Senator Brown says the statements cannot be believed.
"The reports coming from other detainees who've come out of Guantanamo Bay - and they're verifiable - show that there's been inhumane treatment," he said.
"We know anyway that the rights of Hicks have been removed, he's had no legal rights - he's been judged guilty by Admiral Harris himself."
Rear Admiral Harry Harris said that Hicks poses a real security threat and there are no innocent detainees.
"We are detaining enemy combatants here in Guantanamo," he said.
"That's the right of any nation at war to do that and it's an internationally recognised right.
"There's no expectation that they be tried or charged, with exception of those that are alleged to have committed war crimes."
Hicks's lawyer, David McLeod, says the Rear Admiral's comments make it clear Hicks will not receive a fair trial in the United States.
"This suggestion that because detainees are there, that that is in itself evidence of terrorism, or their being a terrorist, simply puts the lie to any attempt to deal with them in a fair and open manner," he said.
"To suggest that a prisoner in the Australian criminal courts is guilty would in itself amount to a mistrial or an inability to proceed appropriately and fairly before a court."
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Last two days? Not David Hicks ABC!
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Guantanamo chief labels Hicks a dangerous terrorist
The head of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre has described Australian detainee David Hicks as a dangerous terrorist.
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Guantanamo detainees not abused, US military probe says
A US military investigation into abuse allegations at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has found no evidence of improper treatment of detainees.
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Use of coerced evidence possible in Hicks trial: Ruddock
Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says it is possible that evidence obtained coercively could be used against Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.
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Howard fails to ease MPs' concerns for Hicks
The Prime Minister is toughening his language on the detention of Australian David Hicks, but that has failed to ease the concerns of some Coalition backbenchers.
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PM acknowledges mood change on Hicks
Prime Minister John Howard has criticised the US handling of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, who is facing terrorism-related charges.
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Hicks trial at least four months away
The US State Department has detailed the time frame for the military commission trial for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.
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Hicks defence team ready by September
The Australian lawyer for David Hicks says it will be September before the defence team is ready for trial
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Timing of Hicks charges 'an act of bastardry'
The Australian lawyer for David Hicks has accused the US military of an act of bastardry for waiting until the departure of his legal team to announce new charges.
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US prosecutor defends Hicks charges
The US military officer prosecuting Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has rejected criticism of the charges that will be laid against him.
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Too early to speculate on Hicks plea, lawyer says
The US military lawyer for Australian David Hicks says it is too early to speculate about whether his client will plead not guilty to fresh charges.
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PM rejects call for retrospective Aust law for Hicks
Prime Minister John Howard says he does not believe the passage of retrospective laws in Australia is appropriate, despite Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks being charged under a retrospective law in the United States
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Govt challenged over Hicks 'retrospective' charge
The Federal Opposition has accused the Government of double-standards over the draft charges announced for David Hicks.
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PM welcomes new charges against Hicks
Prime Minister John Howard says he is glad the US military has drafted new charges against Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.
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New Hicks charges announced
The US military has drafted new terrorism charges against Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hick
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Coalition shuns letter calling for David Hicks's return
The Democrats have expressed disappointment that only one federal Coalition parliamentarian signed a letter to the United States congress pushing for David Hicks to be returned to Australia for prosecut
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Length of Hicks's detention 'totally inappropriate'
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison says Australian terrorism suspect David Hicks has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for too long.
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Labor MPs urge US Speaker to help Hicks
Canberra's three federal Labor politicians are sending a letter to the Speaker of the United States Congress asking her to assist Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.
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