GLW web site visits surge

By John Percy

Visits to Green Left Weekly's web site continue to surge. In March, individual visits are now more than 70% above the level in February and still rising. In the third week of March, there were 7825 visits per day (with 36,470 hits and 20,488 pages viewed per day). That's 54,775 individual visits per week! [soared to 11,081 per day in early April, ie 77,567 per week]

Interest in GLW's extensive coverage of imperialism's war against Iraq and the growing worldwide antiwar movement is clearly one of the reasons for the site's increasing popularity.

GLW's online archive makes available all articles published since 1991. An on-site search engine allows visitors to search the back issues.

The GLW web site also continues to rise in the world ranking of web sites, complied by alexa.com. Currently ranked at 99,084, GLW is the highest-ranked political web site in Australia.

In comparison, the NSW Labor Council site ranks at 104,604, the Australian Conservation Foundation's site is at 147,430, the ALP site is ranked 231,341, the Liberal Party at 280,479, the Australian Greens comes in at 446,679 and the Australian Democrats ranks 448,766.

So visit our web site, but also subscribe to the printed Green Left Weekly. Why?

Because:
- it's more readable;
- it's a more permanent record for you to refer to, and you can pass it on to friends;
- GLW needs the money to continue providing its web service [and reporting on its non-profit base] ; and
- it's only $10 for an introductory subscription of seven issues, 22 issues for $44, 44 issues for $83 or $100 for two years.

From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.

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Alternative news sources on the Iraq war

Al Ahram weekly newspaper from Egypt features regular articles from Edward Said —

Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV station —

Al Jazeera (not the TV station) —

AlterNet's Iraq page —

Common Dreams News Centre —

Insightful commentary can be found at Counter Punch —


Electronic Iraq —

US media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's Iraq page —

A site collecting the writings of respected British journalist Robert Fisk, who is currently in Baghdad —

Green Left Weekly, Australia's leading socialist newsweekly —

Iraq Action Coalition is an online media and activists' resource centre —

The Iraq Body Count web site provides an independent and comprehensive count of civilian deaths in Iraq caused by the military actions of the USA and its allies —

Iraq Peace Team's eyewitness accounts from Baghdad —


Iraq.ru, a site created by Russian journalists and military experts —

Kurdistan Observer and Kurdish Media collect reports on Kurdish opposition to an impending Turkish invasion of northern Iraq.

Labourstart's trade unions and the Iraq war page —

Background articles from Middle East Report Online —


US-based Pacifica radio programs provide in-depth critical coverage —

Dissident Australian journalist John Pilger's web site —


ZNet Iraq Watch —

From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page @
 http://www.GreenLeft.org.au/

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On the Books Not Bombs controversy - from the latest issue...

 http://www.GreenLeft.org.au/back/2003/533/

-> Anti-war students defend the right to protest
-> Carr Labor steps up assault on right to protest
-> Solidarity protests with Sydney students
-> Anti-war unionists support student protesters
-> Messages of solidarity
-> Why we protested
-> We are peaceful, the WAR is violent!
-> Kids go to school: a good news story?
-> Sorry to disappoint the media
->
Legal observers demand police obey law

BY DALE MILLS

SYDNEY — A group of volunteer solicitors, barristers and law students set up to monitor police behaviour at demonstrations have expressed serious concern at the refusal by police to allow the April 2 student anti-war protest, organised by Books Not Bombs (BNB), to march through city and the use of “pepper spray” by police against protesters.

The Legal Observers Project (LOP) is writing a report to be published on April 9 detailing possible breaches of the law by the police at the April 2 Sydney Town Hall Square anti-war rally and possible claims by protesters for compensation.

The initial concern of the legal observers was with police threats to ban the BNB protest from marching. At a meeting between the protest organisers and police negotiators on March 28, the chief police negotiator said little except that if an application for a march permit was made, NSW police “assistant commissioner Adams would not approve it”. This in itself raises issues of procedural impropriety — making a decision before an application had been made.

Worse was to come. At 11am on April 2, a legal observer was informed that police had ignored a report given to them that a demonstrator had been “punched in the head”.

The most worrying aspect of police conduct at the April demonstration, however, was the extensive use of undercover police officers, at least one of whom carried (and used) a concealed weapon. At approximately 2pm, an undercover police officer used a chemical weapon known as “pepper spray” against 5-6 young protesters. One legal observer reported that the spraying was “indiscriminate”.

The attacker then fled the crowd, was followed by one legal observer and some protesters, and was challenged to prove that he was a police officer by showing identification, or let himself be subject to a citizen's arrest for a serious assault.

It was only after the attacker fled into a secret annexe to the Woolworth's department store building opposite Sydney's Town Hall Square, that a uniformed police officer confirmed that the assailant was in fact an undercover cop.

Public comments reported in the press as being made by Adams that the assailant was an undercover police officer who was “backed up” against a wall and had to use pepper spray to defend himself do not accord with any of evidence of the incident gathered by the LOP.

Legal observers have spoken with five people affected by the pepper spray, six witnesses present at the spraying, and have observed a video of the incident, none of which show the officer being “backed up” against a wall.

A similar incident occurred between a legal observer and another plain-clothes police officer. After being informed by a child that his brother had been detained and assaulted by “a strange man”, the legal observer questioned the man in the belief that this was an example of racist violence against a child of Middle-Eastern appearance. The man responded to the legal observer by saying, “I'm a police officer”.

It was only after threats of a citizen's arrest being made against the man, that another plain-clothes cop (who showed his identification) confirmed that the man was a police officer.

It is reprehensible that police officers in plain clothes attempt to infiltrate demonstrations. Their presence, by their dress and conduct, after all, is a standing joke among knowledgeable protesters. Indeed, I had only to put a mobile phone to his ear to flush out the nearest pair of undercover cops who would just happen to assume a position standing about 15 centimetres behind me, obviously attempting to eavesdrop on my conversation.

The LOP is calling on NSW police commissioner Ken Moroney to order an enquiry, to be held in public, into the pepper spray assault on the student protesters by the plain-clothes police officer. It is also calling on Moroney to instruct his officers to obey the law: when a plain-clothes cop says he or she is a police officer, they must show identification proving that that is the case.

The use of plain-clothes officers, acting as spies and/or agents provocateurs, in protest situations is a serious inroad into the civil rights that Australians have become accustomed to.

[Dale Mills is a volunteer with the Legal Observers Project, Sydney. Law students, solicitors and barristers who would like to volunteer can contact him on +61(0)417 498 512.]

From Green Left Weekly, April 9, 2003.
Visit the Green Left Weekly home page @