Summary
Across the Australian continent, Freemantle AntiNuclear Group rallied at their local wharf north of Perth on July 4. About fifty people demonstrated where the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington and guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens were docked prior to their participation in OTS. Policing was heavy, and former Australian senator Jo Vallentine and the others were told not to interfere with the "comfort" of the visiting sailors by speaking to them about peace and nuclear issues. Police arrested her for breach of the peace when she refused an order to move on.
In front of a banner imploring "In the Name of God, Stop the Wars", and holding signs that read "Resist the War on Afghanistan" and "War is Terror is War", longtime Catholic Workers Jim Dowling and Ciaron O'Reilly were arrested when they refused to leave. The group had held up war traffic for an hour and a half. The men were charged with blocking access to a military facility and taken to court. Both men refused to sign bail papers until Monday, July 13, when they agreed to come out and help with the ongoing nonviolent resistance.On Saturday, July 1 1 , great-grandmother June Norman was arrested while singing and dancing the "Hokie Pokie" with about 80 others at a police roadblock near Shoal water Bay. While calling on the Australian military to "put their whole bodies out," Norman "put her whole body in," and the police took her out.See the full content of this document
Extract
Coast to Coast, Australia Rejects Talisman Sabre
Activists converged in central Queensland, Australia beginning in late June to protest Australia's intimate involvement in the U.S. escalation of war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their immediate focus was on Operation Talisman Sabre (OTS), a biennial war practice involving up to 25,000 U.S. and Australian troops from July 6-12.
Christian nonviolence practitioners set up the Martin L...See the full content of this document
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