Anti-Pinochet rally
ADELAIDE — Fifty people rallied at Parliament House on March 10 to demonstrate their opposition to former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet has stepped down after 25 years as chief of the army to take up a senate seat, a right guaranteed him under the 1980 constitution he drafted.
Juan Garrido, representing the rally organisers, the Family of the Disappeared People in Chile Support Group, told the crowd that the struggle needed to continue until Pinochet is punished for the mass murder, torture and terror he presided over. An Amnesty International spokesperson described the continuing torture of prisoners of conscience in Chile.
Poetry, music and a dance traditionally performed by the mothers of sons who have "disappeared" paid tribute to the thousands who have been tortured and murdered by the Chilean military.
March against child labour
HOBART — Around 500 people, most of them young, participated in the Hobart leg of a "Global march against child labour" on March 11. Students from 14 schools marched with placards and banners, some chanting "Child labour's out of favour, stop child labour now!". Other organisations represented included the Trades and Labour Council, Amnesty International, the United Nations Association and World Vision.
According to the march organisers, 250 million people, 95% of whom are from "developing" countries, are child labourers. The march is part of an international action leading up to a congregation in Geneva in June. The demands of the action include: raising widespread awareness about child labour; mobilising public opinion and action against the broader injustices that contribute to child labour; and demanding the immediate elimination of the most exploitative forms of child labour.