MELBOURNE — Some 150 Thai students demonstrated outside the Thai consulate here on May 20 in anger at the brutal suppression of democracy rallies in Bangkok. Another demonstration two days later at the same venue attracted Australian progressive activists and Thai students. The demonstration called for an end to the violence, the resignation of General Suchinda and real democratic reform to protect against the power of the military in Thai politics. It highlighted the role of Australia and the US in supplying and supporting military regimes such as Thailand's.
SYDNEY — More than 300 people gathered on May 21 to protest against the brutal killing of peaceful demonstrators by the Thai military. The Thai Student Association of NSW presented a list of demands to the Thai consulate which included an immediate end to the violence, the release of all political detainees, the lifting of the state of emergency and the removal of all media censorship.
- A May 13 forum on abortion held on the Milperra campus of the University of Western Sydney heard speakers including women from the Legislative Council, the Women's Electoral Lobby and a pregnancy counsellor. The arguments for free, accessible abortion and a woman's right to choose gained a good response. One of the speakers also stated that so-called "pro-life" forces are "not concerned with life. You never see them campaigning for better child-care facilities for women, or taking part in peace movements. The only reason they are against abortion is because it threatens their belief in women playing the role of mother in society."