BY DANNY FAIRFAX
CANBERRA — "In my opinion, it doesn't matter if the UN is arm-twisted into a war with Iraq, it's still immoral" — these blunt words set the tone for federal Labor MP Carmen Lawrence's talk to a meeting organised by the Canberra Refugee Action Committee entitled "War, Refugees and Labor".
Four-hundred people came to the City Labor Club on February 13 to hear Lawrence, who in December resigned from the shadow ministry in protest against the ALP's policies on refugees and war on Iraq.
Lawrence reserved most vitriol for the actions of Prime Minister John Howard, who "sounds like little Mr Echo" in unreservedly following US President George Bush's war drive, while forcing "those fleeing from the 'monster of Baghdad'" to "rot in Australian gulags".
"A report by the UN states that up to 1.4 million people could leave Iraq after the bombing starts — no-one is prepared for such an exodus, least of all the Australian government", she said.
While supporting the role the French and German governments have played "in delaying the march of war", Lawrence warned, "it's easy to be distracted into minutiae over UN resolutions when the question is really whether thousands of innocent Iraqis should die."
"I can't help but return again and again to the image of a child dying, because children will be — already are — the majority of victims in Iraq ... The mortality rate of children under five in Iraq under sanctions is 131 out of 1000 ... In human terms, this means that every second family stands the risk of losing a child ... and that's before the bombing has started."
The UN report explained that 40% of Iraqi teenagers feel that life is not worth living. "It seems that Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Howard are about to confirm our fears and grant their wish", Lawrence commented.
Lawrence also expressed frustration at the ALP's stance on a war with Iraq. "The ALP is for UN processes to be complied with. My problem is the next step. If the UN endorses an attack, the question remains, is it right? My answer is no." However, she also asserted that, "The real test is in the party room. I am not convinced that the ALP will say okay [to a UN-endorsed attack on Iraq]. The decision is not concluded yet."
Lawrence heaped scorn on the ALP's policy on asylum seekers. "The ALP's mistake is to play on Howard's turf. The idea that refugees are a threat to national security is bizarre. We played along with the moral panic in the aftermath of Tampa instead of getting out there and changing people's views."
Labor's new refugee policy "is an improvement on the government's — but that's no mean task. The language used in the policy, of a 'threat to our national security', is completely inappropriate to the asylum seeker issue ... I am very disappointed when I look at our own policy. Members wanted to see an end to mandatory detention but it remains ... Indefinite detention smashes people's hope and destroys their sanity."
When asked by an audience member what people should be doing to turn this situation around, Lawrence replied, "What can we do? We have to keep the pressure on, we have to keep attending these meetings — the voices of people are very powerful."
From Green Left Weekly, February 19, 2003.
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