By William McDonald
MELBOURNE — About 100 people from the Kurdish community and supporters marched on September 1 to support the Musa Anter Peace Train, which was journeying from Brussels to Diyarbakir in northern Kurdistan (south-eastern Turkey) to demand a political solution to Turkey's war against the Kurdish people.
The train, named after a Kurdish writer assassinated by Turkish death squads in 1992, was organised by activists in Europe. It was due to arrive in Diyarbakir on September 1.
The train was prevented from leaving Brussels on August 26 when the German government announced that it would refuse passage, and pressured other European countries to do the same. Germany has been one of the biggest suppliers of arms to the Turkish government.
The Melbourne rally, organised by the Committee for Peace in Kurdistan, had hired a tram to go to the Turkish consulate after being told that the tram could be decorated and megaphones could be used. However, after the Victorian police telephoned the management of the Public Transport Corporation (PTC), the committee was told that it could hire the tram only if it was not decorated with political slogans.
Rally participants caught regular tram services into the city, where an impromptu speak-out was held in the Bourke Street mall, addressed by Yasemin Zengin from Kurdish and Turkish Youth, Mustafa Sezen from the Turkish Community Resource Centre and John Nebauer from the Democratic Socialist Party.
The rally chairperson, Arty Killis from the Committee for Peace in Kurdistan, condemned the decision of the police and the PTC. "People say that the anti-racist campaign denies Pauline Hanson the right to free speech. But she gets quoted in the media all the time, while we couldn't even hire a tram to express our views."
The rally was followed by a spirited march through the city and finished with music and dancing outside the Turkish consulate.