Jim McIlroy, Brisbane
Anti-war campaigners from Brisbane and other parts of Australia gathered in Rockhampton over the June 10-12 weekend to protest against Operation Talisman Sabre, the largest military exercise ever held in Australia.
Involving 17,000 US and Australian troops over the period June 10-30, the exercise is taking place mainly at Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland and in the Northern Territory.
The exercise also involves the use of civilian airports, including in Sydney and Brisbane, and Amberley air force base near Toowoomba.
Talisman Sabre also involves US nuclear-powered naval vessels. The US fleet may also be carrying nuclear weapons and depleted uranium munitions — which have been used with devastating effect on the environment, and the health of civilians and soldiers, in Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
The exercise has aroused considerable controversy in the Rockhampton-Yeppoon area, due to the threat of environmental damage to the Shoalwater Bay region.
According to prominent Brisbane anti-nuclear campaigner Robyn Taubenfeld, the weekend of protest around Shoalwater Bay involved a variety of actions, from peace walks, to film showings, to vigils to non-violent direct actions.
The protests began, after a busload of activists arrived from Brisbane, with a vigil outside the joint military barracks in Rockhampton on the Friday night. On the Saturday morning, a peace walk took place through the town, followed by a showing of the new film by David Bradbury, Blowing in the Wind, that night.
On June 12, protesters entered the Shoalwater military area, and six of them were arrested for trespass, after sitting on the site, reading out the names of civilians and soldiers killed in the US-led war on Iraq. About 40 protesters then blockaded the entrance to the base, halting a long line of trucks that were attempting to enter the base. Four more protesters were arrested.
Later that day, 400-500 members of the local community attended a peace concert and forum on the beach at Yeppoon.
On the Sunday night, several hundred people attended another showing of Bradbury's film, accompanied by a panel of speakers.
For more information on the campaign against Operation Talisman Sabre, phone Brisbane Anti-Bases on 0401 301 614, email <peaceconvergence@yahoo.com.au>, or visit <http://www.geocities.com/peaceconvergence>.
From Green Left Weekly, June 22, 2005.
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