BY ALEX MILNE & KIM HALPIN
ALICE SPRINGS For three days from October 5, activists from across Australia converged on the US-controlled military spy base at Pine Gap. More than 300 people made the journey to voice their anger at the Australian government's complicity with US plans to attack Iraq.
Actions throughout the three days were designed to draw attention to the role that Pine Gap plays. The large numbers of Northern Territory police, backed the Tactical Response Group, often violently attacked protesters with their batons and fists. The police were an intimidating sight.
On the afternoon of October 5, row after row of police marched purposefully towards a much smaller group of protesters as they stood peacefully outside the gate, listening to speakers calling for the closure of Pine Gap.
With tensions rising, some police struggled to maintain their aggressive stance as life-size cardboard cut-outs of "Star Wars" storm troopers joined their ranks. The cardboard villains mocked the police role at the protest and drew attention to Pine Gap's part in Washington's "Star Wars" National Missile Defense system.
On the night of October 6, demonstrators blockaded buses carrying Pine Gap employees. This action was highly successful. The combination of a strong media presence, a well-co-ordinated blockade proved too powerful for the police to break up. For the rest of the night the roadblock continued with the help of an "Unidentified Feral Object", complete with a revolving rim and pumping sound system. This kept morale high as the blockade took on a festival atmosphere, with protesters dancing through the night.
The blockade was finally broken early on the morning of October 7. Police viciously removed protesters who were peacefully sitting in the road and singing. Many protesters were unnecessarily dragged through broken glass, suffering bruising and minor lacerations.
The protest ended on October 7 with a high-spirited march through Alice Springs.
During the weekend protest, 17 people were arrested, some on "weapons" charges involving paint bombs. One of the protest co-ordinators, Jacob Grech, commented on the irony of convicting people for possessing "weapons of mess destruction", while US leaders armed with weapons of mass destruction are "painted" in the media as preparing a war for democracy.
From Green Left Weekly, October 16, 2002.
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