S11 Alliance pickets Downer
BY ANGELA LUVERA
BRISBANE — Armed with a leaflet declaring "Picket Downer! Shut Down the WEF!", 25 students braved the early morning to picket a function attended by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. The function, held at the Queensland Clunies Ross Centre, heard Downer speak on the "people's process" in treaty negotiations.
One activist gained entry to function and attempted to ask Downer why the federal government had waited two weeks to before acting to stop the killings in East Timor in September. She was promptly ejected by police, with no reply from the minister forthcoming.
The picket was called by the Brisbane S11 Alliance, which is organising a contingent from the city to the protests against the World Economic Forum, to be held in Melbourne September 11-13.
The alliance's statement said: "We must force a change in the Liberal/Labor bipartisan support for increased defence spending — money that will increase their ability to support the [international financial institutions] and their dirty work in our region.
"We need to build solidarity with the people in our region hardest hit by IFIs, such as those in Indonesia currently facing a [structural adjustment program] that will double their cost of living and force thousands out of work. This means cutting defence spending, increasing aid and calling for an end to bipartisan support for IFIs in our region."