Resistance is an active, campaigning organisation. Were in there where the struggle is. We dont just talk about standing up for the oppressed. We actually do it. Recently, we met members of the Burmese community in Canberra at a series of protests outside the Burmese embassy. When we met them, we naturally wanted to jump into the struggle right there alongside them. We were involved in the first meeting of the Canberra Network for Democracy in Burma (CNDB), and helped organise the protest on October 13 for the international day of solidarity with the Burmese struggle.
Farida Iqbal
Three years on from the passage of the federal ban on same-sex marriage, people have not given up on fighting back. Around 3000 people protested nationwide during an August 12 national day of action calling for same-sex marriage rights, civil unions and adoption rights.
When US President George Bush comes to Sydney this year, it will be vital that we use his visit to draw attention to the ongoing struggle for same-sex marriage rights and an end to all homophobic policies. PM John Howard and Bush top the list of threats to civil liberties, including some of the most basic rights queers are still fighting for.
On June 2, 1975, sex workers in Lyon, France, occupied a church for two months, an action that inspired the contemporary sex-worker rights movement. On June 2 this year, 60 sex workers and supporters held a demonstration at Circular Quay to protest against the NSW parliaments passage of the Brothels Legislation Amendment Act. Protesters described the legislation as a significant reversal of decriminalisation.
On June 20, 30 people attended a public forum to launch a campaign for an August 12 national day of action for same-sex marriage rights. The NDA is being built around three slogans: Repeal the ban on same-sex marriage, Give us civil unions and Hands off same-sex adoption, and so far, rallies are being planned in Sydney, Melbourne, Lismore and Perth.
One month of campaigning against the inhumane detention of queer Pakistani refugee Ali Humayun has resulted in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) granting him one four-hour home visit on May 31. Humayun spent the time with his partner, Julio Lorenzo.
These are exciting times for Resistance, Emma Clancy, a member of the socialist youth organisations national executive, told Green Left Weekly. In the past year we have gone from strength to strength. Clancy is helping to organise the 2007 national conference of Resistance, which will be held at Sydneys Glebe Town Hall from July 5 to 8. The conference will involve in-depth strategic discussions about all of the protest movements in Australia.
The annual Queerspace student conference held at the Australian National University on October 6-8 was attended by 40 students from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Wollongong, Newcastle and Perth. The conference launched the national Queer Activist Network (QAN) for youth and students.
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