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FRANCE: Sangatte refugee camp to be closed

BY SARAH STEPHEN British Home Secretary David Blunkett and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy agreed on July 12 to a timetable for the closure of the Sangatte Red Cross Centre. Sangatte has become a gathering point for asylum seekers attempting

A revolutionary manifesto for the 21st century?

EmpireBy Michael Hardt andAntonio NegriHarvard University Press, 2000480 pages, $47 (pb) REVIEW BY ZANNY BEGG Since being published almost two years ago, Michael Hardt and Toni Negri's Empire has continued to create waves. The popularity of the

and ain't i a woman?: Another present for the fanatics

and ain't i a woman?: Another present for the fanatics "Women and children will die because of this decision." That was the response of Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to the Bush

Asylum seekers beaten in ACM rampage

BY SARAH STEPHEN Alamdar Baktiyari and his uncle, Mahzer, were among a number of detainees caught up in disturbances inside the Woomera detention centre on July 28. Detainees told the August 1 Sydney Morning Herald that an Afghan man required

Challenging ideas of gender

REVIEW BY MARGARET ALLUM All About My FatherDirected by Even BenestadScreened at the 49th Sydney Film Festival in June Even Benestad made documentary film about his father, but both had very different ideas about what the film would achieve.

Horror conditions for refugees on Nauru exposed

BY TONY ILTIS MELBOURNE — The Refugee Action Collective promoted its "no detention" model for processing refugees at a public meeting attended by more than 150 people at Brunswick Town Hall on July 30. The racism and inhumanity of Australia's

Mandatory detention is torture

BY SARAH STEPHEN On July 24, the Australian government voted against the adoption of an optional protocol to strengthen the United Nations convention against torture. The government claimed its decision had nothing to do with preventing

Refugee sanctuaries on campuses?

BY PETER ROBSON NEWCASTLE — Students at campuses across the country are organising referendums calling for their universities to be declared “refugee safe havens”. “We want students to think about this question”, said campus refugee

UNITED STATES: Another contra scandal?

BY GARRY M. LEECH NEW YORK — During the 1980s, the Reagan administration became mired in the Iran-contra scandal following revelations that it illegally sold weapons to Iran and used the proceeds to covertly arm and fund Nicaraguan "contra"