622

'Venezuela represents hope'

On April 11-17, events around the world will develop solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution. The week of solidarity will mark the third anniversary of the defeat of a US-backed coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose government is

GERMANY: For democratic socialism

One of the guests at the third Asia-Pacific International Solidarity Conference, held in Sydney at Easter, was Helmuth Markov, who is a member of the European Parliament from the German Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). This is an abridged version

CEPU opposes IRC intervention

SYDNEY — The NSW branch of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) is challenging an attempt of one of its officials to seek compensation in the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC). CEPU NSW branch vice-president Peter Jones

EAST TIMOR: Protesters attacked at cemetery

Around 200 East Timorese protesters were attacked on April 9 by police, including special branch paramilitary forces.

PAKISTAN: Women's rights activist murdered

Farooq Tariq, Lahore Yasmeen Kanwal, a leading activist with the women's rights organisation Women Workers Help Line (WWHL), was killed on April 4 in Shahdra, a suburb of Lahore. A medical investigation is being carried out to confirm reports she

Queer rights threatened by VSU

Farida Iqbal "Voluntary student unionism" legislation (VSU) is designed to crush student organisations by ending universal student union membership. Federal education minister Brendan Nelson is framing the VSU debate in terms of Lego clubs and

UNITED STATES: Students fight the military machine

Dani Barley Two years after the invasion of Iraq, which generated the biggest protests in history, the anti-war movement in the United States is re-gathering strength. At the forefront of this movement has been the families of soldiers in Iraq, and

ISRAEL: Vanunu re-arrested

Kim Bullimore On March 17, the Israeli state moved to re-arrest and charge nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu with 22 counts of violating the restrictions placed upon him when he was released from jail in April last year. Vanunu's arrest came

Privatise Aboriginal land rights? The lessons from Papua New Guinea

Tim Anderson The federal government, backed by mining company-funded "think tanks", has a new agenda for Aboriginal land rights: privatise them. And privatisation here, as elsewhere, means that the sharks will move in. In February, Indigenous

Loose cannons

Permanent war will bring peace "We're talking about a part of the world in which, uhh, you know, our foreign policy was, let's just hope for the best and tolerate the fact there's no free societies. And — what ended up happening was, there was a

VENEZUELA: Notebook from Caracas: Eyewitness to revolution

Roberto Jorquera, an activist from the Venezuelan Solidarity Network in Australia, is in Caracas to help prepare for the solidarity brigade the network is organising from July 25-August 15, and to report on the unfolding revolution there. Regular

DIMIA: 'an abusive system'

Dr Michael Dudley I think that the Four Corners program showed (among other things) how immigration department (DIMIA) and detention centre staff were very slow in responding to Cornelia Rau's distress, despite the signals given from visitors,