Anti-racism protesters take to the suburbs again
By Lachlan Malloch
SYDNEY — On September 19, as noon drew near on a glorious spring day in inner-city Glebe, more than 100 anti-racist protesters gathered to take their message to the community. The march was organised by the Democratic Socialists and Resistance and was inspired by similar community marches this year in Melbourne and Brisbane.
A range of speakers and organisations supported the rally. All agreed on the need for an alternative to the "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" parties in parliament, John Percy, Democratic Socialist candidate for the seat of Sydney, told Green Left Weekly.
Jenny Munro, chairperson of the Metropolitan Land Council and Broad Alliance candidate for the seat of Sydney, invited the protesters onto Aboriginal land.
Her passionate speech urged the crowd never to give up the struggle to redress the injustices and genocide perpetrated against the Aboriginal people, in the past and today. Munro warned against being fooled by the "code" which politicians use to cover up the oppression of her people.
The rally marched slowly along Glebe Point Road, coaxing onlookers to join in. They chanted: "Pauline Hanson — racist toad; join the march on Glebe Point Road". Four protesters determined to "consign racism to the dustbin of history" led the march banging garbage bins marked "Racism No!".
Marina Carman, Resistance national anti-racism spokesperson and the Democratic Socialists' lead NSW Senate candidate, has recently been threatened by neo-Nazi thugs. Carman told the participants: "The attempts by racist National Action thugs to mobilise young people to attack Asians and Aborigines is just a logical extension of One Nation's politics."
But such attempts are falling on deaf ears, said Carman. "Recent youth protests against racism have become a symbol of our dissatisfaction with the whole political system."
The rally then heard speeches by two local anti-racism activists, Kieran Barley and Emma To, both students at Glebe High School and leaders in Resistance.
The role of Resistance and the Democratic Socialists in the anti-racism campaign was praised by Manly councillor Godfrey Bigot. "When Resistance led youth out against racism, it was a moral high point for the forces of tolerance and democracy", he told the crowd.
Bigot is a character created by Brad Petterson to satirise the nastiest elements in right-wing politics. But "Pauline Hanson has made me redundant", Bigot confessed. "My satire cannot compete with reality."
The breadth of support for the community march was shown by the range of speakers, including Michael Karadjis, the Democratic Socialists' candidate for Grayndler; Denis Doherty, Communist Party of Australia candidate for Sydney; Michael Denborough, Nuclear Disarmament Party NSW Senate candidate; Gay Kalnins, secretary of the Glebe Chamber of Commerce; and Jaime Pastor from Spain's United Left.