Sarah Stephen
Sam Watson, an Indigenous leader and spokesperson for Socialist Alliance, believes that the level of racist paranoia has increased following the London bombings, and he says the federal government is trying to drag us back to a past we don't want to revisit.
"There was an enormous degree of optimism in the 1980s and 1990s about multiculturalism and cultural diversity. Then we had Pauline Hanson and One Nation; they were the groundbreakers for the Howards of today who are using the One Nation blueprint to marginalise sections of our community.
"Last year, NSW One Nation MP David Oldfield had a statement on his website that not all Muslims were terrorists, but that all terrorists were Muslim. He was later forced to remove it. That's exactly the level of racist paranoia that John Howard, George Bush and Tony Blair have conspired together to seed.
"Howard hijacked the 2001 election on the backs of the suffering and degradation of 438 innocent men, women and children who were on the decks of the Tampa on the high seas. That blatant political thuggery has characterised his administration."
Watson said that plans to strengthen the anti-terror laws "capitalise on people's innermost fears of anyone who has a different appearance, a different language, habits and clothing".
"It takes Australia back to the days of the white Australia policy, where a massive wall was constructed around the nation to lock out any non-whites seeking entry. John Howard is trying to take us back to a past we don't want to revisit."
Watson believes a very different future is possible for Australia.
"We're on the Asia-Pacific rim and therefore have the opportunity to take in asylum seekers and refugees from across the global community, and provide people from all races a safe and secure society. We could give all people a safe place to grow and pursue their destinies."
"Howard has no positive vision; he peddles racist and xenophobic nightmares. Howard wants us to live in armed camps and prevent anyone who looks different from entering our houses. Australians should reject this filth. It has no place within our country."
"Howard joined the Coalition of the Willing in Iraq on the pretence that there were weapons of mass destruction. That unleashed the global war against terror. Now US defense secretary [Donald] Rumsfeld and Bush are introducing a new phrase — the 'global struggle for freedom'. There are no longer any boundaries. It's open slather. It's not a struggle for freedom; it's a thinly disguised war of global imperialism to serve the capitalist interests that placed Bush, Blair and Howard into power.
"In short term, all foreign troops must leave Iraq. The Iraqi nation is a sovereign nation, and the sovereignty of Iraq must be respected. The Iraqi people must be given the opportunity to pursue their own future.
"The amount of money spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would feed literally millions of starving people throughout the Third World."
"The greatest secret in the world is the true number of Iraqi civilian casualties", said Watson, castigating the corporate media for ignoring this while ever-so-keen to report casualties of the terror bombings in London. They must begin reporting this, he said, "to assist the global community to understand this new phase of terrorism."
From Green Left Weekly, August 3, 2005.
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