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Doug Cameron's speech to Sydney Palm Sunday March 20 2005Doug Cameron is the National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and a Vice-President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Palm Sunday March and Rally for Peace. It has been two years since I addressed the Palm Sunday Rally. In those two years, the struggle for peace has become more important than ever. We are witnessing a war in Iraq which is based on lies, deception, and the imperialistic ambitions of the American far Right. We have witnessed our Prime Minister, John Howard, manipulating and moulding public opinion in an effort to hide the reality of a war that should never have happened. Howard is the most sycophantic Prime Minister this country has ever seen. He is prepared to put Australian soldiers' lives at risk in order to satisfy his infatuation with the United States and George W. Bush. Why, at a time when the "coalition of the willing" is slowly disintegrating has Australia increased its military commitment in Iraq? Why are our troops sent to a far away country when other American allies, much closer to Iraq, are disengaging from this unnecessary and unacceptable war? Why does our government simply accept a subordinate and servile role in its relationship with the United States? Are we so unsure of our role and standing in global politics that we must prostrate ourselves at the feet of the United States? Are we so economically and politically reliant on the United States that we must answer every call from the White House in the affirmative? NO. We must stop being the lapdog of the Bush administration. We must not abandon our political and economic independence to the Bush administration. We should not be the deputy sheriff for the Pentagon and White House. Australia needs a government with the courage, vision and foresight to stand up for peace, our independence and our international reputation. We need a Prime Minister capable of saying "no" to the Bush administration. We need a Prime Minister who understands the horror and reality of war. We need a Prime Minister who is prepared to be honest and forthright about the war in Iraq. Howard should admit that the war was based on a massive deception perpetrated by right wing governments bound together by a distorted vision of democracy. Howard"s vision of democracy is underpinned by a dogma of worldwide conformity to the values and principles of the West. There will be no peace while the leaders of the Western world fail to recognise and accept the need for religious freedom and cultural tolerance. Australian governments should pursue peace by adopting the diplomacy of tolerance and compassion. We must pursue peace by ensuring the corporate giants of the United States cannot exploit war in the name of profit. We must pursue peace by campaigning against billionaire media magnates who exploit, manipulate, and deceive the citizens of the world. We must campaign for peace by exposing the reality of the madness, death and destruction that is Iraq. We must pursue peace by supporting a fair and equitable resolution to the conflict between Palestine and Israel. We must pursue peace by campaigning for an end to poverty, starvation, homelessness and despair. We have been smothered in a propaganda onslaught which denies the reality of war. Journalists are 'embedded' with the troops and exposed to sophisticated psychological manipulation designed to make them partisan participants instead of independent reporters. The horrors of war are ignored: The blood and the gore is edited from our TV screens, The maiming and killing of innocent men, women and children is hidden from the public, The senseless destruction of human life is justified by the "democratisation" of Iraq, The destruction of hospitals and schools roads and infrastructure are seen as collateral damage, These atrocities are ignored and replaced by a celebration of high tech military wizardry. The coalition of the willing used weapons of mass destruction on a daily basis against a country which had no capacity to defend itself, Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. Communities are manipulated into a false patriotism where critical analysis and opposition to the war is seen as weakness, unpatriotic and a traitorous attack on the troops. Almost every day young working-class soldiers are killed and are killing for a false and misleading goal. We have a responsibility to raise our voices against the misappropriation of our values, our hopes and our future. This is a war that will not triumph over terrorism but will simply reinforce and galvanise the terrorists against us. The real fight on terrorism is being sidelined as a result of the extremism, adventurism and miscalculations in Iraq. Let us work together to continue exposing the lies, deception, cruelty and dogma that underpins the war in Iraq. We must continue to raise our voices against the inhumanity and stupidity of the war in Iraq. We must have the courage to face the false patriotism that sees our young men and women involved in a war which is simply about ideology. We must continue to call for our troops to be brought home. We must hold our politicians to account when they deceive and manipulate the Australian public. We must continue to fight for peace, justice and integrity as the values that underpin Australian society. Thank you. Doug Cameron, Vice President, ACTU. |
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© Walk Against the War Coalition 2003. |
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