Wage Peace - Disrupt War

Strategic, bold, direct and discursive action to disrupt militarism in Australia and our region.

Margie Pestorius

Military Catalogue should not be on Saudi Arabia’s shopping list

Reprinted from Senator Whish Wilson MEDIA RELEASE 12 FEB 2019
DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

Greens Defence spokesperson, Peter Whish-Wilson, has called on the Federal Government to declare that none of the defence equipment showcased in the 2019 Australian Military Sales Catalogue will be sold to Saudi Arabia.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Last year, Minister Payne said all options were on the table in relation to halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia. But with no further word from the Government and the release of its Military Sales catalogue, it looks like the only option on the table is guns and tanks.

“If this equipment has a chance of ending up in Saudi Arabia and being used in the war on Yemen, the Federal Government should be ashamed.

“The Federal Government needs to stop hiding behind the secrecy surrounding the sale of Australian military equipment and openly declare where this equipment will end up and what it will be used for.

“Painting Australia as a top-10 global defence exporter, and pumping billions of dollars of blood money into our defence industry, is misguided and sets Australia on a wrong and dangerous path. This money is much better spent on a sustainable future and productive industries, not machines of war.”

Senator Whish-Wilson reiterated his previous calls for an immediate ban on all arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Make West Papua Safe

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The #MakeWestPapuaSafe campaign is rolling in Australia. Actions were launched in Cairns in November 2018 and April 2019.

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Our goal is to put pressure on the Australian Federal Police to stop training the Indonesian Police, including the paramilitary Mobile Police Brigade (Brimob) and the counter insurgency group Special Detachment 88 (D88), responsible for killing scores of unarmed West Papuan activists.

In 2018 #MWPS helped persuade the Australian Labor Party to adopt a motion to

monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and human rights impact of all aid supplied by the AFP to the Indonesian police. The non-partisan #MakeWestPapuaSafe campaign will use this motion to hold the ALP to account and to leverage greater change.

We will continue to apply pressure on other political parties to take steps to stop training and arming the Indonesian police and military.

At the same time, we stay in close contact with both the West Papuan community in Australia and with West Papuan leaders inside the country and in the Diaspora. The situation in West Papua is volatile and, as you will have seen, even in the mainstream media there has been an increase in reports of abuse against ordinary people.

Justice for Murdered Children
Justice for Murdered Children

Justice for Murdered Children

In 2018 we produced a video about the 2014 Paniai massacre. That 12 min film was released in December and events were held around Australia to remember the school children killed by Indonesian security forces. The film also highlighted the ways families of the murdered children are resisting intimidation and trying to persuade the international community, including the United Nations, to support them to get justice.

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Sign Now: #MakeWestPapuaSafe. Hold the AFP accountable

Hold the AFP accountable
Click on the graphic to sign the petition form

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the Senate that:

  • Reputable human rights organisations report significant human rights violations committed by Indonesian police and military in West Papua;
  • These violations are committed with impunity;
  • The Australian Federal Police and Australian Defence Forces provide substantial support to the Indonesian police and military, including D88, Brimob and Kopassus, the worst human rights offenders;
  • The nature and extent of this support is not fully disclosed;
  • No conditionality or benchmarks are attached to this support to ensure Indonesian police and military respect human rights

We therefore ask the House to call on the Government to:

  • Condemn human rights violations everywhere, including in West Papua;
  • Vigorously raise concerns about human rights violations committed in West Papua with the Indonesian Government;
  • Take action at the United Nations to hold the Indonesian Government fully accountable for human rights violations committed by its security forces in West Papua;
  • Ensure that Australian Government aid does not enable human rights violations anywhere, including in West Papua;
  • Initiate an independent audit of the effectiveness and human rights risks associated with all programs involving Indonesian police and military receiving Australian Government funding.

Sign the petition to Make West Papua Safe and Hold the Australian Federal Police (AFP) accountable

 

Action needed to stop Australian defence exports being used in the war in Yemen

Article in The Strategist by Susan Hutchinson 20 Mar 2019

Action needed to stop Australian defence exports being used in the war in Yemen

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has released the report of the independent review of the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012. The report comes at a time when the government is under increasing pressure for authorising the transfer of defence goods to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which continue to fight a legally contentious war in Yemen.