Ant-War Resistance in Australia

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Wednesday March 14, 2007 08:49 by Jim - Dayboro Catholic Worker

On Saturday 10th March 20 people gathered outside Brisbane’s Enoggera Army Barracks to demand a return of all Australian troops from Iraq and an end to what they claim is a serious war crime – the illegal invasion and occupation of another country.

The previous Monday 20 more Australian soldiers had departed from Enoggera bound for Iraq ... Last December 100 soldiers had left from the Barracks fro Iraq .

The group had notified the police and military of their intention to enter the base in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in the spirit of Ghandi and Martin Luther King. They intended to set up a Peace Recruitment Center on the base.

Starting at the main intersection 300 meters away from the front gates and sentry box, they held a 9meter banner reading “IN THE NAME OF GOD STOP THE WARS” and smaller placards saying “Bring The troops Home”. After 20 minutes they processed to the gates. Every 30 metres they hammered a white cross by the roadside. Each cross carried an inscription mourning the death and destruction of war. There was a short reflection on each inscription (such as ‘children killed’, ‘soldiers killed’, ‘prisoners tortured’) before moving on.

At the front gates the group was met by a line of police and barricades across both sides of the normally wide open entrance to the base. Capping off this “defense” of Enoggera Army Barracks was a large road sign with words formed by small flashing lights to notify everyone of the situation. The military and police had certainly magnified the visual impact!

While Jason McLeod talked to the police about what was going to happen, a table was set up with a sign reading “ Peace Recruitment Center ” on the front. Sean O’Reilly opened with a short talk and read from (former ‘human shield’) Donna Mulhearn’s direct experiences of the suffering caused by our invasion of Iraq . He invited others to speak, and Josephite Sister Kaye McPadden reminded everyone of the traditional owners of the land we were on, and the suffering and death caused by another undeclared war by the European invaders. Tony Robinson spoke of how his faith had brought him to this place on this day. Anne Rampa spoke of the need to recapture people’s imagination. The mass media had captured their imagination to fear “terrorists” but condone greater terrorism because of that fear. She also said the terrible trauma the Iraqi population was suffering meant we should ‘bring home the troops and send in the therapists!’. Jim Dowling read from the Nuremburg Principles and recalled that Justice Jackson, Chief prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials, had declared that the primary War Crime was initiating a war of Aggression. “This was what Australia had done in Iraq ”, he said

Next, more crosses with names of the dead were then planted around the front of the base. At the same time the children and others decorated the fence with words of peace, cardboard doves and streamers.

In perhaps the most moving part of the action, the children took flowers up to the line of police and handed them to them. Most took them. One officer put them in his large side pocket while others placed them on the ground in front of them. All this was done with the beautiful song “Flowers in the Guns” playing in the background. It was a sight to melt the hardest of hearts.

Next Jason announced it was time for the action of civil disobedience when three of us would try to enter the base to ask the soldiers to refuse to cooperate with the war in Iraq .

A meditative chant, “Veni Sancte Spiritus”, was started up. Between chanting, the three intending to enter each spoke briefly of why they were doing this. It was an emotional moment with many a teary eye, as Lisa spoke of how she would feel as a mother seeing her children suffer through war. Jim also had to stop a number of times as he tried to read a harrowing article by Robert Fisk describing children cut to pieces by US cluster bombs at the start of this Iraq war.

Then the three lifted the peace recruitment table and proceeded towards the base. On reaching the police line, Jason told of their intention to enter. An officer threatened to arrest anyone proceeding any further. When they did so, the three were arrested, and charged with disturbing the peace. “Hey, shouldn’t we be charged with ‘disturbing the war’?” Lisa Bridle asked as they were led away.

After half an hour in the back of the police vans the three were taken way –but not to the watchouse. The police had decided to drop the charges (and the arrestees!) a few kilometers from the base, with the warning that if they went back to the base they would be kept in the watchouse till Monday.

After a short discussion it was agreed this had been a good start to an ongoing campaign of serious resistance to the Enoggera Army Barracks’ ongoing troop deployment to Iraq . The group agreed to meet in a few days and plan the next action.

Jim Dowling 34253003 Jason McLeod0438503532