Australia

Protests slam Philippines-Australia military pact

Anti-war and progressive groups in the Philippines have requested Australian solidarity against a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement between Australia and the Philippines currently before the Philippines Senate for ratification. On June 6 there were two anti-war demos against this Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which is seen as part of a US-led military build up in the Asian region aimed at China.

WGAR News: avaaz.org petition: Stop the next Indigenous Intervention ...

Newsletter date: 16 June 2012

Contents:
* avaaz.org Petition: Stop the next indigenous intervention - bring self-partnership back to Aboriginal policy making
* ACM Sydney: Last-ditch call to Senators to drop Stronger Futures
* Background to support for the Yolngu statement
* The Malpa Project fully supports the statement of the Yolngu Nations Assembly and the people of the Eastern Alyawarr Region
* Australian Peace Committee expresses support for the Yolngu Nations
* Bankstown Sydney Rally marks 5 years of NT Intervention: 12 noon, 16 June 2012

Creative censorship by Australian government funded media: The Conversation

I decided to put these incidents on public record for the benefit of the Australian society and to uphold the original purpose of the tax payer funded Internet media – The CONVERSATION.

The CONVERSATION is funded by the Australian government for the following purposes:

Who We Are: “We aim to be a site you can trust.â€

WGAR News: Tangentyere CEO and the Gurindji People speak against extension of the NT Intervention

Newsletter date: 14 June 2012

Contents:
* Background to support for the Yolngu statement
* Gurindji People of Daguragu and Kalkarinji call on government to get rid of 'Stronger Futures' laws
* Tangentyere CEO, Walter Shaw, calls for help from 'fair-minded' Australians
* WCC appeals to Government of Australia to respect the wishes of Yolngu Nations Assembly
* FATSILC statement regarding Stronger Futures Bill and Northern Territory Policies
* NCSMC stands in union with Yolngu Nations and opposes Stronger Futures Bill

Hazara refugee threatens to sue ABC over Four Corners story

by: Paul Maley, National Security Correspondent
From: The Australian June 14, 2012
A HAZARA refugee named on the ABC's Four Corners program as an "agent" of people-smugglers is threatening legal action against the national broadcaster unless an apology is issued and the "defamatory" claims withdrawn.

Medhi Rezaiee was named as collecting a payment on behalf of his brother, Mohammed Ali, as part of a Four Corners program into people-smuggling activities in Australia.

On the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia

The Philippine-Australia military agreement, known as the Status of the Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA), which was poised to be ratified by the Philippine senate on June 6, has now been postponed until late July for final ratification. The SOVFA will enable Australian troops to conduct military exercises and other related activities in the Philippines. The SOVFA, as with the US Visiting Forces Agreement, sets the guidelines for the treatment of visiting Australian troops. The SoVFA was signed in Canberra in May 2007.

WGAR News: Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia - 21 events from 12 June 2012

Newsletter date: 12 June 2012

Upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia
- 21 events from 12 June 2012

Click on the links for details of the events ...

Event: 4 May - 8 July 2012: Circular Quay, Sydney, NSW
Manuwangku, Under the Nuclear Cloud
Photographs by Jagath Dheerasekara
Curated by Sandy Edwards
Head On Photo Festival
""The photographs are excellent. They are a moving
portrayal of Aboriginal Australia that all Australians
aught to know about on an issue that wont go away."
- John Pilger, Writer and Filmmaker, January 2012"

HRA release: It is not that charges needed to be laid but rather the truth and an apology from the Office of the Prime Minister

It still remains important for the Office of the Prime Minister to come clean about the extent of their role in trying to orchestrate members of Aboriginal Tent Embassy to attend the Lobby restaurant on Australia Day.

Special public forum on racism and police violence at Trades Hall, Melbourne

Socialist Alternative invites you to a
SPECIAL PUBLIC FORUM
Racism and Police Violence
Thursday June 21, 6:30pm
SA Centre, Trades Hall
(corner of Victoria St and Lygon St)

Speakers:
Tamar Hopkins, Principal Solicitor for Flemington & Kensington Community Legal Centre, industry expert on police and racism
Robbie Thorpe, Aboriginal activist and one of the Organisers of the Victorian Tent Embassy
Gerry Georgatos, Journalist and PhD researcher into Australian deaths in custody and Australian prisons and detention centres
Louisa Bassini, Long-time Socialist and anti-racism activist