Thousands defy Australia gov’t, protest brutality
https://themilitant.com/2020/06/13/thousands-defy-australia-govt-protest-brutality/
BY LINDA HARRIS
Vol. 84/No. 24
June 22, 2020
Thousands defy Australia gov’t, protest brutality
MILITANT/BASKARAN APPU
SYDNEY — Tens of thousands protested across Australia June 5-6,
including more than 20,000 here, in solidarity with U.S. demonstrations
against the police killing of George Floyd as well as against Aboriginal
deaths in police custody. The cops in New South Wales appealed to a
Supreme Court judge for a ban on the protest, ostensibly because of the
government’s ban on social gatherings due to coronavirus, and got it.
Just before the action began, the Court of Appeals voided the ban.
Outrage had been further fueled after a Sydney cop was caught on camera
just a week before, slamming an Aboriginal teenager face first into the
ground. The rally in Melbourne also went ahead despite government
demands to cancel it. The authorities say organizers still face fines
for disobeying public health orders.
Many carried handmade signs saying, “Aboriginal lives matter” and “432
deaths — No convictions.” That’s the number of Aboriginal people a
government inquiry said have died at the hands of police or prison
guards since 1991. Not one of those responsible has been convicted.
In Wollongong, a city of about 300,000 just south of Sydney, several
thousand marched through the city center.
At the rally here messages were read out from family members of
indigenous people who have died in custody. One was from Leetona Dungay,
the mother of David Dungay, a 26-year-old man killed by prison guards at
Long Bay jail in Sydney in December 2015.
Dungay, like Floyd, had repeatedly told guards, “I can’t breathe” before
he died. “I am determined to continue to fight to see justice for my
son,” she said.
Worldwide protests say, ‘End police brutality!’
More than two weeks after Minneapolis cops brutally killed George Floyd,
protests on an unprecedented scale continue to sweep the world. From big
cities to rural towns in the U.S. and elsewhere, hundreds of thousands,
if not millions, have joined…
Protests, workers’ resistance to bosses spur interest in the ‘Militant,’
books
The protests against police brutality that are sweeping the U.S. and the
world — combined with resistance to the bosses’ attacks as the
capitalist economic crisis unfolds — have boosted interest in the
Militant newspaper, books by Socialist Workers Party…
Cops and their violence are an essential part of capitalist rule
Alyson Kennedy, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for president,
issued the following statement June 9. Malcolm Jarrett is the party’s
candidate for vice president. The explosion of demonstrations against
the Minneapolis cop killing of George Floyd that have swept the…
Front Page Articles
Worldwide protests say, ‘End police brutality!’
Cops and their violence are an essential part of capitalist rule
French auto workers strike over Renault plant closures
Workers fight boss attacks on jobs, pay, work conditions
Planned Parenthood wins fight to keep Missouri abortion clinic open
Protests, workers’ resistance to bosses spur interest in the ‘Militant,’
books
Feature Articles
Frank Gorton built communist movement in Canada, UK, US
Also In This Issue
Thousands defy Australia gov’t, protest brutality
Supreme Court upholds attack on right to worship
Florida gov’t restrictions on former prisoners’ right to vote pushed back
Hong Kong workers mark Tiananmen Square massacre
Protest in Syria: Down with Assad! Moscow, Tehran out of our country
SWP ‘stimulus’ appeal climbs over $116,000
Books of the Month
‘Building socialism is a voluntary task of free men and women’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
© Copyright 2020 The Militant - 306 W. 37th Street, 13th floor - New
York, NY 10018 - themilitant@xxxxxxx
Cookies
This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Learn more.
Okay, thanks
--
___
Carl Sagan
“Every aspect of Nature reveals a deep mystery and touches our sense of wonder
and awe. Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to
nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will
prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront
the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the
Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will
penetrate its deepest mysteries.”
― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
