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In
this Edition:
* Editorial: Major challenges
and opportunities for
campaigning for peace and
independence in 2017
* Where are we going this year ?
IPAN campaign plans
* Just Revealed: CIA knew 30
years ago that Pine Gap was a
high priority nuclear target
* Australia must join the UN
negotiations to prohibit nuclear
weapons
* Letter to SMH: With Donald
Trump in power, Australia
urgently needs to re-evaluate
its US bases
* Nonviolent Action: Why and
How it Works
* US military increases Darwin
Marine Base Build-up
* New Zealand spy base works
for Donald Trump now protesters
say
* One White House Phone call and
Australia is at war- Scott
Ludlam and the war powers reform
bill
*
Defence worker states
there is no need for extra
spending on submarines or air
warfare destroyers
* The Coming War on China: John
Pilger's film showings
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Editorial
–Major Challenges and
Opportunities for campaigning
for Peace and Independence in
2017
The IPAN co-ordination committee
and friends of IPAN met in
Sydney on the weekend of 4-5th
February to develop a strategy
for implementing IPAN’s
objectives in 2017 and beyond
and plans for their
implementation.
These plans and strategies were
considered within the current
political framework of the
election of US President Donald
Trump and the impact this
election might have on
Australia’s Foreign Policy and
the US-Australia Alliance.
It was felt that the dangers of
war and the opportunities for
peace and independence both draw
closer in 2017. How to avoid the
former and advance the latter is
our major challenge
Whilst there is still
uncertainty about the directions
Trump may take in international
relations, the meeting
identified two possibilities
which would impact on Australia.
Firstly, Trump has stated that
the allies of the US must take
more responsibility including
financial responsibility for
their defence and not rely on
the US. This dependency has
been, of course, the central
tenet of the foreign and defence
policy embraced by successive
Australian Governments and the
major political parties since
the Second World War. Many
commentators are expressing
concerns about Trump’s behaviour
in the context of the Alliance.
This political climate is
favourable for IPAN and all
organisations and individuals
who are campaigning for a new
direction and an independent
direction, in foreign policy, to
step up their campaigning.
Read on
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Where
are we going this year ?
At IPAN’s planning meeting of
4-5 February, decisions were
made about 2017 strategies for
promoting and campaigning for
an independent and peaceful
Australia .
IPAN’s major campaigns
this year are:
- Move
the Money ( from
offensive military spending
into social useful and
necessary sectors of our
society); this aligns with
an international campaign to
curb military spending by 5%
this year. Would you like to
be involved ? Email: IPAN
Secretary: ipan.au...@gmail.com
- No
War with China: Based
on an assessment of the
directions of US foreign
policy (and associated
uncertainties with its new
President) alerting the
Australian people in many
sectors to the dangers of
Australia being drawn into
such a conflict through the
Alliance with the US. And
making preparation to unite
for national action with all
those who would oppose such
a war. Initially
this campaign will consist
of a newspaper
advertisement signed by
500 to 1000 peace
activists and
organisations (you
or your organisation can
be one if you wish) Email:
IPAN Secretary: ipan.australia@gmail
.com
3. Opposition to US
Military Bases. Continued
opposition to US military bases
on Australian soil including the
US marines stationed in
Darwin including the additional
aircraft landing and support
infrastructure in Darwin and
Tindal for US B1 bombers under
the Force Posture Agreement with
the US, as well as continued
opposition to Pine Gap. You can
be involved: Email: IPAN
Secretary: ipan.au...@gmail.com
Friends of IPAN
IPAN will continue to develop
relationships with like- minded
organisations and seek their
support, together with IPAN
affiliates to implement these
campaigns.
In addition IPAN is offering the
opportunity to be “Friends of
IPAN”, to individuals not
involved through organisational
links with IPAN to be directly
involved in its campaigns.
You can be a friend of
IPAN by emailing
your interest to:
IPAN Secretary: ipan.au...@gmail.com
IPAN will continue with
these Important Liaisons and
support their campaigns:
- ICAN
liaison and
support their campaigning
for Australian support for
development of the United
Nations Treaty to ban
nuclear weapons
- AWPR
liaison to
support their campaign to
reform the war powers to
ensure that decisions are
made in parliament in
relation to taking Australia
to war rather than by the PM
and a handful of people
around him which involves no
democratic decision making.
- Liaison
with trade unions
to help develop their
support for a peaceful and
independent Australia
IPAN National
Conference 2017
- Theme:
“Don’t be Trumped
into War”- a National
Conference on War, Peace
and Independence
- Date:
Weekend of 9 and 10th
September
- Location:
Melbourne
- We
hope you make a diary
entry and commitment to
attend this one which we
believe with be IPAN’s
largest national
conference yet.
-
Project : A Vision:
IPAN has a working group
developing a vision of a
foreign policy for a
peaceful and independent
Australia and would
appreciate input from anyone
interested in this important
project; email: IPAN
Secretary: ipan.au...@gmail.com
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JUST
REVEALED:
CIA KNEW 30 YEARS AGO
PINE GAP WAS A HIGH-PRIORITY
NUCLEAR TARGET
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Top
secret CIA document from
the end of the Cold War
shows just how likely it
is that the Northern
Territory's Pine Gap
joint spy base could be
a target, a foreign
policy expert has said.
The CIA
this month put nearly a
million historical
documents online, and
the 1980s document shows
authorities expected the
Pine Gap joint spy base
near Alice Springs to be
attacked in the event of
a US-Soviet nuclear
fight.
A 1987
briefing, marked "top
secret", refers to a
draft Australian defence
white paper given to the
US that conceded Pine
Gap "would be attacked"
if the US and the Soviet
Union had a nuclear
fight.
But
Australia's final white
paper that year used
different wording. It
said in the event of
such a remote chance of
nuclear conflict, there
was a "risk" the spy
base "might" be
attacked.
READ ON
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Dear
Supporters,
At a time of
great global
instability
and tension,
it's more
important than
ever to
support
efforts to
eliminate the
nuclear
threat. Next
month,
negotiations
will begin at
the United
Nations on a
treaty
outlawing
nuclear
weapons.
The United
States, which
possesses
approximately
6,800 nuclear
weapons, has
voiced its
strong
opposition to
these
negotiations.
It's urging
allies,
including
Australia, not
to
participate.
But Australia,
as a sovereign
nation, should
decide for
itself whether
to join this
historic
process. The
government
should listen
to its people,
not take
orders from
the Trump
administration.
Here
are two
important ways
that you can
put pressure
on the
Australian
government to
participate:
1.
SIGN OUR PETITION TO THE FOREIGN MINISTER:
2.
CALL THE
FOREIGN
MINISTER'S
OFFICE:
Hon
Julie Bishop
MP, Foreign
Minister
(02) 6277 7500
(Canberra)
(08) 9388 0288
(Perth)
Ask whether
Australia will
participate in
the UN
negotiations
on a treaty to
prohibit
nuclear
weapons, which
are set begin
on 27 March.
Explain why
you believe
it's so
crucial that
we take part.
Australia has
joined
treaties
banning
chemical
weapons,
biological
weapons,
anti-personnel
landmines and
cluster
munitions. Now
it must help
negotiate a
ban on nuclear
weapons.
Yesterday 21
Nobel peace
prize winners,
including the
Dalai Lama and
former Soviet
leader Mikhail
Gorbachev,
urged
governments to
join the
negotiations.
Australia must
heed their
call!
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With
Donald Trump in power,
Australia urgently needs to
re-evaluate its US bases
·Margaret
Beavis
(Letter
to the Editor published in
Sydney Morning Herald)
Recent changes to the US
National Security Council
should be ringing loud alarm
bells in Canberra.
By demoting the
highest-ranking military
officer and the
highest-ranking intelligence
officer, and
appointing political
adviser Stephen Bannon as a
permanent member of the NSC,
Donald Trump has seriously
escalated the risk of the US
launching into ill-advised
conflicts. Bannon comes from
a role as chairman of the
racist, Islamophobic website
Breitbart.com, and is
reported as having been in
charge of writing the recent
executive order that has
banned US entry for refugees
and citizens from seven
Muslim-majority nations.
It is no secret that
Australian foreign policy
and defence forces are
closely enmeshed with the
US. Since Trump has taken
office he has loudly
proclaimed an "America
first" foreign policy, and
his Secretary of State, Rex
Tillerson, talks of denying
China access to artificial
islands in the South China
Sea. Any such blockade is
likely to be seen by the
Chinese as an act of war.
READ ON
Margaret Beavis is a
Melbourne GP and president
of the Medical Association
for Prevention of War.
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Nonviolent
Action: Why and How it Works
By Robert J. Burrowes
January 25, 2017 "Information
Clearing House" -
Nonviolent action is
extremely powerful.
Unfortunately,
however, activists do not
always understand why
nonviolence is so powerful
and they design ‘direct
actions’ that are virtually
powerless.
READ ON
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US
military Increases
Darwin Marine Base
Build-up
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Ostensibly
a part of troop rotation
(as the ABC notes), the
latest US aircraft
deployment to Darwin in
fact triples the size of
the previous contingents
in 2015 and 2016, and by
their own admission,
increases their
capacity.
READ
ON
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| New
Zealand spy base works for
Donald Trump now
protesters say
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Protesters
are calling for the
closure of Marlborough’s
Waihopai spy base for a
new reason this year-
they don’t want United
States President Donald
Trump getting
information out of New
Zealand.
The
annual protest outside
Waihopai Station, west
of Blenheim, focused on
the new American
president with
protesters concerned
about what Trump might
do with the information
the base collected.
Anti
Bases Campaign organiser
Murray Horton said
whistle-blower EWdward
Snowden had proved the
spy base collected phone
and internet data from
New Zealand and south
Pacific countries for US
National Security Agency
READ
ON
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One
White House phone call
and Australia is at war:
-Scott
Ludlam on re-introduction
of the War Powers Reform
Bill
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The Australian Greens
have reintroduced the ‘war
powers’ bill, which would
require Parliamentary approval
before Australian forces are
sent to war.
“When the war powers
bill came before parliament in
the past, we used Prime
Minister Howard’s captain’s
call on the illegal invasion
of Iraq as Exhibit A to
justify the urgency of the
bill. The notion of an
unstable American President
recklessly picking up the
phone to demand a commitment
of Australian forces was a
hypothetical nightmare
scenario. Now it’s a
terrifying likelihood,” said
Australian Greens Co-Deputy
Leader and Defence
spokesperson Senator Scott
Ludlam said today.
“The new U.S.
Administration is not yet a
month old, and we’ve already
seen Donald Trump’s
willingness to berate Prime
Minister Turnbull, a man who
can’t even stand up to his own
conservative colleagues.
“Right now, a
well-practiced Prime
Ministerial capitulation, on
the back of 140 characters of
Presidential unhinging, is all
it will take to send
Australian servicemen and
women to their deaths.
“The United States,
which requires congressional
approval before sending troops
to war, currently has more
protection from impetuous
actions of their President
than Australia does.
“Other democracies,
including Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Ireland, Slovakia,
South Korea, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland and Turkey, set
down troop deployment in
constitutional or legislative
provisions. Parliamentary
approval or consultation is
also routinely undertaken in
Austria, the Czech Republic,
Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands and Norway.
“In 2013 the UK avoided
deep embroilment in the
disastrous conflict in Syria
thanks to the House of Commons
saving David Cameron from
himself.
“It’s a long overdue
reform, and a much-needed
first step in rethinking our
relationship with the United
States under Donald Trump,”
Senator Ludlam said.
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Defence
worker states There is no
need for extra spending on
submarines or air warfare
destroyers
An article in this weekend
Saturday Paper is worth reading
- the 2016 White Paper says
that Australia now has an
adequate defence capability.
The author Mike Gilligan was a
Defence Dept worker for 20 years
concentrating on defence
capability. He argues that in
view of Australia's current
adequate defence
capability,there is no need for
extra spending on submarines or
air warfare destroyers. Also no
need for ANZUS.
Read on |
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Coming War On China
The
Coming War on China is
John Pilger's 60th film
for ITV. Pilger reveals
what the news doesn't -
that the world's
greatest military power,
the United States, and
the world's second
economic power, China,
both nuclear-armed, are
on the road to war.
Pilger's film is a
warning and an inspiring
story of resistance.
Showings
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Voice is produced
and edited by the Media Group of
the IPAN co-ordinating
committee. It is produced for
IPAN affiliates to:
*provide a medium for
communication of their
campaigns and activities
*provide a medium for
discussion of issues central
to IPAN’s objectives
*provide affiliates with
details of co-ordinating
committee activities, media
releases, lobbying activities
and other actions taken on
behalf of IPAN
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issues/events relating to
IPAN’s objectives
Contributions to Voice, in
information or comment, should
be emailed to :
Ipan.au...@gmail.com
and limited, if possible to 200
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The Media Group takes editorial
responsibility for choice of
content and is responsible to
the IPAN co-ordinating
committee.
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