Anti-war protests follow Bush around the world
By Leslie Feinberg
Like a traveling salesman, Commander-in-Chief
George Bush has been on the road, hawking the U.S. "war on
terror" like snake oil. It's a tough sell.
As Bush jetted to five countries in Southeast Asia and to
Australia in seven days Oct. 17-23, angry demonstrations filled
the streets wherever Air Force One touched down.
Thousands of workers protested in Manila when Bush arrived
for an lightning eight-hour state visit on Oct. 18, widely seen
as a reward to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for sending
soldiers and police to beef up U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
Demonstrators converged on Congress where Bush was addressing
the Joint Houses of legislature and other sites in the
capital.
Nationally coordinated protests also took place in Baguio,
Cordillera, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Cebu, Iloilo-Panay, Samar,
Leyte, Negros, Davao, Cotabato, Agusan Provinces, Cagayan de
Oro and other major urban centers and provinces. More anti-war
protests were scheduled for Oct. 25.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)--one of the biggest union
federations in the Philippines--issued a statement stressing
that the policies of Bush and Arroyo have "brought serious
setbacks in the economies of both countries. High unemployment
and massive retrenchment caused widespread industrial unrest
among workers and labor unions. Poor people and other patriotic
and peace-loving sectors continue to protest over the unjust
war launched by Bush and supported by Arroyo. We declare them
enemies of the working class."
KMU Secretary General Joel Mag lunsod castigated the police
blockades and use of force against protesters. He concluded,
"Bush wants to impose what he failed to achieve during the
World Trade Organization Conference in Can cun, which is to
forge 'free trade agreements' with Asian states. We urge
peoples all over Asia to frustrate the U.S. economic and
military agenda in the region."
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-BAYAN--the militant
Philippine anti-imperialist movement, reported on
demonstrations in other parts of Asia during Bush's seven-day
trip.
Anti-imperialist and anti-war groups in Japan held
nationwide mass actions on Oct. 17 to demand an end to the
Pentagon occupation of Iraq and to protest the Koizumi
government's deployment of Japanese troops there.
In Thailand, the Workers' Democracy, a coalition united
against the U.S. occupation of Iraq, organized demonstrations
against its government sending 1,000 Thai soldiers to Iraq.
Organizers explained that the march from the World Trade Center
in Bangkok to the Siam Center retraced the route of the
historic 1975 protest demanding the dismantling of U.S.
military bases there.
And mass anti-war sentiment in Britain and Australia have
reached such critical mass that the Connecticut Cowboy faced
embarrassing rebuffs from the political establishments of these
two main imperialist allies.
Bush can run, but he can't hide
The Canberra, Australia, visit was the last leg of Bush's
six-nation jaunt. The Australian government has contributed
troops and military hardware to the imperialist military
assault on Afghanistan and Iraq and backed Washington's war
drive politically in the United Nations.
Right-wing Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a servile
ally of Wash ing ton, welcomed Bush with open arms and an
invitation to address a joint sitting of parliament's two
legislative houses.
Outside Parliament House on Oct. 23, a massive security
apparatus skirmished with thousands of anti-war protesters.
Activists pressed against police barricades as Bush's motorcade
screeched up to the entrance, banging drums and chanting
"George Bush go home and take Howard with you!"
Later, near the U.S. Embassy, anti-war activists broke
though the police barriers. After being pushed back by the mass
of police force, demonstrators marched to Howard's official
residence, where the Australian leader was hosting a lunch for
the U.S. president. Others stood up to security forces and
their attack dogs outside the U.S. Embassy compound where Bush
spent the night. (CNN.com, Oct. 23)
A day earlier, an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 activists
marched against Bush in Sydney.
This popular anger was reflected inside parliament. As Bush
tried to defend the Pentagon-led aggression against Afghan
istan and Iraq. Two Green Party Senators, Bob Brown and Kerry
Nettle, disrupted and heckled the U.S. head of state,
challenging him on the war drive and denounced the "free trade"
agreement that Bush and Howard are reportedly negotiating in
secret. They also demanded the return of two Australian
nationals--Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks--held at the U.S.
naval base at Guantánamo, Cuba, called on Bush to
respect international law.
So hot is the breath of widespread anger on Howard's neck
regarding these brutal and illegal internments, that the prime
minister reportedly told Bush during their 40-minute private
discussion, "It probably suits everybody that their fates be
worked out sooner rather than later.
Together with hundreds of other "suspects," Habib and Hicks
have been caged in Guantánamo without charges for two
years and "both face U.S. military trails with limited access
to legal advice, their families and lawyers have said." (AP,
Oct. 23) Habib's wife and 18-year-old son Ahmed, and Hicks
lawyer were in the parliament public gallery. Ahmed was ejected
after standing and calling out to Bush: "What about my Dad's
rights?"
Both Senators resisted being removed by the sergeant at arms
after the speaker of the House ordered them ousted from the
chamber.
Some 13 Labor legislators, mostly women, sat silently,
refusing to rise for a standing ovation at the end of the
speech. Earlier, 41 opposition lawmakers had signed a letter
criticizing the Bush-led war drive, "saying that a clear and
present danger in Iraq did not exist." According to the Oct. 27
Business Day, Labor Party leader Simon Crean had ordered them
all to behave during Bush's speech.
Had CNN not defied the Australian government's orders not to
film inside the chamber, viewers around the world would not
have seen a close-up of Bush's face twitch or the scuffling as
Howard and loyal politicians formed a jostling cordon to help
the U.S. president make a quick exit. Nettle tried to hand Bush
some papers, but he refused to take them.
No pomp due to circumstance
At this point, Bush desperately needs a good photo
opportunity. His senior aides thought it would be jolly if the
sovereign ruler of the U.S. rode together with the Queen of
England in a triumphal procession along London's Mall during
the president's Nov. 19-21 state visit.
The regal procession is traditionally the high point of
public pageantry when a head of state visits. And meticulous
plans were already in the works.
Smiling crowds waving flags on sticks, cheering "bully for
Bush!" Unfortunately these best-laid plans went astray because
so many people in England think of Bush as just that: a
bully.
So the British government had to deliver an unpleasant
message to the Oval Office. After consultations with the House
of Windsor and Scotland Yard, a senior Palace official
announced Oct. 18, "Downing Street, anxious about possible
anti-war protests from the start, has now decided to pull the
plug on it.
"We are liaising with the White House and they have made no
attempt to hide their disappointment," he concluded.
Instead, Bush will be whisked around by helicopter, "to
avoid protesters who line road routes," noted the Oct. 19
Sunday Telegraph.
And, the article continued, a prestigious invit ation to
deliver a speech to the British Parliament has been withdrawn.
"Other proposed events have also been curtailed or cancelled,
and he will not address Parliament because of fears of a
boycott by MPs."
Instead, King George and the Queen of England will be
photographed sipping tea inside Buckingham Palace,
choreographed and under guard. The message these staged
snapshots will deliver to all those outside the fortressed
walls is "Let them eat cake."
Marie Antoinette was a "neo"-con, too.
Reprinted from the Nov. 6, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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