Student protests against war on Iraq took place in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie yesterday [March 26].

BY KAMALA EMANUEL

In Burnie, 20-30 students rallied and walked through town to the Kmart Plaza where student Matt Hardy has begun his week-long hunger-strike against the war. Hardy says he's on hunger strike because it's a way to protest that's "in people's faces". He wants it to be seen and to make people think, so they get the government to bring the troops home. In the first day of the hunger-strike, 250 people have signed the petition calling for Howard to face the people & bring troops out. "Howard should be charged with war crimes for the loss of innocent lives in Iraq," Hardy said.

As well as a lot of supporters, there has been some abuse from pro-war people. Fellow-campaigner and friend Loki Campbell has appealed for people to show their support for Hardy's hunger strike by spending some time with him. He'll be outside the Kmart Plaza, Mount St Burnie, for a week. Messages of support can be emailled to Matt at <kaboomcha_86@hotmail.com>.

In Hobart, 300 students rallied in Franklin Square, hearing from speakers from the Peace Coalition, Resistance, the Greens and the student anti-war campaign group, the Coalition of the Unwilling, before marching to the Anglesea Barracks chanting "Shame, Howard, shame! Not in our name!" At the barracks, they held a speak-out, while students climbed on the cannon and a 2m high sign, waving their banners at the cars and cheering when motorists honked their horns in support of the protest.

In Launceston, 100-150 students rallied in Civic Square. Students spoke against the war, and heard from pensioner Bob Bensemann who has cancelled his pension in protest against war on Iraq. There was a quiet walk through the city streets. A whole lot of upcoming antiwar actions were announced, including the weekly honk for peace vigil outside the museum, 5pm Friday, the rally for a world without war, Saturday April 5 [11.15 am Civic Square] and a human shield convergence on Bagdad Tasmania on April 27. 

Successful student strike leads to back down by minister

BY ALEX BAINBRIDGE

HOBART – Six hundred students gathered in Franklin Square on March 5 to show their opposition to war on Iraq. The crowd was overwhelmingly made up of secondary students making it the largest gathering of secondary students for years – bigger than the walkout against Hanson’s racism in 1998.

Prior to the rally, the event had provoked controversy since students would be missing school. State education minister Paula Wriedt made a call to the organisers (via the media) to reschedule the event until after school hours. Organisers responded by trying to meet with Wriedt, however, after three days of trying to arrange an appointment, they were able to meet only one of her advisers.

On the day, Wriedt’s tone was overwhelmingly supportive of the students. While she told television and print media that she still had reservations about students missing school, she congratulated them for ``express[ing] their views’’.

Media focus on the wagging prompted rally chair Duncan Meerding to tell the Win News that ``this [pointing at the demonstration] is nothing like wagging, wagging is unorganized. This is a strike.’’

State Greens leader Peg Putt, who addressed the rally, told students that there was no more important cause than peace. She received a big cheer when she said ``not only is it your right [to protest], I believe it is your responsibility’’.

That the students protesting were expressing genuine opposition to war was clear when they began chanting ``No war on Iraq’’. Most speakers - including Anna Elliston from Clarence High School, Anthea Stutter from Resistance and Lelia Mihal from Women for Action – were young students.

Schools well represented included: Hobart College, Taroona High, Ogilvie High, Rosny College, New Town High and Guilford Young College. In addition, a number of students from Guilford Young – a private college – were prevented from leaving the school grounds in their uniform and so they sat in the cafeteria and boycotted classes.

Several students from the Friends School – run by the Quakers, ostensibly with a philosophy of supporting peace – defied strong opposition from staff to attend the protest. Staff had told them that attending the protest would be ``striking against the school’’ and therefore was not allowed, even though students believed it could help stop the war.

A large number of students from the Mount Carmel School also held a protest on Sandy Bay Road outside their school on the day. An assistant principal at the school told Green Left that the decision to hold the protest there was a student response to staff refusals to allow students to attend the city demonstration.

Teachers at a number of other schools encouraged students to attend the protest.

After the rally concluded, a meeting of the rally organisers - the Coalition of the Unwilling – and students who attended on the day decided to hold another strike on March 26.

Read the national report from Green Left Weekly:
30,000 students strike against war, plan to strike again March 26.

For more info, check out the Books not Bombs website (www.booksnotbombs.org.au).

For more pictures, click here.

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