[www-features] Proposed: Climate Change protests start APEC meeting in Sydney

Sun Sep 2 23:59:13 PDT 2007

APEC meeting is starting in Sydney and initial protests have been held.
Proposed feature below and also loaded onto Workpad:
http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/WorkPad
-- 
in solidarity
Takver
one of Sydney IMC, 
Oceania IMC activist

HEADER: <a href="http://sydne.indymedia.org.au">Sydney</a>, Australia:
APEC meeting
TITLE: Climate Change protests start APEC meeting in Sydney
Image:
http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/files/sydimc/images/20070903LoyYangIMGA1521.JPG

==Abstract==

Climate Protests in <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/newcastle-greenpeace-activists-arrested-apec-coal-protest">Newcastle</a>
and <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/apec-climate-change-protest-shuts-down-victorian-coal-power-station">regional
Victoria</a> have kicked off the 2007 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum meeting being hosted by conservative Australian Prime
Minister John Howard in Sydney 2-9 September 2007, and being attended by
USA President George Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese
President Hu Jintao and other Pacific rim leaders. Much of the northern
CBD of Sydney including the famed Opera House has been contained by a
nine foot high concrete and wire security fence, dubbed unofficially the
Great Wall of APEC and signals <a
href="http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/2010">the rise of military
urbanism in Australia</a>. 

An initial <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/newcastle-greenpeace-activists-arrested-apec-coal-protest">protest
by Greenpeace</a> in the <a
href="http://www.risingtide.org.au/peoplesblockade">world's biggest coal
port</a> of Newcastle has highlighted the Australian Government
addiction to the coal lobby which is behind its spoiler role in
international negotiations on climate change. A second action in the
State of Victoria <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/apec-climate-change-protest-shuts-down-victorian-coal-power-station">shut
down the Loy Yang Coal Power plant</a> for 5 hours on Monday as a <a
href="http://climateimc.org/en/breaking-news/2007/09/02/real-action-climate-change">direct
action message</a> to the leaders of APEC to take concrete action on
climate change. An <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51561">Aboriginal Tent
Embassy</a> has been established to highlight the genocidal policies of
succeeding Australian Governments. Further protests are set to occurr
over the next week.

<a href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au">Sydney Indymedia</a> | 
<a href="http://climateimc.org">Climate IMC</a> | 
<a href="http://www.realactiononclimatechange.blogspot.com/">Real Action
on Climate Change</a> | 
<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/?cat=7">Greenpeace on
APEC</a>

==Main==

The <a
href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ampa2007252/">APEC
Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007</a> came into force on August 30 and
remain valid to September 12, 2007. It includes a list of people the
police can exclude from the city centre, plus expanded powers of stop,
search and detention, and confiscation of items from people, including
prohibition of photographs by tourists of security areas. The measures
in this Act amount to a new form of detention without trial, and
constitute <a
href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/may2007/apec-m21.shtml">a direct
attack</a> on freedom of political expression and movement, aimed at
outlawing dissent and stifling opposition to the APEC meeting.

Leading up to the APEC meeting the Federal Government hosted a <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51529">top-level meeting of
defence chiefs</a> from 19 nations, under a cloak of secrecy. Prime
Minister John Howard, amoung many politicians and the media have been
stirring up an expectation of violent protest to <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51554">marginalise and
criminalise dissent and protest</a> at the APEC meeting, and to justify
use of excessive police violence at protests. Activists around Australia
are known to be <a
href="http://perth.indymedia.org/index.php?action=newswire&parentview=107387">under
observation by police intelligence</a> units. A Melbourne Bus company
has <a href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51545">cancelled its
contract</a> to provide buses to antiwar protestors to travel to Sydney.

Non Government Organisations have established a <a
href="http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/?cat=7">media centre</a>
for daily policy analysis. On 17th August the NGO media centre leaked a
copy of the <a
href="http://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/energy/?p=22">APEC Leaders
Statement</a> on Climate Change, which highlights the dithering and
delaying approach to climate action by George Bush and John Howard.
Other issues that need addressing include <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/howard-should-raise-issue-west-papua-indonesian-president-apec">West
Papua</a> and human rights and refugees. Australia has been acccused of
refugee refoulement, the latest examples being the <a
href="http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/story/australia-accused-refugee-refoulement-deportations-china">forced
deportation of refugees</a> to China.