Australian's protest US military base and war

The protest at the Pine Gap joint defence facility grew today as parliamentarians and doctors joined protesters and local residents at the gates in peaceful actions.

Senator Kerry Nettle, newly elected Greens Senator, and Senator Lyn Allison, from the Australian Democrats, joined with 300 protesters at the military installation. Both the Greens and the Democrats committed to continuing calls for a parliamentary inquiry into Australian involvement in a war
against Iraq, including exploring the use of the Pine Gap base.

Doctors from the Medical Association for Prevention of War provided a colourful action which culminated in the presentation of a petition, signed by several hundred medical professionals across Australia, to Base
officials. The petition called for the United States government to relinquish their lease on the facility in the name of public health.
Also joining the protest was a strong and vocal contingent of over 80 local residents from the Alice Springs community who wanted to make clear their opposition to the presence of the military facility.

The morning ended with a local indigenous represented Vince Forrester who spoke strongly about the bases impact on Australian sovereignty.
Friends of the Earth spokesperson, Bruce Thompson said this afternoon, "Despite the seriousness of the global issues we face, people have managed to maintain a large protest at the gates over the past two days with humour and creativity and a strong sense of purpose. This protest and others being
held around Australia and across the world are a part of a catalyst of the resurging peace movement."

The protest will conclude tomorrow with a festival parade through the streets of Alice Springs.

for large versions of these photos and a media contacts list go to
http://www.spacecommand.info

Read the latest press releases from Friends of the earth, OzPeace, Medical Association for Prevention of War go to
http://www.ozpeace.net/media_Pine_Gap.html


some other websites involved with the Pine Gap protests

Friends of the Earth, Australia
http://www.foe.org.au/nc/nc_pine.htm
Ozpeace, http://www.ozpeace.net/
Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition
http://www.anti-bases.org/
Medical Association for Prevention of War, Australia
http://www.mapw.org.au/nationalmissiledefence/nmd-index.html
http://www.spacecommand.info