The big Black Hawk helicopters fly over the inner city in the early evening
practising their counter-terrorist routines in preparation for the CHOGM
in Brisbane in October. They remind us all of the preparation that is being
invested in this event - it will cost a mint to provide the security that
the Commonweath Heads of Government seem to require whenever they meet.
One wonders too, as the helicopters continue to intrude into the domestic
space of the Brisbane suburbs, whether it is even remotely worthwhile.
From one perspective, the CHOGM is one great resource-intensive inconvenience
- an outdated concept, the last meaningless relic of a colonial age that
wrought such havoc on the lives of so many colonised people.
Still,
in the end, the CHOGM will go ahead, whether we like it or
not, and lots of people are coming to Brisbane. Many are coming
to take the opportunity to protest on a range of issues - Third
World debt, land rights, human rights, world trade, the environment
and labour standards. The Murdoch-owned Sunday Mail described
the protesters as the vast network of complaint set to hit
Brisbane. This gives a good idea of how the planned protests
will be covered in the local press!
The aftermath
of the recent G8 meeting in Genoa means that the issue of how
protest is conducted cannot be avoided in the lead-up to the
CHOGM. A range of established groups and short-term coalitions
have indicated their intent to protest. Some have stated that
they will blockade the CHOGM and aim to shut it down completely.
Others are not so confronting and seek to use the event to
raise issues and galvanise wider support. The question of effective,
legitimate, democratic protest is an important one, especially
when considering the power of global capital, abetted by the
apparatus of the state, and its inexorable takeover of our
lives. Are the streets now the only place where democratic
political dissent can be effectively exercised? This question
cannot be answered easily but it must be asked - especially
by white, middle-class Christians. It is unavoidable really.
The answer is partly emerging from the anti-globalisation protests
but this is, so far, partial and unsatisfactory. The CHOGM,
like the World Economic Forum in Melbourne in 2000, brings
the questions close to home. As we live the question we may
find the answers. Whatever ensues, this is not a time to rush
to judgement and make quick responses on the basis of edited
and selective television images and superficial press reports.
Our action-reflection must be considered and unafraid. There
is too much at stake for Christians to be indifferent bystanders.
While
the CHOGM is on (and after), the Social Action Office (SAO)
will be supporting Jubilee Australia in its campaign
to have the burden of debt cancelled for many poor, developing
countries. One action being promoted is to buy a ready-made
banner and hang it from buildings. The banners come in either
a 3m x 1m Ôlandscape' or a 2m x 1m Ôportrait' format and are
made of a waterproof vinyl material. Printed on the banners
are the Jubilee Campaign logo and the campaign slogan Drop
the Debt - Debt Kills. A banner costs $130, which includes
postage from Sydney where they are being produced.They will
be a huge help if dozens of them are hanging from buildings
all over Brisbane in October!
Jubilee
Australia is also planning to hold a peaceful protest
at the CHOGM to state the case for debt cancellation. Both
the UK and Canada, the two G8 nations in the CHOGM, have
taken up the cause and this is a good opportunity to give
them and our own Commonwealth Government a move along! The
CHOGM combines G8 nations, developed nations and many developing
nations who are most severely impacted by debt so it is a
unique forum in which to raise this issue - a real test for
the 'Common-Wealth'. More details of Jubilee Australia's
CHOGM campaign are available on their website: http://www.jubileeaustralia.org/
or contact Greg Boyd on (07) 3846 4399.
