Loewenstein: Manus protest is failing, so let’s talk about a boycott of Australia
Industries like sporting and tourism could be turned into tools for fighting indefinite incarceration.
The World
Nov 13, 2017
Let’s talk about boycotting Australia.
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Not going to work fast enough for the folks on Manus. Sensible strategy for the long term though.
Not the worst idea I’ve read.
We need a remedy to stop the government of the day enacting policy and legislation that has neither popular support or policy purity (or at least some policy reality). This, the revamped trade treaty and mindless sovereignty destroying ISDS provisions – thank god that Trudeau pulled out this time, the Iraq war (90%+ public against it), recalcitrance on same sex marriage, the war on drugs, the list is long!
We need some mechanism that stops the buggers in their tracks.
This is a good start though, somehow we need better, a solution for much more than this, to end the disconnection between the voters will and the pollies.
Citizen initiated referendums and recall elections.
Real democracy would fix a lot of problems.
Anthony Loewenstein overkooks the fact that the EU has currently adopted similar tactics as Australia to restrict the flow of African immigrants to Europe. The EU finances Libyan patrol boats to prevent would-be immigrants leaving Libyan shores for a Mediterranean crossing. Those prevented from leaving are warehoused in camps reportedly more squalid than those in PNG. Peter Bailey
No he didn’t, Peter:
“And it’s been working for 25 years with Australia now inspiring hardline European policies.”
I can understand the frustration but this approach has real dangers. It may in fact harden opinions and policy in the opposite direction to what is sought. If you look at international responses to refugees and migration it is hard to see much that is positive. Open access for refugees is unsaleable whatever the moral strength of the position. What is needed is an approach that encourages people and the political parties to walk back from the extreme position we have reached. It is not going to suddenly change completely. That process does not have to be gentle. One possibility is to see how comfortable people are with Australia running concentration camps – a very emotionally loaded description – but which is an accurate label for Dutton’s camps going back to the original meaning rather than a WW2 one.
I do believe this is one idea that could wake people up to what is happening with these refugees. A blanket message across Australia emphasising the ignorance and apathy of many German people to what was happening in the concentration camps (though the concentration camps were in a league of their own) and to what is happening in our detention centres may open people’s eyes to this unlawful and cruel treatment of asylum seekers in our country.
I’m doing my bit by not buying or supporting Rupert Murdoch NewsCrap products.
Anthony is the Peter Tatchel of race. Needed but abhorred even ore.
… even “more”.
Good Worker and see me
Protest isn’t failing, it’s barely happening.
Boycotts are the weakest form of political response beyond signing a petition.