Refugee protests – democracy at work
Posted by John, December 2nd, 2016 - under Parliament, Refugees.
Tags: Asylum seekers, Democracy
Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance
My letter in Friday’s Canberra Times
Democracy demo
The refugee protest at Parliament House was a great display of democracy, bringing the voice of voiceless refugees to the attention of the wider public. It interrupted for a few minutes the daily posturing of the wafflers and trough sniffers in Parliament and highlighted the lives permanently interrupted on Manus Island and Nauru. This is what democracy looks like.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s description of the protest as the opposite of democracy was bizarre and served to try and deflect attention from the fact that Labor supports these concentration camps.
It shows how far the Labor Party has degenerated.
The labour movement was born out of protest and struggle, and those struggles continue today. The war criminals, human rights abusers and overseers of the concentration camps on Manus Island and Nauru who currently infect the major parties, and some crossbenchers, should take note. The time for playing by their rules is over.
Let’s shut down our cities and our parliaments to shut down Australia’s offshore and onshore gulags.
Comment from Chris Warren
Time December 2, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Yes
You cannot reduce democracy to just the dealings of the State apparatus and the State can be challenged by social movements.
I am sure that the protesters did not intend that their action would swing any parliamentarians, but rather sought to create a media event that would engage with millions across Australia.