Ahoy Melbournites

So, who's going to Sforzando tonight?

Oh, yeah..

From the RAC mailing list:

An urgent rally will block traffic on Human Rights Day at one of the busiest intersections in Melbourne this Friday night, to highlight the desperate situation facing people on both sides of the razor wire.

The rally will start at the corner of Bourke and Swanston St in the City this Friday at 5pm. We will then be proceeding to the corner of Flinders and Swanston St, where the protest will occupy the intersection. We'll have leaflets and flowers for passersby and those held up in the traffic, 40 placards to explain the holdup, and a PA to let people know about the situation facing refugees.

The rally has been called on short notice by the Refugee Action Collective, in collaboration with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. The rally was spurred by the desperate situation inside Baxter detention centre, and the campaign by Sri Lankan refugees living in Melbourne against the imminent threat of deportation.

Sri Lankan refugees, many of whom have lived in the community for ten years, are now being told by the Government that they must return to the country  from which they fled. Many of these people have been stripped of rights to  work, study, or even to access medical treatment. Last Friday, media highlighted the case of a Sri Lankan family who have been told they must leave Australia because their child is disabled. There are over 700 families facing deportation in Melbourne alone. Sri Lankan refugees and the Asylum Seeker  Resource Centre have inititated a campaign for permanent protection, and have decided to work with RAC on this human rights day rally.

Meanwhile, Baxter continues to boil. On Tuesday media reported that an Iranian man had climbed on to the roof of one of the compounds and was refusing  to come down. Detainees are still subject to a new regime of having to get  on a bus to another compound in order to get medicine -- "you must go to the medical compound" has in the past been an excuse to get detainees on to a bus that then went to the airport for deportation. The hunger strike by Sri Lankan detainees has been called off after DIMIA promised to review the cases, but the Sri Lankans and the other refugees in Baxter, around two hundred people, are still locked up without charge, trial or release date after three years or more.

The rally hopes to bring some attention and some pressure to bear around these issues. By engaging in civil disobedience, by blocking traffic, we hope to highlight the urgency of the situation facing refugees, and show our determination to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters.

Please spread the word about this important demonstration as far as you can.

Please note -- for those not willing or able to block traffic, we still urge you to attend. We need people handing out leaflets to passersby and to cars, and we need people standing in support around the protest.