The Abbott government has just announced that Australia will be dropping bombs on Syria. Call him and say no to more bombs: (02) 6277 7700
This week as the world was confronted with a glimpse into the tragedy unfolding in Syria, the Prime Minister was planning his next national security announcement to drop bombs on this already devastated country. Nothing good can come from dropping bombs. Syria is being torn apart by a president who is killing his own people, as well as a brutal militant regime. If there’s one thing that Syria doesn’t need it’s more bombs and more suffering.
The PM also announced that Australia would welcome 12,000 Syrian refugees.
Every refugee that the government accepts is another person with the chance to live in safety. We welcome that. But let’s be clear dropping bombs on Syria will only create more refugees and more suffering. It won’t make Syrians safer in Syria, and it won’t make Australians any safer either.
The online activism platform GetUp! commented:
Less than a week ago, we woke to
the harrowing photo of little Aylan Kurdi, drowned. We read the story of a
family torn apart by a tragedy marked by global indifference. And we were
horrified as we saw our government's attempt to shut down compassion with the
usual slogan, "Stop the Boats".
But together, GetUp members and our friends across the movement took that community grief and despair that
Aylan's death sent around Australia, and transformed it into powerful public
pressure to offer safety to Syrian refugees. Now the lives of 12,000 people
fleeing danger will dramatically change for the better.
On Monday and Tuesday, GetUp members and our friends, family and allies came
together to act – lighting the dark in the tens of thousands in cities and
towns across the country. And images of those vigils didn't only light up the
front pages and nightly news; they lit a fire under leaders on both sides of
the political divide. Politicians
arguing for generosity pointed to our vigils as a sign of powerful public
sentiment.2
On Monday morning, Tony Abbott was still refusing to move more than a token
amount. But after the nationwide vigils began, on Tuesday morning, see the
front page of the Victorian Herald Sun below. [It’s Australia’s largest-circulation
daily belonging to the ultra-conservative
Rupert
Murdoch.]
And today? Things are beginning to change.
For the first time in so long, the Australian government is showing humanity
towards refugees, providing real, permanent safety to those in need, genuinely
beginning to step up and play its part in the biggest refugee crisis since
World War II. Last Thursday, I felt
helpless. But today, I am filled with pride in Australia, and hope for what
comes next. And it's because of you.
Click here to see
what we made possible together.
This announcement is far from perfect, and it leaves much of the harsh reality
of Australian refugee policy untouched. Our detention centres are still full of
people suffering abuse at the hands of our government and the corporations
which profit from these cruel policies. Some
of those we keep caged in danger are children just like Aylan.
But today's news is so much more than anyone imagined was possible last week –
and I truly believe it could be a turning point for refugee policy in
Australia.
We have broken through the wall of cruelty that has stood around Canberra for
far too long. Together, we've moved the national conversation from fear and
boats to understanding and welcome. We've moved from talking about whether
Australia will help to talking about how much Australia will do. Our
headlines have been full of politicians of all stripes calling for Australia to
do more for refugees, and be the generous country we know we can be.
The tide is beginning to change, and
that's thanks to everyone who took action this week.
We know we've still got a lot more work to do – like getting children out of
detention, and ending the system that allows companies to profit from the abuse
of people seeking asylum.
When it comes to Australia's treatment of refugees, hope can be hard to come
by. But by standing shoulder to shoulder over the past few days, we proved just
how much is possible.
'Strategic folly'
“After careful consideration and in response to the request some weeks ago by President Obama, the Government has also decided to extend Australia's current air strikes against Daesh in Iraq to Daesh targets in Syria as well,” Abbott said.
He explained why in plain terms. Australia wants to drop more bombs on the forces of Islamic State.
“There can be no stability and no end to the persecution and suffering in the Middle East until the Daesh death cult is degraded and ultimately destroyed,” Prime Minister Abbott said. “That's what our armed forces are doing in Iraq and we need to do it in Syria too.”
Australian Super Hornet fighter-bombers will now be tasked into the current operations of coalition air forces. According to the Chief of the Defence Force, Mark Binskin, “there is a programming of participation in strikes and we will be part of that programming henceforth.”
At least in theory, these strikes will be against Islamic State, and not, at least in theory, in support of the government forces of Bashar al-Assad.
Exactly how that works in practice must surely be anyone’s guess.
- See more at: https://newmatilda.com//2015/09/10/few-solutions-little-cause-optimism-a...
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