JULE 2008: TWO NEW REPORTS based on recently released documents, show Australia's willilngness to test and use weapons of mass destruction during the cold war period.

US PLANNED TO TEST NERVE GAS ON AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS
Newly declassified Australian Defence Department and Prime Minister’s office files show that the United States was strongly pushing the Government for tests of VX and GB — better known as Sarin — nerve gas. Only a few of the guineapig soldiers would have been informed. Full details of what eventuated are not yet available.

See reports including:

• http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23979410-601,00.html
• http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=287260  

1968: PM GORTON WANTED AUSTRALIAN BOMB
Newly released secret documents shed fresh light on Australia's push for its own nuclear arsenal and reluctance to sign the NPTi.

• See report by Sunday Age Foreign Editor Tom Hyland, at www.theage.com.au/national/when-australia-had-a-bombshell-for-us-20080705-32ai.html?skin=text-only

21 MAY 2008. MAPW has asked its members and supporters to take urgent action (detailed below) to persuade the Australian government to support a total ban on cluster bombs.

A crucial international conference is taking place in Dublin, where the wording of the treaty to ban cluster bombs will be finalised by the end of this week. 

Disappointingly, Australia is one of the countries pushing to weaken the treaty.

MAPW asks all members and supporters to write letters, sign a new Getup petition, and raise your voices on this issue.

 The Cluster Munitions Coalition reported at the end of last week:
“The CMC is especially concerned about two problematic areas still outstanding. First is the desire of some states to have a "transition period" so that they can continue to use some of their banned cluster munitions for a number of years. Second is the effort by some to insert a provision that would allow treaty signatories to intentionally assist others with the use of cluster munitions in joint military operations, as well as to allow those outside the treaty to indefinitely stockpile cluster munitions on their soil.

The United States – which is not present in Dublin—has been applying strong pressure behind the scenes on this joint military operations or "interoperability" issue. The countries pushing hardest for this provision, which would clearly undercut the integrity of the treaty, include the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and Canada, as well as Denmark, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.”

There are two actions you can take now:

• Sign the GetUp Petition to the Australian government today
• Write to Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, to Defence Mnister Joel Fitzgibbon, and to the newspapers.

The Hon Stephen Smith
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra, ACT 2600
Fax 02 6273 4112
Email Stephen.Smith.MP [at] aph [dot] gov [dot] auThe

The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon,
Minister for Defence
Parliament House
Canberra, ACT 2600
Fax 02 6273 4118
Email J.Fitzgibbon.MP [at] aph [dot] gov [dot] au

MAPW President Sue Wareham sent this letter to Stephen Smith today:

Dear Minister

URGENT: CLUSTER BOMB NEGOTIATIONS - INTEROPERABILITY WITH LAWLESSNESS ?

MAPW is gravely concerned and disappointed that, at the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, the Australian Government appears to be giving far greater priority to military operations with our allies than to the need to secure an effective treaty. Australia’s insistence on a right to “interoperability” with nations that use cluster bombs is undermining the current negotiations for an effective ban on the scourge of cluster bombs, continuing our nation’s international disrepute that we had hoped your government would reverse.

 Cluster bombs are a scourge. They must be eradicated. This should be our priority, not the capacity of Australian troops to continue military operations while turning a blind eye to the weapons our allies use. We cannot pretend to be upholding international law while cooperating fully with nations that violate such law.

 While our allies make their own choices about the weapons systems they will use, so should Australia make principled decisions regarding the weapons systems we will use, support or be associated with.

 If Australia is prepared to fight in operations where cluster bombs may be used by our allies, then our stated concern for the humanitarian effects of these weapons is a sham.

 I urge you, before this opportunity passes, to ensure Australian support for a strong cluster munitions treaty with no loopholes and no exceptions. Only then can we claim that we have done all that is possible to protect children and other civilians from these inhumane devices.

Yours sincerely
Dr Sue Wareham OAM
President, Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia)

The International Student Movement of IPPNWi is proud to announce the development of an international small arms action group for its student members, The International Student Coalition to Abolish Small Arms. This project builds on 'Aiming for Prevention', IPPNW's campaign to prevent injury and death from small arms and light weapons.

Today, 600 million small arms remain in circulation around the world - and most are in civilian hands. Gun violence causes 300,000 deaths and millions of injuries every year, and access to small arms is a critical factor underpinning the escalation of violence in civilian conflict, crime and socioeconomic insecurity. The United Nations Development Program (UNiDP) recognises gun violence and armed conflict as two of the most critical impediments to economic development.

The International Student Coalition to Abolish Small Arms aims to document, support and promote the work of student members collecting data about the impact of small arms. Students can help to reduce the impact of gun violence by collecting clinical and other objective data to educate communities and policy makers about the health, economic and social costs of small arms.

Students members can also make a difference by running advocacy and peer education events on their campus. Contact your National Student Representatives, Sarah Gardiner and Angela Wilson at students [at] mapw [dot] org [dot] au if you're interested in doing more! Email students [at] mapw [dot] org [dot] au

• International Student Coalition to Abolish Small Arms http://www.ippnw-students.org/smallarmsP.html 
• International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) www.iansa.org
• Small Arms Survey (Geneva) www.smallarmssurvey.org
• Gun Policy News (University of Sydney) www.gunpolicy.org

Australia is among a group of countries seeking to "water down" the international treaty to ban cluster bombs, which will be negotiated in Dublin on 19 – 30 May 2008.

It is an important time for people to write to the government, as well as to newspapers and other media urging that they fully support the draft treaty, without loopholes.

Action:

• Write letters. Victoria's Uniting Church has prepared a two-page resource with further details on the process, suggested points for a letter, and the relevant politicians' addresses.
• Send postcards. Email mapw [at] mapw [dot] org [dot] au for postcards for people to send to the Foreign Minister.