TJ HICKEY RALLY

TJ died 5 years ago. His bike was rammed by a Redfern police vehicle, driven by then, constable Michael Hollingsworth. As a result, he was impaled in the metal spiked fence.
Proper medical practices were not followed by the police and he died in hospital the next day. The cover up started immediately, every one was involved, from the Premier to the Commissioner. Also the Coroner, in the enquiry, blocked some witnesses, didn’t allowed proper legal representation to TJ’s family, and stopped some crucial evidence to be presented. The police were exonerated, and the guilty ones were, instead, those who showed their anger and outrage to the murder of TJ.

On November 2004 another Death in Custody happened in Palm Island. An aboriginal man, Mulrunji, was arrested by Snr Sgt Christopher Hurley. In the Police Station, Hurley assaulted Mulrunji, so badly, that the aboriginal man died shortly after on the cell floor. In this case, something went wrong for government and police. The Palm Island people and the solidarity of Brisbane and all Queensland aboriginal people first and later from all around Australia demanded JUSTICE.

Two coronial enquiries, government and police pressure, but the cover up failed. The acting State Coroner recommended that Hurley faced court on charges of killing Mulrunji. The obscure forces of injustice kept working. The DPP found that Hurley had no case to answer, and again the aboriginal people from Queensland and all around the nation came out demanding justice. A new enquiry recommended the charges to Hurley to be reinstated. But still, when the trial was held, the “White Justice” was at work and Hurley was acquitted. Later a judge cleared Hurley of any wrongdoing.

As in the TJ’s case, the only found guilty were those who resisted this injustice. One of them, Lex Wottom became a sample of resistance, for aboriginal a non aboriginal people, refusing to accept the guilty charge. His trial, hold last year, found him guilty. Still Lex is struggling for justice, for himself and the Palm Island people.
Now, on 10th of January, in Alice Springs, another aboriginal man has died in police custody. After being violently arrested by police, he was found dead in his jail. The cover up called “police investigation”, started soon. Don’t hold your breath.

Too many koori kids are dying at the hands of the ‘law’

Whose Son, Brother, Sister, Cousin, Uncle, Aunt will die this year
at the hands of the police?

Protest to put a stop to the deaths and get true justice for Koori people

Support all the actions demanding that the Rudd government Stop the NT intervention and all attacks on aboriginal People

JUSTICE FOR TJ.

Zapatista Film/Doco Festival

20, 21, 22 February 2009
62 St. Georges Road, Northcote

“...We want a world where many worlds are possible...”
Sub Marcos, Zapatista National Liberation Army, Chiapas, Mexico

It is New Year’s Night 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect. For the indigenous communities & popular activists in the Lacandona Jungle of South-eastern Mexico, Chiapas, NAFTA symbolizes the culmination of over 500 years of exploitation. During the night, 2,000 indigenous soldiers occupy several cities in the state of Chiapas and declare political and economic independence. They call themselves the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN).


The Zapatista uprising in Chiapas was certainly one of the most dramatic and important instances in our time of a genuine grassroots movement against oppression, we believe that their words and practice can inspire a new generation of activist to see that it is possible for ordinary people, without wealth and advance weapons, to challenge state power successfully.


How after 15 years does the historic and ongoing Zapatista uprising continue to transform the world? How did the poetic fury of their movement become part of the rising tide that sent waves of resistance crashing through the streets of, Seattle, Genoa, Quebec, Washington D.C., France, Greece and Melbourne? What are their weapons? Was it their words? We hope we can answer these questions during and after the Zapatista Festival.


The ZAPATISTA Film/doco festival will try to offers to all of us a new way of thinking about political struggle and what we means to live as a human being. We have more than 10 films documentaries from Zapatistas Communities, Mapuche struggles, Brazil (MST), Bolivia (indigenous struggles and others), and shorts presentations from different Latin American indigenous and popular grassroots organisations in struggle today.


The Festival is an inspiring first-hand account of a struggle that will challenge the way we think about the world and our commitments for change


We would like to thank everyone, who contributed to this festival with video productions, people without any experience, professionals, grassroots community productions and Chiapas media project/Promedios for their main contribution to the first inspiring Zapatista film doco festival.


All proceeds from this Festival will support the Third Latin American Solidarity Gathering
“Focus on Colombia and Chile” on July 2009, and the Lake Cowal Gathering on April-Easter 2009


At International Workers’ Centre, 62 St. Georges Road, Northcote
$15 three days (whole Festival) or $8 per day
More info lasnet@latinlasnet.org or call 0400 914 944
Detailed schedule at www.latinlasnet.org

Lake Cowal Gathering