Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) and Just Peace Qld Inc.
MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 19th April 2018
Shame on Prime Minister Turnbull’s support for the illegal air attack on Syria.
Each of the 100 missiles fired cost the taxpayers of the US UK and France $1.4 Million.
Rally 5pm King George Square, Thursday 19th April
Contact: Annette Brownlie 0431597256
Today representatives of the Brisbane Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) will gather in the city to support the Global Campaign on Military Spending led by Nobel Peace Prize winning organisation the International Peace Bureau.
IPAN spokesperson Annette Brownlie is shocked that the Australian Government enthusiastically supported the bombing of Syria by the US UK and France. “This illegal act compounds the tragedy of the Syrian people who have suffered death, destruction and dislocation for 7 years now.”
“It’s all very well for Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull to call for adherence to international laws but here they support a contravention of those very same laws,” she said.
“An attack on a sovereign country, if its not for self-defence or without UN approval, is illegal.
“The decision to launch the attack was taken before the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Warfare could arrive at the scene to provide fact finding information.
“Robert Fisk, internationally respected journalist for the UK Independent newspaper, has entered Douma in recent days and interviewed residents who describe not a chemical assault but a sand storm leading to asphyxiation in tunnels where people sought refuge from the ongoing war.”
“Each of the 100 missiles fired on Syria on the 14th April cost the taxpayers of the UK US and France A$1.8 Million making a total of $180M spent in one night.”
International spending on military materiel exceeds $1.6 trillion (SIPRI – 2016). Just Peace and IPAN aims to see much of that money redirected to meet the UN Sustainability Development Goals which are about creating a sustainable future for all life on earth.
“On these Global Days of Action to reduce military spending we call on our government to withdraw from their morally bankrupt aim to be amongst the top 10 arms manufacturers internationally,” said Ms Brownlie.
“In Australia funds would be much better spent on social needs – climate change, housing, health and education.”
IPAN Media Release Brisbane GDAMS 19 April 2018
Media Interviews: Contact Annette Brownlie 0431 597 256
IPAN Media Liaison: Kathryn Kelly, contact 0417 269 984