peace

Invitation to register for the on-line Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Conference for November 2021.
On 8–11 November 2021, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) will host the sixth annual Stockholm Security Conference (SSC 21). The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Battlefields of the future: Trends of conflict and warfare in the 21st century’.

This page contains an overview of the conference programme for 8–11 November. The conference will be held in a virtual format.

Monday, 8 November – International law

12:30–13:45 Opening panel: Battlefields of the future

The session will be live-streamed on SIPRI's YouTube channel. Click here for the session overview.

Reminder: Next IPAN-Victoria Meeting (Independent and Peaceful Australia Network). Meeting includes People's inquiry on costs and consequences of Australia's involvement in US wars; Public Forum on Killer Robots and Wars; Australian military in the Philippines; 50 years Vietnam commemoration.

Monday 2 March
6pm
Level 4
Trades Hall

Proposed Agenda

1. IPAN People's Inquiry - What are the costs and consequences of Australia's involvement in US wars to the people of Australia and around the world. A people's inquiry into the US-Australia Alliance. Military, economic, social, political, environmental.

2. Public Forum - Killer Robots and Wars - Wednesday 18 March, 7pm. MUA. Dr. Joseph Camilleri wil facilitate the Public Forum.

3. July 4 - US independence day.

4. Avalon Air Show activities - Feb - March 2021

5. Australian military in the Philippines

6. 50 years Vietnam War Moratorium commemoration

7. Affiliates' Reports

8. Others

Notes from IPAN-Vic 2 February meeting attached.

Shirley and Patrick
IPAN-Vic. reps.
IPAN national co-ordinating cttee

Kiel mutiny the soldiers' council of the Prinzregent Luitpold.

In 2016, much of the credit for the prevention of war can rightly be claimed by people labeled 'right-wing', 'far right' or 'extreme right'. Examples include Marine Le Pen of France, Nigel Farage of Britain and United States' President-elect Donald Trump.

Paradoxically, one hundred years ago, during the first inter-imperialist slaughter of 1914-1918, it was the Communist 'far left' that opposed war.

Whilst Australian histories tend to give credit to Australian soldiers led by General John Monash for defeating Germany on the Western Front in November 1918, the capitulation of Germany may, in fact, have been the result of the uprisings of 9 November 1918 in Germany led by the anti-war Spartakusbund of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. The Spartakusbund was later to become the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (KPD) or Communist Party of Germany.

Australia is the world's second largest arms importer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Yet there are no armed wars in Australia and our local crime industry could not possibly use $1,677,000,000 worth of military weapons as estimated to be our imported value in 2010. Are we on-selling and who is involved?

Okay, we're involved in a number of international 'peace-keeping' exercises, but how do we manage to make second in the world imports with India the first? What is going on? Are we on-selling and disguising the world traffic of these arms? Are we a middle-man for international war-mongerers? Makes little old John Howard's amazing popularity coup when he banned gun ownership for Australians look just a tad hollow.

Socialist Hamish Chitts writes,