Re: AUT: parliament house

[David McInerney <borderlands@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There is a paper on the August 19 events at Parliament House at the
following site:
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/riot.htm
It mentions the cans with the stickers.
 From my memory, the students (myself included) didn't cause any damage,
we were mainly spectators and in many cases joined in the pushing
against the riot shields from three rows back or so.  I also didn't
hear of students being arrested, despite the fact that many left
wearing "I've been to the Parliament House gift shop" stickers handed
out to those who ventured into the shop.  I suspect that those arrested
were Aboriginal activists and CFMEU and MUA members.  It was the union
people who actually broke the doors and hit police.  I vividly remember
one union guy with a bloody face holding up a riot shield he had taken
from the cops, in a scene reminiscent of the one of the Predator
holding up the skull and spine of the Jamaican drug lord in Predator 2
... quite silly really but it gives some idea of the anger of the union
guys.  I also remember the terrible performances made by the ALP and
Democrat people on the official demo stage.  the other really vivid
memory is the huge cops without their numbers on their shirts (so that
they couldn't be reported) itching for a fight, except one female cop
who pleaded with us in a very agitated matter to disperse as she didn't
want to be "forced" to hurt us.  The male cops seemed not to suffer
from such anxieties.
DM



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