The decision of the Sydney Palm Sunday 2002 organising committee to ban participation by members of the Democratic Socialist Party sets a dangerous precedent. Parties and other political organisations obviously have a right to determine their membership, based on their political program or basis of interest and whatever rules they choose.

Resistance, the socialist youth organisation in political solidarity with the Democratic Socialist Party, was the organiser of the impressive secondary school walkouts and protests against racism and One Nation that were held around the country in July. The demonstrations received massive media coverage, focusing on the issue of racism, but also on the “youth” of the protesters. Pauline Hanson and David Oldfield attacked the students as “manipulated” and “brainwashed”.

1968 was a momentous year for the left and the newly radicalising young people of the time, and a legendary year for the young rebels of today. A popular slogan was coined at the time: “We are the people our parents warned us about!” Well, they’re still the people your parents are warning you about, except for those parents who themselves were part of it at the time, who radicalised then, and kept their ideals and fire and hopes alive.

Two thousand Catholic demonstrators, who assembled for a march from the suburb of Tan Sa Chau to the Supreme Court building in Saigon October 31, were beaten back by Thieu’s police and plainclothes goons. About seventy-five civilians were reported injured. Two opposition deputies were seriously hurt, and a Catholic priest was knocked to the ground and bloodied, the November 1 New York Times reported.

Huge protest rallies throughout Japan on international antiwar day, October 21, demanded the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons and the cancellation of Ford’s scheduled November 18 visit. The sponsoring organizations, which included the Communist and Socialist parties and the major trade unions, reported that 2.2 million persons had taken part in 456 demonstrations.