ID :
29615
Tue, 11/11/2008 - 16:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/29615
The shortlink copeid
PM uses Remembrance Day to promote peace
AAP - As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd questioned whether war was a "permanent" human condition, a former state premier used the 90th anniversary of the end of WWI to demand Australia pull its troops from Afghanistan.
As thousands gathered across the country for Remembrance Day, Mr Rudd asked if every
generation had to experience war to be reminded of why it was so terrible.
Former West Australian premier Peter Dowding, meanwhile, did his part to remind Mr
Rudd that many Australians don't want the wars the nation is currently waging.
He took out a $16,000 full-page colour advertisement in The West Australian
newspaper on Tuesday, depicting soldiers behind razor wire in a silhouetted image,
with the question: "Australia is at War. Why?"
"I think it's time we ... remembered what Armistice Day was - it was a day to
commemorate the tragic loss of millions of lives and the absolute horror of war," Mr
Dowding told AAP.
He described Afghanistan as a "very ghastly, brutal place, increasingly now, for
civilians".
"No country has ever invaded Afghanistan successfully. I mean, Alexander the Greek
(sic) couldn't do it and the British couldn't do it and we're not going to do it.
"We're participating in a dreadful war where innocent civilians are killed all the
time, where the poorest country on earth has hundreds of millions of dollars being
spent around it every day and yet nothing's changing the society."
The ad urged Australians to email Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith to demand
the government withdraw troops from Afghanistan and "invest in peace".
Mr Rudd, addressing a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, attended
by about 3,000 people, said that despite the mass casualties suffered during both
world wars, the world remained in conflict today.
"War has continued and the innocent continue to die, causing us all to ask, is war
our permanent condition?" he said.
"Must every generation go through war to be reminded why there should be no war? Or
can we dare to do something different?"
Mr Rudd said the Armistice Day message should be one of peace.
"Be forever vigilant and be equally unstinting in the preservation of peace," he said.
The names of six soldiers were added to the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour
on Tuesday, including five who were killed on active duty in the past year.
Trooper David Pearce, Sergeant Matthew Locke, Private Luke Worsley, Lance Corporal
Jason Marks and Signaller Sean McCarthy were killed in Afghanistan between October
2007 and July 2008.
The sixth, Private Dennis Millane, was added following the discovery of an
administrative oversight dating from the 1960s.
Their families attended a private ceremony on Tuesday morning, where they laid
wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
At Sydney's Martin Place Cenotaph, Commodore Nick Helyer of the Royal Australian
Navy remembered those who fell in World War I and paid tribute to current members of
the armed forces.
"At 11am on the 11th of November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent
after more than four years of war," he said.
"Today, 90 years later, we gather to remember all those who made the supreme
sacrifice during the war to end all wars, to (remember) those who returned home
permanently scarred, to their long-suffering families - stressed to the limit of
human endurance by the many horrors of 20th century warfare they have lived
through."
More than 61,000 Australians died in World War I.
Commodore Helyer praised the "bravery, loyalty and endurance" and "Australian
mateship" of all Australian troops, including those currently serving overseas.
"World War II, Korea and Vietnam have all come and gone, but today we have sailors,
soldiers and air men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon
AAP - Islands," he said.
Victorian Governor David de Kretser honoured the many Australians who had been
displaced by war, as well as those who fought, in his address to hundreds gathered
at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.
"We remember all people affected by the horrors of war, including those from other
countries who have left and found a safe place here," Professor de Kretser said.
In Brisbane, as wreaths were laid in Anzac Square, Leo Walsh, who served in Korea
and Borneo, and completed two tours of Vietnam, said it was important for
Australians to reflect on World War I.
"Australia lost more men per thousand head of population than any other country in
the world. And they should be remembered," he said.
"It's a pity it's not still called Armistice Day, but now it incorporates everybody."
Ceremonies were also held in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the
Northern Territory.
As thousands gathered across the country for Remembrance Day, Mr Rudd asked if every
generation had to experience war to be reminded of why it was so terrible.
Former West Australian premier Peter Dowding, meanwhile, did his part to remind Mr
Rudd that many Australians don't want the wars the nation is currently waging.
He took out a $16,000 full-page colour advertisement in The West Australian
newspaper on Tuesday, depicting soldiers behind razor wire in a silhouetted image,
with the question: "Australia is at War. Why?"
"I think it's time we ... remembered what Armistice Day was - it was a day to
commemorate the tragic loss of millions of lives and the absolute horror of war," Mr
Dowding told AAP.
He described Afghanistan as a "very ghastly, brutal place, increasingly now, for
civilians".
"No country has ever invaded Afghanistan successfully. I mean, Alexander the Greek
(sic) couldn't do it and the British couldn't do it and we're not going to do it.
"We're participating in a dreadful war where innocent civilians are killed all the
time, where the poorest country on earth has hundreds of millions of dollars being
spent around it every day and yet nothing's changing the society."
The ad urged Australians to email Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith to demand
the government withdraw troops from Afghanistan and "invest in peace".
Mr Rudd, addressing a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, attended
by about 3,000 people, said that despite the mass casualties suffered during both
world wars, the world remained in conflict today.
"War has continued and the innocent continue to die, causing us all to ask, is war
our permanent condition?" he said.
"Must every generation go through war to be reminded why there should be no war? Or
can we dare to do something different?"
Mr Rudd said the Armistice Day message should be one of peace.
"Be forever vigilant and be equally unstinting in the preservation of peace," he said.
The names of six soldiers were added to the Australian War Memorial's Roll of Honour
on Tuesday, including five who were killed on active duty in the past year.
Trooper David Pearce, Sergeant Matthew Locke, Private Luke Worsley, Lance Corporal
Jason Marks and Signaller Sean McCarthy were killed in Afghanistan between October
2007 and July 2008.
The sixth, Private Dennis Millane, was added following the discovery of an
administrative oversight dating from the 1960s.
Their families attended a private ceremony on Tuesday morning, where they laid
wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier.
At Sydney's Martin Place Cenotaph, Commodore Nick Helyer of the Royal Australian
Navy remembered those who fell in World War I and paid tribute to current members of
the armed forces.
"At 11am on the 11th of November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent
after more than four years of war," he said.
"Today, 90 years later, we gather to remember all those who made the supreme
sacrifice during the war to end all wars, to (remember) those who returned home
permanently scarred, to their long-suffering families - stressed to the limit of
human endurance by the many horrors of 20th century warfare they have lived
through."
More than 61,000 Australians died in World War I.
Commodore Helyer praised the "bravery, loyalty and endurance" and "Australian
mateship" of all Australian troops, including those currently serving overseas.
"World War II, Korea and Vietnam have all come and gone, but today we have sailors,
soldiers and air men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon
AAP - Islands," he said.
Victorian Governor David de Kretser honoured the many Australians who had been
displaced by war, as well as those who fought, in his address to hundreds gathered
at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.
"We remember all people affected by the horrors of war, including those from other
countries who have left and found a safe place here," Professor de Kretser said.
In Brisbane, as wreaths were laid in Anzac Square, Leo Walsh, who served in Korea
and Borneo, and completed two tours of Vietnam, said it was important for
Australians to reflect on World War I.
"Australia lost more men per thousand head of population than any other country in
the world. And they should be remembered," he said.
"It's a pity it's not still called Armistice Day, but now it incorporates everybody."
Ceremonies were also held in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and the
Northern Territory.
