August Agape

Pax Christi Victoria Inc.
International Christian Peace Movement

You are invited to the August Agape


What Future for Asylum Seekers?
What are the alternatives to the malaysia solution?

Speaker: Aran Mylvaganam Tamil Asylum Seeker

Sunday August 21



at Kildara, rear 39 Stanhope Street, East Malvern.



12.30 for 1 p.m.


We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.

PLEASE BRING FOOD TO SHARE

(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)



ALL WELCOME

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Events

A reminder that August 6 and 9 mark the 66th anniversaries of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is an opportunity to reflect on these tragedies and redouble our efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

This Saturday (August 6th) your invited to attend a lunchtime vigil in Melbourne at 1-2PM on the GPO steps in Bourke Street Mall followed by a Japanese for Peace concert from 3PM at the State Library of Victoria.

Next Tuesday night (August 9th) ICAN invites you to an evening lecture on the 9th by US disarmament expert Hans M. Kristensen and former foreign minister Gareth Evans. They will discuss the US Nuclear Posture Review of 2010 and its implications for Asia and the Pacific.

DETAILS:

Peace Vigil and Concert

Date: Saturday August 6th
Time: 1 - 2PM
Venue: Melbourne GPO

Speakers Forum

Date: Tuesday 9 August
Time: 5.15pm for a 5.30pm start - 7pm
Venue: Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne
RSVP: fihlvic@gmail.com

We hope you can make it along to these events.

August Agape

Pax Christi Victoria Inc.
International Christian Peace Movement


You are invited to the August Agape


What Future for Asylum Seekers?
What are the alternatives to the malaysia solution?

Speaker

Aran Mylvaganam Tamil Asylum Seeker



Sunday August 21



at Kildara, rear 39 Stanhope Street, East Malvern.



12.30 for 1 p.m.


We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.

PLEASE BRING FOOD TO SHARE

(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)



ALL WELCOME

Pax Christi June Agape

Help to break mainstream media's deafening silence about what is happening in Afghanistan.

The war and Australia’s involvement have been going on for ten long years, thousands have been killed, yet the country remains devastated and insecure.

You are invited to a Pax Christi gathering

Sunday 19 June 2011
12.30 pm for 1.00 pm (for a shared meal)

2.00 pm discussion on

The Way forward in Afghanistan
St John's Uniting Church Hall

567 Glenhuntly Road Elsternwick
(cnr Foster St. Melways 67J4)

Moderated by:
• Joseph Camilleri

With:
• Richard Tanter
• Deborah Storie
• Simon Moyle
• Jessica Morrison
_______________________________________________________

For further information contact:
Rita Camilleri ritac@paxchristi.org.au

February Agape

Pax Christi Victoria Inc., International Christian Peace Movement

You are invited to the First Agape of 2011

Youth: Towards a Global Culture?

Dahlia Khatab & Rashid Alshakshir

are two LaTrobe students who have taken part in the Young Muslims leadership Programme of the Centre for Dialogue.

Pax Christi sponsored them to attend the Fourth Inter-Civilizational Youth Engagement Program 2010 Consultation in Kuala Lumpur on

"Youth: Towards a Global Culture?"

The purpose of the consultation was:

* To develop a deeper understanding of global challenges and how the young can help in their resolution and
* To identify and examine universal spiritual and moral values that can contribute towards justice, peace and harmony among the different communities and nations of the planet

Larry Marshall, the Director of the Young Muslim Leadership programme, will facilitate a dialogue with Dahlia and Rashid in which they will report on the consultation and invite us to dialogue with them on the issues.

Sunday 20 February 2011

at St John’s Uniting Church, cnr Glenhuntly Rd and Foster St. Elsternwick, Melways 67 J3, Elsternwick Station (Sandringham line,) Tram 67

Please note change of Venue

12.30 for 1 p.m.

We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.

Please BRING SOME FOOD TO SHARE
(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)

ALL WELCOME

Observations on events in Egypt

by Joseph Camilleri

There is one aspect to recent events in the Arab world, which has not drawn the attention it deserves. What we have witnessed first in Tunisia, and now more dramatically in Egypt, is one of the great nonviolent revolutions of the last 100 or more years. The revolution is all the more far-reaching in its implications in that it was forged entirely at the initiative of the Egyptian people with no support from and little understanding by the outside world. This was a pervasive revolution that touched and spread across the whole society and was constructed implicitly if not explicitly on the philosophy and techniques of nonviolence. I would venture to advance four additional propositions:

1. The significance of this revolution is that it was nurtured and executed by an Arab and predominantly Muslim society - a possibility which the world generally and the West in particular had until now dismissed as beyond the realm of the feasible -- the conventional wisdom has been that Arabs and Muslims were simply not equipped to envisage an alternative to, let alone directly confront, the politics of tyranny and repression.

2. The revolution has once again demonstrated the power of nonviolence. The key to this does not lie so much in the fact that a tyrant was eventually removed from office. Rather it lies in the fact that the moral integrity of the revolution was so potent that even political elites in the West and in Israel, strong supporters of the Mubarak regime for more than three decades, were reduced to little more than passive spectators. Indeed, the revolution was emotively and intellectually so powerful that in the end the President of the United States had no option but to give it his public and unreserved support. In this there are immense implications for other parts of the Arab world, not least for Palestine.

3. This revolution is not just another re-enactment of the revolutions led by Gandhi or Martin Luther King. It is innovative in ways that will take a long time to assess. But even now we can fairly say that never before has a movement of this kind made such effective use of the new information technology to foster the politics of empowerment and participation - and never before has such a symbolically effective use been made of the uninterrupted occupation of public spaces, and in particular of the city square as the preferred site for the expression of the popular will.

4. To date much western official and unofficial comment has emphasised the prospects for 'freedom' and democracy, with particular reference to free and fair elections. Yet, this is but one part of the story. The social movement that has spread across the Arab world is first and foremost a movement crying out for social justice - for an end to corruption, to abject poverty, to grotesque inequalities, to patterns of aid, trade and investment that have consistently favoured the rich and disadvantaged the poor. Should the protests of the last few weeks result in democratic elections that leave the unjust economic arrangements of the last few decades more or less intact (possibly with tacit Western support), this would indeed be a pyrrhic victory.

Also see the article by John Horgan, ‘Egypt's revolution vindicates Gene Sharp's theory of nonviolent activism’, http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=egypts-revolution-vindicates-gene-s-2011-02-11

December Agape

Pax Christi Victoria Inc., International Christian Peace Movement

You are invited to the December Agape

Engaging the church on Afghanistan

As the war in Afghanistan drifts on Australia’s place in it becomes more and more questionable. Promoting debate and discussion in Afghanistan has been frustrating and difficult in face of community indifference. This indifference seems to be shared by the churches.

How can we challenge and encourage the church’s to engage the issue and bring it to the attention of their members?

We have invited representatives from the Justice Unit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church in Victoria to meet with us to discuss how the church might pick up the issue

Sunday December 12

at St John’s Uniting Church, cnr Glenhuntly Rd and Foster St. Elsternwick, Melways 67 J3, Elsternwick Station (Sandringham line,) Tram 67
Please note change of Venue

12.30 for 1 p.m.

We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.
Please BRING FOOD TO SHARE

(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)

ALL WELCOME

Pax Christi Victoria AGM and Agape

You are invited to The Annual Meeting of Pax Christi Victoria Inc., International Christian Peace Movement


“Where to for the Peace Movement”
Speaker Caz Coleman, Hotham Mission Asylum Seekers project

Reports on what we have achieved in 2010, our vision for 2011, and
election of 2011 committee etc.


Sunday November 21

at Kildara, rear 39 Stanhope Street, East Malvern.

1.45 p,m. after a shared meal beginning at 1 p.m. (Hot food by 12.30 p.m.)

October Agape

Pax Christi Victoria Inc.
International Christian Peace Movement

You are invited to the October Agape

FAITH, SHARED WISDOM AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Joe & Rita Camilleri

Joe and Rita have just attended an international interfaith consultation in Kuala Lumpur which Joe and Ian Fry helped to plan and organise. The consultation was attended by distinguished international figures including the Hon. Malcolm Fraser, Judge Christopher Weeramantry, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, and Bishop Philip Huggins. Joe and Rita will report on the consultation and its importance for us.

Sunday October 17

at St John’s Uniting Church, cnr Glenhuntly Rd and Foster St. Elsternwick, Melways 67 J3, Elsternwick Station (Sandringham line,) Tram 67

Please note change of Venue

12.30 for 1 p.m.

We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.
Please BRING SOME FOOD TO SHARE

(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)

ALL WELCOME

Trial of Creech 14

Fourteen anti-war activists may have made history today in a Las Vegas courtroom when they turned a misdemeanor trespassing trial into a possible referendum on America’s newfound taste for remote-controlled warfare.

The so-called Creech 14, a group of peace activists from across the country, went on trial this morning for allegedly trespassing onto Creech Air Force Base in April 2009.

From the start of today’s trial, prosecutors did their best to keep the focus on whether the activists were guilty of allegations they illegally entered the base and refused to leave as a way to protest the base’s role as the little-known headquarters for U.S. military operations involving unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, over Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

But a funny thing happened on the way to prosecutors’ hope for a quick decision. Appearing as witnesses for the Creech 14 today were some of the biggest names in the modern anti-war movement: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson; Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and one of three former U.S. State Department officials who resigned on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and Bill Quigley, legal director for the New York City-based Center for Constitutional Rights.

By the time those three witnesses finished their testimony as to why they believed the activists had protested at the base, they’d managed to convince Las Vegas Township Justice Court Judge William Jansen to delay his verdict for four months — and had managed clearly to frustrate prosecutors.

For the better part of the day, Clark, Wright and Quigley testified under direct questioning from witnesses and a surly cross-examination from the Clark County district attorney’s office.

Each witness spoke eloquently, and at length, about the need for nonviolent civil disobedience in the face of criminal actions by the U.S. government — which is how most in today’s anti-war movement and many international observers have characterized America’s drone war.

“[People] are allowed to trespass if it’s for the greater good — and there are certainly exceptions [to the law] when there is an emerging, urgent need,” said Quigley, while on the stand.

By all accounts, the Creech 14 trial is the first time in history an American judge has allowed a trial to touch on possible motivations of anti-drone protesters.

No one knows how Jansen will ultimately rule, but most took it as a good sign when, at the end of the day’s proceedings, applause flooded the courtroom and Jansen sent the Creech 14 — all of them part of a robust Catholic anti-war movement — on their way by echoing the words of Jesus Christ with his call of “Go in peace!”

National Conference and National Meeting

Pax Christi Australia
( International Christian Peace Movement)

National Conference & National Meeting


17-19 September 2010
Kildara Centre, 39 Stanhope Street, Malvern Vic

The Conference
* What does it mean for Australia to be ‘secure?
* Do we need ‘great and powerful friends?’
* Why do we get involved in other people’s wars?
* Whom are we defending ourselves against?
* Is “National Security” the same as ‘human security’?
* Should we be seeking alliances of peace rather than identifying potential enemies?
* Is a real culture of peace possible
* What would it look like?

Programme.
Friday 17 September:

5.00 p.m. Gathering and registration
6.00 p.m. Evening meal

7.30 p.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS:
A New Approach To Security for Australia
Nic Maclellan (journalist, researcher and community worker in the Pacific islands)

9.10. Reflection
“Images which Shape Us’

Saturday 18 September
9.30 a.m. War and Peace in Australian Identity
Marilyn Lake (Professor of History at La Trobe University )

10.45 a.m. Morning Tea


11.15.a.m: Redefining Security in International Relationships:

Moving towards Cooperative Security and Human Security.

Steph Cousins (Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator at Oxfam Australia.)

12.30 p.m. Lunch

1.30 p.m. Towards a Culture of Peace:
The Faith Community Contribution .
An interactive, interfaith discussion to develop our own vision of a culture of peace for Australia.

4.15 p.m. Afternoon Tea

5 p.m. Afghanistan: A Test case for Australia, developing a new security Approach Dr Joe Camilleri

6.30 p.m. Evening Meal and social evening

Sunday 19 September
9 a.m. National Meeting of Pax Christi

• Towards a strategy for Pax Christi
• Report from World Assembly
• Asia Pacific Consultation
• PXA contribution to PXI
• Website Workshop
• Election of Nat Chair & Nat Council.

12 00 Worship

1 p.m. Lunch & Departure.

Speakers.
Nic Maclellan has worked as a journalist, researcher and community development worker in the Pacific islands. Between 1997-2000, he was the Educational Resource Development Officer with the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC) in Suva, Fiji. Nic has written widely on development, disarmament, human rights and environment in the South Pacific, and is co-author of three books on the region:

Professor Marilyn Lake was awarded a Personal Chair in History at La Trobe University in 1994. She has published 12 books and numerous articles on subjects ranging from labour history to land settlement, sexuality and citizenship, gender and nationalism, feminism and the politics of anti-racism. She co edited the recently published “What’s wrong with ANZAC, The Militarisation of Australian History.

Steph Cousins is the Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator at Oxfam Australia. Her work focuses on promoting the rights of people affected by crisis to assistance and protection. She also advocates for the prevention of conflict, mass atrocities, arms proliferation and armed violence. Steph is the current Chair of the Pacific Small Arms Action Group and Secretary of the International Detention Coalition Governance Committee.

Professor J A. Camilleri OAM is founder of Pax Christi Australia. Joe is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Latrobe University. He specialises in international relations theory, security studies, the political economy of Asia Pacific, the foreign policies of the great powers, and the relationship between globalisation and governance.

Registration
Location:
Kildara (Brigidine) Centre
39 Stanhope Street, Malvern.
(next door to St Vincent's Church)

(Stanhope Street runs off Glenferrie Road Train from any city station on Frankston,
Cranbourne or Pakenham lines to Malvern.
Walk or tram 16 up Glenferrie Rd, stop 56
Or
Take 16 tram from the city (Melbourne Uni, Swanston St, St. Kilda road. )
Or from Kew, to stop 56.

Accommodation
We hope to provide billets for interstate and overseas visitors.
There is also a wide range of hotels, motels, and hostels within a reasonable distance. We will help you find one when we know what you are looking for.

Costs
Friday-Sunday , Conference and National Meeting:
$125 or $100 low income.

Friday and Saturday, Conference only
$100 or $80 low income.

Saturday Evening meal only
$20


Registration form
Name(s)………………………………………

…………………………………………………….

Address…………………………………………

…………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………….

Phone……………………...Mob………………

Email……………………………………………

Dietary preferences…………………………...

(All meals vegetarian)

Are you registering for

The whole week-end Y N

Friday & Saturday only Y N

Saturday Evening meal only Y N

Do you require accommodation? Y N

Can you offer accommodation? Y N

Please send with cheque for $20 deposit or full fee to Pax Christi, P.O Box 31, CARLTON SOUTH, VIC 3053 by 1 September

Phone Harry Kerr 03 9893 4946
ahmkerr@hotmail.com
Rita Camilleri 03 9379 3889
ritacam44@gmail.com

Two Vigils

Friday 6 August, 7 am – 9 am: Remember Hiroshima, Celebrate A Nuclear-Free Pacific.

This year will be the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is also the 25th anniversary of the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone treaty, which the US has just said they will join! There will be a Vigil in front of St Paul’s Cathedral (corner of Swanston and Flinders streets). Sponsored by the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Japanese for Peace, Pax Christi, Quaker Peace and Social Justice Network. Further information, ring Nancy: 0431 475 465.


Afghanistan Monthly Anti-war Vigil.


Afghanistan Monthly Anti-war Vigil

Tuesday, August 17 at 4:30 pm

Location: Flinders Street Train Station (under the clocks)

Hiroshima, Nagasaki Memorial Concert

Hiroshima, Nagasaki Remembrance Events which Pax Christi is supporting.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki Memorial Concert

Sunday 8th August 2010, 3:00 – 5:00 pm

Village Roadshow Theatrette @ State Library of Victoria, Melbourne

Tickets at door: $15/$10 conc.

Warm up a cold wintry Sunday at a concert for peace
Sixty-five years after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by nuclear blast, Japanese for Peace will bring together a diverse array of inspiring musicians, speakers and citizens of the world in a concert to celebrate peace and enable us to imagine a world without nuclear threat.

Performers:
Anne Norman – Shakuhachi
Dean Frenkel – Overtone Singer, Didgeridoo
Lee Morgan – Indigenous Musician
Liz Frencham – Singer/Songwriter
Wadaiko Rindo & Ayako Sato – Japanese Drums

Speaker:
Dave Sweeney – Australian Conservation Foundation

Supported by Victorian Multicultural Commission.
Concert proceeds to be donated to a charity organisation.

August Agape

You are invited to the August Agape


TOWARDS NUCLEAR ABOLITION

The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference 2010

Speaker: Tim Wright

Tim Wright attended the conference as an NGO representative on behalf of ICAN.

Here an on the spot report of what the conference achieved and didn’t achieve on the road to Nuclear disarmament and of Australia’s role and contribution

TIM WRIGHT is a peace and disarmament campaigner based in Melbourne, and a board member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. He founded and is the current president of the Peace Organisation of Australia, a group committed to promoting peace through education and political lobbying

Sunday August 15

at Kildara, rear 39 Stanhope Street, East Malvern.

12.30 for 1 p.m.

We will begin after a SHARED MEAL and finish around 3.30 p.m.

Please BRING some FOOD TO SHARE

(If food needs to be heated please arrive by 12.30)

ALL WELCOME

Our World In Crisis? Course

Info about the Our World in Crisis? course, which runs for 6 weeks on Tuesday nights, starting 22 June, at the Australian Volunteers International Building, 88 Kerr Street, Fitzroy, can be found at:

http://www.latrobe.edu.au/dialogue/assets/downloads/OWIC-Brochure2010.pdf