Peace activists arrested in Jakarta
Four foreign nationals including two Australians have been arrested in Jakarta while attending an international peace conference.
The four arrested and detained by Indonesian police are Kylie Moon, national coordinator of Books not Bombs, and Nick Everett from Action in Solidarity with the Asia Pacific (ASAP), both from Sydney. Also arrested were Yung Chan from South Korea and Lydia Cairncraff from South Africa.
The conference was organised by a series of non-governmental organisations including Focus on the Global South, the Indonesian NGOs INCREASE and the independent labour union the FNPBI. The four activists were attending a peaceful post-conference gathering marking the anniversary of the fall of former Indonesian dictator General Suharto when arrested.
http://www.booksnotbombs.com

\Muslim and Jewish
ritual slaughter may be banned
Jewish and Muslim communities would lose the legal right to slaughter animals without stunning under proposals to be put forward next month by a government committee. The proposals are set to anger religious groups, who claim it will end thousands of years of religious rites.
Under European animal welfare regulations, all farm animals must be stunned before slaughter, unless they are killed by religious methods known as halal for Muslims and shechita for Jews. Both methods involve religiously trained slaughtermen using sharp knives to cut the throats of cows, sheep and chickens and letting them bleed to death.
Members of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, including academics, vets and farmers, have visited halal and shechita abattoirs, and examined the available scientific evidence, which suggests that cows and poultry take up to two minutes to lose consciousness after their throats are cut, while for sheep it is between 14 and 70 seconds. In Britain, it is thought that about 90 per cent of halal meat is electrically pre-stunned, although many Islamic consumers insist this is not acceptable. However, Jewish law states that all pre-stunning is forbidden.
Dr Masood Khawaja, president of the Halal Food Authority, said: “There is no evidence that animals feel pain. If you use a razor-sharp knife in one sweep, it is like cutting your finger on paper. The animal does not feel anything at all.” The Campaign for the Protection of Shechita has declared that the council is one of the most “stubborn repositries of institutionalised religious prejudice in this country.” However, a source at the council said: “If modern slaughter methods can avoid suffering, it is not unreasonable for religious leaders to reconsider their position.”
The report, due out next month, is expected to recommend that Jewish and Muslim authorities find acceptable ways to stun animals before slaughter and
that then the Government should remove the exemption.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Councils vote on 3 year GM moratorium in Victoria
The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), the body overseeing Victoria's seventy-eight local councils, voted in favour of a three year Moratorium and a broad inquiry on GMO's.
Recognising the need for community consultation on the use of genetically modified organisms prompted the motion.
The motion has been welcomed by GE Free Victoria. Convenor, Gill Rosier, said that this motion reflects community sentiment:”The verdict is unanimous. Australia needs time to assess the GM industry.
Most of our grain growing states are introducing five year moratoriums - Tasmania, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory; with a bill for a five year freeze or moratorium currently before the South Australian Parliament. New South Wales is introducing a three year moratorium.
A broad community consultation process was part of the Victorian ALP's policy, passed at their October State Conference in 2002.
http://www.genethics.com

Nobel Peace Prize nomination
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize of 2004, by Canadian MP Svend Robinson. In his letter of nomination, MP Robinson states that, "the contribution of the ISM to advancing the cause of peace in the Middle East, to defending human rights, and to upholding international law is without
parallel."
http://www.indymedia.org

Stop the deportation of Iranian asylum seekers
The federal government is stepping up its campaign against asylum seekers by threatening forced deportations of Iranians in detention centres, followed by deportations of Afghani and Iraqi TPV Holders and East Timorese Asylum Seekers.
The Australian Government has offered AU$2 000 to individuals agreeing to be removed voluntarily as long as they leave within 28 days. If they haven’t moved within this time, they will be forcibly deported. While DIMIA tells asylum seekers that the Iranian Government has agreed to accept forced deportees, the Iranian Embassy has denied that this is the case (Financial Review May 2, 2003).
Iran, like Afghanistan and Iraq, is a country that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade bluntly warns Australians against travelling to, yet is willing to deport asylum seekers to, who will face persecution, imprisonment if not death.
The deadline for the voluntary repatriation package for 466 Iranians currently held in detention centres is May 28. NADA has pledged to work against all future forced deportations of asylum seekers whether in detention centres or in the community.
http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org