Sovereignty

In this first online edition of Eurekajournal we will discuss sovereignty .  Sovereignty is a prime issue for all Australians . The First Nations people of Australia have never yielded sovereignty over this land . Since Pemulwuy , Windradyne, Trugannini, Yagan, Jandamarra, Nemarluk and others  organised their people to fight British colonialism, there has been no surrender.

Despite the British colonialist massacres and depredations on First Nation lands, the fight for sovereignty and their rights has never ended. With unstinting resolve , heroes  and heroines like William Cooper, Vincent Lingiari, Mum Shirl , Bobby Sykes and  Oodgeroo Noonuccal  have resisted  and fought for their rights in the so-called commonwealth of Australia. When the thin tissue of Terra Nullius tore there was panic amongst the ruling class as the  myth was exposed to the Australian people.

Yet sovereignty is powerful word used by politicians  and commentators in their media, primarily  to monster indigenous Australians and  boat- borne refugees,  but this is a fake, bellicose and theatrical sovereignty. These same individuals hold fast to links to the British monarchy and its trappings- the dominion flag, the constitution, Governors and Governors-General. They opposed even the mildest movement toward a republic of Australia.

Since colonial times, the Australian people have pushed back the boundaries of imperial prerogative and privilege. Achieving the right to vote, the right to organise and, for First Nations people some rudimentary land rights. But our servile  rulers have always bowed to the wishes of British capital and later U.S. capital. Our economy is dominated by these. Our primary role is merely as a source of  raw materials. At first this was agricultural produce and when the vast mineral riches were discovered . Multinational mining companies were given open slather. Australian manufacturing industries expanded during and after World War 2 . But neo-liberal free market policies since 1970’s have decimated manufacturing here. We face further losses in manufacturing as we as we are forced into free trade policies and the loss of sovereignty over our resources like gas.

 This loss  of sovereignty in  economic, political or environmental  spheres  to the  corporations from U.S.A. , the U.K. or Japan has been aided and abetted by the governments of Australia and its states.

  Australians feel this heavily, as  they endured the loss of lands and resources with a  flood of money and flowing off to Wall St, Zurich or the Virgin Islands tax havens,   while staring  at widespread poverty  and lack of opportunity.    The “mining boom” has left us poorer, in the thrall of mining companies that oppose and hinder scientific and economic progress and dangerously threaten the world  environment.

All around the world, on every continent, there is a yearning for sovereignty and independence. People have seen their shackles .

 To accommodate the needs  of the U.S.A., a mixture of military or economic pressure is exerted. The tactics vary from the  iron fist of military aggression to the velvet glove of soft power.   Every week  drone strikes are  ordered from the White House on enemies. Since 1945,the U.S. has interfered in the sovereignty of 69 countries* The U.S. has approximately 800 bases in 177 countries and nearly 200,000 military forces deployed to project their power and  maintain their corporations’  access. The USA poses  the biggest problem for the world’s people . 

 Then there are the  economic sanctions to prevent nations from trading and banking internationally . These  result  in  in in underdevelopment, severe hardship, death and illness  to populations across the world.   Soft power takes the form of  music and film culture and  their personalities, study tours scholarships and the numerous  U.S. Study Centres.  Only a few countries like China ,Russia , DPR Korea and Iran have stared down the U.S.A.

Increasingly people in  more countries are awake, aware and resisting. 

When can we in Australia have Independence from U.S.A. Day?

  Since the end of the Second World War, the United States of America has …

1. Attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, most of which were democratically-elected. ⁷
2. Attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries. ⁸
3. Grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries. ⁹
4. Dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries. ¹⁰
5. Attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders. ¹¹

In total: Since 1945, the United States has carried out one or more of the above actions, on one or more occasions, in the following 69 countries (more than one-third of the countries of the world):