The Wire

Yesterday, former Guantanamo Bay inmate, Mamdou Habib, waved to a sea of cheering fans in Sydney’s Hyde Park, told them he loved them, and urged them to keep fighting for his fellow Australian detainee, David Hicks. In the same weekend that thousands of protestors marched through the streets in Europe and the US to mark the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, around 3000 Australians attended the anti-war rally in Sydney. Brandishing “Coalition of the Killing” banners, they embraced Habib and bayed for the Howard government’s blood. But the turn out was much lower than at similar occasions before the war started. So is this a sign that Australian opposition to the war waning? Or is there simply an apathy and lack of interest amongst people, because they believe themselves to be powerless in the face of the Coalition? The Wire’s Anja Kueppers was at the rally yesterday to find out more.