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On Campus
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WAR STORIES COME TO MURDOCH

ON CAMPUS
by Jesse Riseborough

May 23, 2003

AFTER speaking to a crowd of more than 600 people at Fremantle Town Hall last week, Reverend Neville Watson spoke to a much smaller but appreciative gathering in the university function room last night.

Reverend Watson is a well-known Perth peace activist, having spent time in a number of conflict zones including Baghdad during the recent Iraq war. He spoke for almost an hour at the university function room.

The evening was organised by the head of the theology department, Dr Nancy Victorin-Vangerud, who said the night was designed to give the university population a chance to hear the amazing stories of Reverend Watson.

Reverend Watson spoke about his experiences in Baghdad as a member of the Iraq peace team and his views on the future for Baghdad and the Iraqi people.

He spoke of humorous occasions in Baghdad such as the time he silently protested from his hotel balcony in Baghdad with a banner reading "War = Terror", as the US tanks rolled through the streets. Neville had hoped to mimic the actions of the famous Tianamen square protester by blocking the path of oncoming US tank. He later realised this was impossible as "tanks these days move at almost 50km an hour" and by the time he was ready to get down to the street 20 tanks had arrived.

Reverend Watson took questions from the audience discussing topical issues such as the Indonesian invasion of Aceh and the recent suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco.