[Matt Holcomb]

Protesters tell Rumsfeld to leave

17th November 2005

A 500-strong rally in central Adelaide today called United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld a war criminal and demanded he go home.

With strict security precautions in place there was little prospect that any demonstrators could get near any venue in which Mr Rumsfeld or US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Zoellick were present.

However, they made do with a rally on the steps outside Adelaide's Parliament House where a series of speakers addressed the crowd.

Protesters chanted that Mr Rumsfeld was a war criminal and should return to the United States.

The senior members of the US government are in Adelaide for the annual Australian and US ministerial consultations, known as AUSMIN.

The rally also called for the freeing of Australian terror suspect David Hicks from Guantanamo Bay jail and chanted: "Rummy go home to your mummy".

One demonstrator waved a placard saying: "9/11 was an inside job".

Australian Democrats SA leader Sandra Kanck said the rally was originally intended to protest at the proposed new terror laws.

"We would not need terror laws if our Prime Minister had not tied us to the coat tails of (US President) George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld," she said.

"I have been delighted to hear much sedition here today and I have been delighted to see placards that are saying seditious things.

"But by Christmas this may not be allowed in our democracy."

South Australian Greens MP Kris Hanna said Mr Rumsfeld was a symbol of that power and money which runs the United States and Australia.

"They are willing to kill, they are willing to murder innocent civilians by the tens of thousands to exploit the resources of other countries and sacrifice even their own soldiers for these goals of war and expropriation."

After about an hour the rally dispersed.