The LATIN AMERICA AND ASIA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FORUM is taking place in Melbourne on October 11-14. You can get full details on the conference by clicking LAAPSF 2007
This is a very important conference that people should try to get to. For those interested in Asia, speakers will include:
East Timor
* Avelino Coelho, General Secretary, Socialist Party of Timor
* Tomas Freitas, Luta Hamutuk ("Struggle Together")
* Mericio "Akara" Juvenal, Luta Hamutuk
* Jose Teixeira, Fretilin, Member of Parliament
Indonesia
* Dita Sari, Founding chairperson of Centre for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI)
* Agus Priyono, Chairperson, National Liberation Party of Unity (PAPERNAS)
Korea
* Reverend Jang Chang Weon, Osan Laborers and Migrants Shelter, Reconciliation and Unification Mission Center
Malaysia
* Irene Xavier, Coordinator, Transnational Information Exchange Asia
Pakistan
* Farooq Tariq, General Secretary, Labour Party Pakistan
Vietnam
* Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnam's Deputy Consul General in Australia
* Vietnam General Confederation of Labour delegation
* Tran Dac Loi, the secretary general of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation
* Tran Quoc Khanh, Vietnam's Deputy Consul General in Australia
West Papua
* Anak Jehudi, Patron, West Papua Students Association, Port Morseby.
The conference is jointly organised by Asia Pacific, the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network (AVSN), Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference (APISC) and the Latin American Solidarity Network (LASNET).
I was convenor of the 1998 APISC conference and the 2005 APISC Conference and helped organise and spoke at the 2002 APISC Conference.
Unfortunately, financial constraints mean that I cannot get to this conference myself as I am away from, Australia. A great pity for me - especially given the exciting Venezuelan delegation attending:
Venezuela
* Eva Golinger, author of The Chavez Code and Bush vs Chavez: Washington’s War on Venezuela
* Vladimir Villegas, Vice-Minister for Asia, Middle East and Oceania.
* Sandino Carrizales, Youth activist and Communal Councils organiser.
* Nelson Davila, Venezuela's Charge d'Affairs in Australia