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Community Activism in the Cold

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Community Activism in the Cold Peace Activism in the Cold War: The Congress for International Cooperation & Disarmament, 1949-1970 Laura Rovetto College of Arts & Education Victoria University February 2020 Abstract This thesis examines the CICD’s commitment to the Australian peace movement from its formation in November 1959 and concluding with the first Melbourne Vietnam Moratorium Campaign in 1970. It also traces developments in the post-World War II peace movement, which led to the establishment of the CICD in 1959 as a part of a national association of state peace committees. The historiography of the Australian peace movement during the 1960s and early 1970s has generally focused on student and youth activism and has neglected the activism of the CICD. This thesis will therefore represent the first systematic, scholarly analysis of the organisation’s early activism, and will contribute to the redressing of a significant historiographical gap in the history of political activism in Australia, during the Cold War. It draws upon CICD’s records collection and related primary and secondary sources to argue that since its formation as the state leading peace body in Victoria, the CICD fostered a particular set of community values and has played an important role in developing effective networks of community alliances for the organisation of mass peace and anti-war protests. This thesis examines CICD’s involvement in general disarmament and anti-nuclear protests, campaigns for a non-aligned Australia, support for struggles of national independence and its opposition to Western policies towards and in Southeast Asia. Despite its claims of political neutrality, the CICD demonstrated an anti-Western imperialist attitude and unquestioned admiration for the Soviet Union. The CICD’s approach was largely consistent with the international peace movement’s pursuits in this period, which promoted the pro-Soviet policy of peaceful coexistence as a means of brokering international disputes and avoiding a nuclear, third world war. The CICD’s political activity was shaped not only by its links with the pro- Soviet international peace movement but also by Australian activist traditions. The correlation between these two factors was important in shaping the scope and nature of the CICD’s political activism and its organisational culture. i Doctor of Philosophy Declaration I, Laura Rovetto, declare that the PhD thesis entitled Peace Activism in the Cold War: The Congress for International Cooperation Disarmament, 1949-1970, is no more than 100,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated this thesis is my own work. Signature: Date: 19.02.2020 ii Acknowledgments The writing of this thesis has been made possible by the assistance and encouragement of many people and institutions. Without this support, it is unlikely that the writing of this thesis would have been completed. I wish to acknowledge the following people for the contribution they have made to this project. Firstly, my supervisors Emeritus Professor Phillip Deery and Associate Professor Dianne Hall, whose encouragement, assistance and guidance during the long process of writing were invaluable. I also wish to thank Victoria University for awarding a College Centenary Postgraduate Research Scholarship; the National Archives of Australia and Australian Historical Association for awarding a postgraduate scholarship to assist with accessing archival research, and Professor Paul Pickering (ANU), who provided a special bursary that assisted the research. I am also indebted to the staffs of Victoria University Library, the Baillieu Library at the University of Melbourne, and the State Library of Victoria, who responded quickly and efficiently to requests for material. I wish to thank those who generously shared their memories of these events with me. I would also like to acknowledge the support of CICD secretary, Romina Beitseen, Ken Mansell and the late John Ellis. Finally, I would like to thank my family, particularly my sister Josie Rovetto, my partner John and our children, Alithia and James Burgos, for their patience and generosity. iii Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... i Doctor of Philosophy Declaration ......................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments................................................................................................................ iii Glossary ................................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review ..................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Towards a ‘Declaration of Hope’ ....................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: The CICD and the early disarmament campaign, 1960-1964 .......................... 103 Chapter 4: The CICD and SE Asia, 1960-1963 ................................................................. 170 Chapter 5: The CICD and the Vietnam War, 1964-1969 .................................................. 218 Chapter 6: The CICD and the Vietnam Moratorium Campaign, May 1970 ..................... 278 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 314 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 326 Appendix ............................................................................................................................ 342 iv Glossary AAPSO Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organisation. AATTV Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. ACC Australian Council of Churches. ACTU Australian Council of Trade Unions. ACICD Australian Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament. ADMA Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement. AEU Amalgamated Engineering Union. AICD Association for International Cooperation and Disarmament. AKAC Anti-Ky Action Committee. ALP Australian Labor Party. ANU Australian National University. ANZCICD Australia and New Zealand Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament. APC Australian Peace Council. APPU Australian Peace Pledge Union. ARU Australian Railways Union. ARVN Army of the Republic of Vietnam. ASIO Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. ASLF Australian Student Labour Federation. BLF Builders Labourer Federation. CIA Central Intelligence Agency. CICD Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament. CCC Campaign for Conscience on Conscription. CCWM Christian Commonwealth Movement. CDA Centre for Democratic Action. CDNI Committee for the Defence of National Interests. CND Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. CDNSA Committee in Defiance of the National Service Act. CPA Communist Party of Australia. CPM Christian Pacifist Movement. CPA (M-L) Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist). DRC Democratic Rights Council. v DRM Draft Resisters’ Movement. DRU Draft Resisters’ Union. DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam. EYL Eureka Youth League. FPC Federal Pacifist Council. FOR Fellowship of Reconciliation. HDC Hiroshima Day Committee. ICC International Commission for Supervision and Control. LTBT Limited Test Ban Treaty, also known as Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT). MLC Monash Labor Club. MP Member of Parliament. NFZ Nuclear-Free Zone. NLF The South Vietnamese National Liberation Front. NLHS Neo Lao Hak Sat Party, the political arm of the Pathet Lao. NSWPCICD New South Wales Peace Committee for International Cooperation and Disarmament. NUAUS National Union of Australian University Students. NZCP New Zealand Communist Party. PAVN People’s Army of Vietnam. PKI Partai Komunis Indonesia. PLAF People’s Liberation Armed Forces. PPU Peace Pledge Union, Victoria. PRC People’s Republic of China. PRG People’s Revolutionary Army. PQF Peace Quest Forum. QPCICD Queensland Peace Committee for International Cooperation and Disarmament. RAAF Royal Australian Air Force. SANE Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. SDS Students for a Democratic Society. SEATO South East Asian Treaty Organisation. SOS Save Our Sons. SPC State Pacifist Council. SUA Vic. Seamen’s Union of Australia, Victorian Branch. THC Trades Hall Council, Melbourne. vi UAW Union of Australian Women. UN United Nations Organisation. V-CND Victorian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. VCC Vietnam Coordinating Committee. VDC Vietnam Day Committee. VMC Vietnam Moratorium Committee. VPC Victorian Peace Council. WCC World Council of Churches. WCTU Women’s Christian Temperance Union. WILPF Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. WPC World Peace Council. WRI War Resisters International. WSA Worker Student Alliance. YCAC Youth Campaign Against Conscription. YLA Young Labor Association of Victoria. vii Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review This thesis examines the Melbourne-based Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament’s (CICD) involvement in the Australian peace movement during the 1960s until May 1970. It also traces developments in the post-World War II (WWII) peace movement, which led to the establishment of the CICD as a part of a national association of state peace committees
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