Antarctica: The forgotton front

World War 3 Report, #94, January 2004

On Jan. 18, workers at McMurdo Station in Antarctica joined with millions of others around the world in protesting the war drive on Iraq. In red jackets, they formed a giant human peace sign on the ice against the backdrop of the towering Trans-Antarctic Range.

WW3 REPORT sources at McMurdo report that moves to censure anti-war activities at the research base have precipitated a free speech struggle. Last October, McMurdo researchers and support personnel organized a gathering of the anti-war group Not In Our Name. The gathering drew some 70 participants, 9% of the station's population. They read the Not In Our Name pledge and took photos holding a banner against the frigid Antarctic backdrop. Raytheon Polar Services Co. (RPSC), which is contracted by the National Science Foundation to operate all US Antarctic bases, cracked down afterwards. Raytheon management removed photos of the event from a common computer network folder available to all members of the McMurdo community, ordered the removal of a folder of essays from an ongoing political discussion group, and banned anything on the network with political content—including information on how to cast absentee ballots. RPSC station manager Jim Scott stated that protest demonstrations will not be tolerated—with the implied threat that those participating will be fired. Explicit threats were made that anyone attempting to organize a union will also be fired. McMurdo senior computer technician Robbie Liben told WW3 REPORT : The major issue is the right to free speech for American workers at a US research station working for an American contractor to the federal government. Management has implied that we have few, if any constitutional rights and legal protections in Antarctica.

For detailed information see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/icevoice/
User Name: IceVoice2003, Password: freespeech