ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE: THE AIDEX ’91 STORY
By Iain McIntyre
144 pages- HOMEBREW PRESS
In November 1991 over 1000 protesters blockaded the National Exhibition Centre in Canberra for 12 days with the aim of shutting down the Australia International Defence Exhibition. AIDEX ’91 saw the most police violence and highest number of arrests in the Australian Capital Territory since the Vietnam era. Although the exhibition was eventually able to go ahead the blockade caused enough disruption to ensure that no one would dare hold another arms fair on this scale in Australia again. The success of the protest came at a cost however with hundreds of demonstrators injured and their actions attacked in the mainstream media.
Alongside a detailed account of the protest itself Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life: The AIDEX ’91 Story traces the background of the blockade amidst the growth of opposition to the Australian arms industry during the 1980s. Using the words of the protesters themselves the book also explores the lessons of AIDEX ’91, the effect of the protest on a generation of Australian activists and the way in which similar strategies were used to stop the 2008 Asia Pacific Defence Exhibition from occurring. The book features many photos from both the AIDEX ’89 and ’91 protests.
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life is available in Canberra from Smith’s Alternative Bookshop or on-line from http://foe.org.au/shop and www.3cr.org.au/shop
