Stop the war on civil liberties!

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Prime Minister John Howard is using the “war on terror” to promote widespread fear about “terrorists” and “terrorism” in Australia. This is despite the fact that the biggest act of terror being committed today is being carried out by foreign troops, including Australia’s, in occupied Iraq.

We condemn the Howard government’s reactionary “security” agenda, and the unanimous support of Labor state and territory governments for the draconian federal “anti-terror” laws at the COAG summit on September 27. This represents a bi-partisan attack on our democratic rights.

ALP federal opposition leader Kim Beazley wanted to go further and have all the states to adopt what already exist in NSW where the Police Commissioner has the power to order a lock-down of whole suburbs where there is a suspected “terrorist”.

As civil rights lawyers and activists have pointed out, the major parties have signed onto measures to overturn the presumption of innocence and the right to privacy and which are a direct attack on our political freedoms.

The only people who have so far been charged with a “terrorism offence” are Muslims and all groups that have been proscribed as “terrorist organisations” under the Criminal Code are organisations that espouse a connection to Islam. It is clear that the new powers are already being mostly used against Muslim Australians, thereby breaching the principle of equality before the law.

But there is every reason to believe that these laws will soon be used against anyone who disagrees with the government — striking workers, anti-corporate protesters, critical journalists, and peace activists.

The arrest and deportation of US peace activist Scott Parkin, on the grounds of “national security”, gives some idea of how the state is preparing to use its increased power.

The “national security” and “anti-terror” laws already adopted by state and federal governments have given ASIO and the police forces the power to harass, persecute, prosecute and imprison people with impunity. The new draconian laws are also aimed “advocacy of terrorism”.

But the “anti-terror” laws have done nothing to reduce the risk of terrorist attack, here or in any other country. Their real purpose is to intimidate and silence dissent. In particular, they aim to gag opposition to the imperialists’ wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and any other poor country the US and its allies decide to invade.

We, the undersigned, call on Australian government to:

Further, we call on the federal Labor opposition and all state Labor governments to act decisively to stop the decimation of democratic rights in Australia by:

Dr Naomi Crafti, Swinburne University of Technology, Socialist Alliance

Lara Pullin, Latin America Solidarity Activist, Canberra

Shua Garfield, Sydney

Gavin Mooney, Professor of Health Economics; Director of the Social and Public Health Economics Research Group and Co-convenor WA Social Justice Network

Annolies Truman, WA

Alex Miller, National Tertiary Education Union

Raul Bassi, Free David Hicks campaign, Sydney, Socialist Alliance

Rick Morris

Pip Hinman, Stop the War Coalition, Sydney

Ray Jackson, President, Indigenous Social Justice Association Inc., Sydney

Lisa Macdonald, Socialist Alliance national coordinator

Norrie May-Welby, Sydney

Adam Raffel

Helen Masterman-Smith, Socialist Alliance, Adelaide

Lalitha Chelliah, Melbourne

Robert McFarlane, Sydney

Rosemary Lynch

Shannon Mullen

John Kirk

Bea Bleile, NTEU member, Armidale

Debbie Brennan, Australian Services Union delegate, Melbourne

Daniel Marsden

Lisa McCaffrey, Art Director, YEN Media International :: YEN Magazine, Sydney

Alison Thorne, CPSU delegate, Melbourne

Peter Murray, Freedom Socialist Bulletin Editorial Board, Melbourne

Karen Thorp, Socialist Alliance, Brisbane

Andrew Martin, AMWU, Brisbane

Lizzy Stokke

Linda Seaborn

Bonnie Dowling

Andrew & Michelle de Hommel

David Stewart

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There are 2 comments on this article

By Debra B

I am an Australian born citizen and officially my children & i do not exist due to NSW Police issuing us with fraudulent new identities under the Witness Proetction Program - the Birth Certificates do not exist which means my children & I are unable to use the documents as ID, obtain passports, marry register any children born, adopt a child, obtain secuurity clearances for employment, defend our country etc. All Human Rights violations and covered up by corrupt government officials & Depts. As we have no resources we are unable to take them on in Court to obtain a remedy and I refuse to proceed further as I have demanded we be supplied with 'INDEMNITY FROM PROSECUTION" for signing false stat dec's, misleading the court, failing to vote, possession & uttering false documents, knowingly providing false details/info to authorised personnel etc which has been refused. I requested this as I believe we need it for our protection from corrupt elements who wish to punish us & may use the Crimes Act to incarcerate us to silence / prevent us from continuously trying to get someone to listen to the evidence.

By elizabeth brawn, newcastle

a person should not be prosecuted for something they did not commit and protesting etc is a right. it's in our constitution!

deliberatly targeting certain sub-groups in society is against the anti harrasment/vilification/discrimantion act of 1977. authorities are not immune to the law!
a quote......
Terrorism is the war of the poor.
ar is the terrorism of the rich -
Leon Uris