Originally published by Green Left Weekly.
On
Tuesday the 16th
of April, I received a knock on the door from two members of the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, better known as ASIO.
The
two told me they would like to have a conversation. When I asked what
they wanted to speak about, they told me they were doing their job -
protecting national security – and had a few questions about my
involvement in activism in Sydney.
Apparently
the latest threat to national security is “political violence” in
the activist community. As a Palestine solidarity activist involved
in organising the Sydney rally to commemorate Nakba (the catastrophe,
when the state of Israel was created and Palestinians dispossessed)
the agents wanted to speak to me about any concerns I might have,
or for me to identify any individuals who I was worried might be
responsible for acts of political violence.
I
replied that the only fears of violence that I had from my
involvement in Palestine solidarity activism were from the far right
groups and individuals who often organise counter mobilisations –
or simply send threatening and intimidatory emails, messages and
phone calls in an attempt to stop or derail our protests and other
events.
I
was also questioned by the employees about the recent rally against
police violence at Mardi Gras – which I didn’t attend – and the
picket lines at the University of Sydney, where I study, organised by
the National Tertiary Education Union. Once again, my answer was
that the only violence I have seen in my time as an activist has been
initiated by those seeking to silence our right to protest.
In
the case of Sydney University, this comes from members of the “Public
Order and Riot” Squad of the NSW Police force, who have been sentin to break up the picket and other protests to defend education and
student rights. At the latest picket, they were responsible for breaking one student's leg and another's ribs.
In a context of the “war on terror” overseas — which has involved Australian troops involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past decade — there is a war on civil liberties at home.
ASIO’s
mandate is broad and without scrutiny. The organisation is
responsible for providing security assessment for refugees seeking
asylum in Australia, with no public oversight. Tamil asylum seeker
Ranjini and her two sons are locked up in Sydney’s Villawood
Detention Centre because ASIO decided she is a “security risk”.
As
$900 million is being slashed from our universities through an
“efficiency dividend”, the new ASIO headquarter building in
Canberra is facing yet another costly delay in opening. After being
estimated to cost $460 million when construction began under the
Howard government, the full price tag is now being estimated at over$631 million dollars – over 2/3 of the university cuts.
Construction
has had no parliamentary oversight, and there was no public
consultation.
The Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (the
ASIO Act) even makes it illegal to publish the identity of any
officer, agent or employee of the organisation.
These visits are an attempt to intimidate people into ending their involvement in legitimate political organisations. Organising and attending demonstrations is not illegal and people involved in these activities should not be monitored by ASIO.
There is no law that prevents people from speaking publicly about a visit from ASIO. Shining a light on these practices is important to show that we will not be intimidated into exercising our democratic right to protest.
If
the powers that be were serious about national security, they might
abolish this spy agency - and withdraw our troops from the costly and
unjustifiable occupation of Afghanistan - instead of harassing
activists who are only exercising their democratic right to protest.
