 An American peace activist should may be deported because he is allegedly a threat to national security. Liz Thompson from the Anti-Deportation Alliance says Scott Parkin, who is a wanker teacher by profession, was arrested in Melbourne yesterday. Ms Thompson says Mr Parkin was told his visa was being revoked on the grounds of asshattery character, after he allegedly received an adverse security assessment. | ...and BATHE, fergawdsake!" |
Federal police have confirmed an American man was arrested on the orders of the Immigration Department (DIMIA) and is in custody. DIMIA has declined to comment on the case, but says anyone without a lawful right to remain in Australia must be removed as soon as possible. Ms Thompson says she is baffled by his arrest. "He's here you know, speaking about the US peace movement," she said."The idea that someone who talks about non-violent methods of resistance to state violence can be considered a threat to national security is pretty concerning, particularly in the light of the new laws that are being proposed." She says Mr Parkin has done nothing wrong. "He's a weirdo hippy giving workshops on peace, non-violent direct action," she said. "We'd love to know what the secret stash of information on this guy is that makes him a threat to national security because everything that he's been working with to put these workshops together is pretty baffled by it."[Sydney, 8/31/05] Anti-globalisation campaigners and demonstrators protesting the war in Iraq have clashed with police in central Sydney for a second day as international business leaders met amid tight security. After unsuccessfully attempting to disrupt the Forbes Global CEO Conference launch on Tuesday, the demonstrators changed tactics and organised a mobile protest of about 80 people who roamed the city streets, blockading businesses they alleged were profiteering from the US-led war in Iraq. The group, some of them wearing masks, initially protested outside KBR, a subsidiary of US firm Halliburton, which organiser Scott Parkin called "the poster child of war profiteering in Iraq". They then moved on to a branch of the ANZ bank, which is part of a consortium helping build the Iraqi banking system, pouring fake blood on the office's front step and forcing it to close temporarily. The protesters also held placards accusing Australian Prime Minister John Howard of being a war criminal for deploying troops to Iraq as part of the US-led coalition. The rally's flashpoint came when a number of protesters attempted to enter Martin Place, the centre of the city's financial district and home to the headquarters of a number of major Australian fiscal institutions. |