A letter to the media.
Dear Kerry O'Brien and 7.30pm Researchers.
Subject: House raids without warrants in the Northern Territory of Australia
Having just returned from visiting the Northern Territory I would like to ask the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard to explain:
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why house to house raids without warrants were conducted by the AFP (Australian Federal Police) in all of the Alice Springs town camps.
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Why at least two of the senior women who toured major cities, speaking out against a uranium waste dump on their traditional lands, have been raided by the AFP on warrants issued by a Federal Magistrate in Canberra.
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Their furniture was slashed with knives, belongings damaged; laptops and mobile phones seized and home phones tapped.
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I was told by one of the women that the warrant gave 12 hours access to her home and that the measures were justified because of the security crackdown for the APEC ministers.
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One of the women is an elderly grandmother.
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I was also advised by town camp resident that the AFP have set up surveillance on all households in the town camps.
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Every Aboriginal child in those camps have been photographed without consent. In 1990s the AFP were successfully taken to court for exactly the same violations in Redfern NSW.
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Please report on this disgraceful conduct and pursue a full explanation from the Howard government.
Regards,
Jennifer Martiniello
Member, Advisory Board
Australian Centre for Indigenous History,
Australian National University**************************************************
NOTE: This email has been changed to point form for easier reading on the web site.
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