Douglas Previte set-up for Stuttle murder

Why didn't the corporate media show his face? A 32 year old man? Almost every convicted murderer has their face splashed about in headlines. They reported that Ian Douglas Previte hid his face, sure but the authorities usually give it out. So what made this case so different? A miscarriage of justice. Keep those backpackers coming down under and who cares?

Bundaberg's Burnett River traffic bridge was the only witness to this crime.

Australia: A 32-year-old man has been jailed for life for murdering British backpacker Caroline Stuttle in Bundaberg in south-east Queensland on alleged evidence possibly trumped up while he was in prison?

But was he made a scapegoat for the "20 billion dollar tourist industry? And were the alleged statements made by Previte consistent with true confessions made by a guilty person? In other words did Previte make the alleged statements?

Ian Douglas Previte sat expressionless in the dock as he was found guilty by the Supreme Court jury of robbing and murdering Miss Stuttle in 2002.

But did he lack expression? Or was he stunned to become the next victim of a greedy Australian tourist industry? Government and corporate interests, which includes the mainstream media, all desperate to release the tourist industry from the bridgeblock due to a killing of a backpacker in far north Queensland.

The judge said Miss Stuttle should have been enjoying a holiday of a lifetime but instead Previte threw her off Bundaberg's Burnett River traffic bridge for a "miserable few dollars and killed her in the most terrible way".

But Ian Douglas Previte should have been enjoying his life but instead Previte went down for a murder he most likely never committed. Alleged to have thrown Miss Stuttle off Bundjaberg's Burnett River traffic bridge but was he made a scapegoat for the "20 billion dollar tourist industry?

When asked if he wanted to say anything about his sentencing, Previte shook his head. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 10 years for robbery to be served concurrently. Previte was charged with the murder and robbery of the 19-year-old after a 10-month police investigation.

Miss Stuttle's father Alan, brother Richard and former boyfriend Ian Nelson attended the trial. Alan Stuttle spoke to the media outside the court. "We are so relieved that this matter has finally be put to sleep and I think it's important now that we all move forward," he said. He said his family had endured two-and-a-half years of pain and anguish.

Prosecutor Peter Feeney told the jury the petite 19-year-old could only have been thrown from the nine metre-high Burnett River Traffic Bridge because her head barely came up to the railing. "There was an episode of considerable violence on the walkway," Mr Feeney said in his opening address to the Supreme Court murder trial in Bundaberg?

Allegedly: "Previte ignored her screams of terror and forced her over the railing."?

Mr Feeney said Previte, "a drug addict"? Had been sitting on a bench on the bridge about 9pm as Ms Stuttle walked by and had stalked her, intending to snatch her bag to get money for drugs?

Notice that Previte was labelled a "drug addict" but not the accused? If he did take drugs Previte was not unlike three quarters of other Australians? This was the first unfair statement made against the accused.

According to the prosecutor if he was a drug addict then he was also desperate? And could not be trusted? That is if he was a drug addict. Nevertheless any Australian could be labelled as drug addict and should the jury have been alert to the fact that he was this or that. He was a human being first and he was being accused. He said Previte bashed her and threw her over the railing?

Witness

But there were no witnesses? Ms Stuttle died instantly when her skull was fractured and her spine severed.

INCONSISTENT CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE?

Mr Feeney said, "Previte had made three confessions to the killing, once to jail inmates, once to police, and in writing on a picnic table at Baldwin Swamp, Bundaberg."

A) The one to jail inmates is irrelevant as this material was gained illegally after the fact from desperate prison informers in conditions that were not consistent with being described as normal in terms of living in the community. In other words a set-up.

B) Once to police, well where is the signed statement and how was it gained? The papers fail to report.

C) And in writing on a picnic table at Baldwin Swamp, Bundaberg? Again where is the proof? Someone made a mark on a table?

All these facts need to be published so that the community can understand the relevance of the alleged evidence. Juries can be bamboozled into thinking that this evidence is enough to convict a person for life but when closely examined perhaps not.

Ms Stuttle, of York in England, was on a working holiday with a childhood friend and had only been in Bundaberg, 350 kilometres north of Brisbane, for three days when tragedy struck. She was returning to the caravan park where she was staying after calling her boyfriend in England from a pay phone. Ms Stuttle's brother Richard attended court. Outside court, Mr Stuttle said the family missed his sister daily. "It gets a little bit easier, but it's still very, very difficult most days," he said.

Her 65-year-old artist father, Alan Stuttle, a contemporary of David Hockney, said visitors to Queensland should not be deterred by what happened to his daughter. "I don't want people to put a barrier up, to say: 'I aren't go to Bundaberg because of this'," he said.

"Youngsters have to have the freedom to enjoy their lives and not be worrying about security. If we hide, we let the elements that will always kill children win."

What about that this is a statement clearing the way for the tourist industry to get on with 20 billion a year industry no matter who went down for the killing?

Alan Stuttle travelled to Bundaberg to attend the trial.

But the statement by Alan Stuttle brought to you by the corporate media is typical of the tourist industries attempts to clear its name and that's all.

While he was in Australia he planed to paint the places his daughter told him about in text messages she sent home.

"The main thing for me is to see that justice is being done, because the murder of your child you'll never ever wash it off," he said.

[Doesn't matter what scapegoat is set-up for the murder or who done it.]

"It's always going to be there. I've sold all my places in Yorkshire. I couldn't bear going back to my old house and old gallery. Hopefully I've not got too many more years to live. It ruins your life."

[But it ruined the life of Douglas Previte, more likely than not just a simple scapegoat tried by media and authorities. At least if there were a witness to the murder and a decent explanation re the confession that was allegedly given by the alleged offender, then other people could could bear being an Australian citizen and not used to ensure tourism dollars like a scapegoat for the ruling class.]

Justice Peter Dutney has warned the jury to be dispassionate about the case, and not to make Previte a scapegoat for the killing.

But indeed Previte was made a scapegoat for the killing wake up Australia before you become the next corporate victim. The fact is they don't care who they get as long as the gate to Australian tourism remains open.

Well Mr Alan Stuttle I hope justice was done for you and your family if the real killer takes another backpacker somewhere down the track then justice will not be done for them. Is someone going to make sure what was put to the jury was consistent with the guilt of the accused?

Your guess is as good as mine because in Australia today there is no Legal Aid to appeal the worst case.

By Just Us 18 October 04

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Darfur death rates 'six times higher' than normal!!!!!!

Injuries and illness are taking their toll on displaced Darfur residents.

As many as 10,000 displaced people could be dying each month in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region - six times higher than normal mortality rates - a World Health Organisation study shows.

"What we are getting from this study is that the number of deaths is between 6,000 and 10,000 per month," David Nabarro, the WHO's official in charge of health actions in crisis situations, said.

He says under normal conditions, total mortality for the population concerned would be expected to stand at around 1,500 per month. A very high proportion of the dead are children," he said.

Mr Nabarro says the main causes of death are diarrhoea due to water pollution, fever, pneumonia and various injuries. He calls the death rate "unacceptably high", saying the figures are higher than during the wars in East Timor, the Balkans or Iraq in 1991. He says the main priority is to improve hygiene conditions, access to clean water and the management of camps in the western Sudanese region. However, he warns that the current relief operation may not be enough to match the scale of the crisis.

The WHO study has been carried out, with help from the Sudanese Government, in Darfur's three provinces. There are 1.2 million people are living in precarious conditions in camps for the displaced in the region. Mr Nabarro says the daily mortality rate among the displaced stands at 1.5 per 10,000 in North Darfur, where some 380,000 people are displaced. It rises to 2.5 among children under five - three times higher than the average African death rate.

According to United Nations estimates, up to 50,000 people have died in Darfur since two rebel groups rose up against the Government in February 2003. The uprising sparked a crackdown by the Government and a proxy Arab militia.

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Washington tightens the screws on Sudan

Sudan's rebel forces are on the offensive and are reported to have seized large areas in the eastern part of the country. Their success may be due in part to covert backing from the United States government, which has its own reasons for interfering.

After failing to get tough UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic government in Khartoum, the US government has adopted the backdoor strategy of sending military aid to its adversaries.

Although a small slice of the budget cake, Washington's plan to send $20 million in military equipment to Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea - three neighbours who support Sudanese rebel forces - may tip the civil war balance against the Khartoum government.

Last October, a milestone unity conference of the National Democratic Alliance, Sudan's rebel coalition, announced the formation of a joint military command of its seven diverse components. Simultaneously, it was launching offensives around the country. When Ethiopia revealed evidence of Sudan's complicity in the botched assassination attempt on Mubarak in its capital, Addis Ababa, in 1995, regional relations plummeted. Sudan ignored calls from the Organisation of African Unity and the United Nations to extradite the suspects.

In April 1996 the US sought and obtained UN Security Council sanctions covering diplomatic and travel matters. What it did not get was an arms embargo. Egypt objected to an arms embargo, fearing the benefit it would bring to the southern rebels, who might jeopardise Egypt's use of the Nile. Russia and China, which have signed oil exploration agreements with Sudan, also objected to tougher sanctions.

Military aid

Now the US is hitting back below the UN belt. It has openly pledged military aid to three of Sudan's neighbours, cementing an anti-Khartoum coalition. According to US government officials, the $20 million in surplus military equipment earmarked for Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda is "non-lethal" and includes items such as radios, uniforms, boots and tents. But Pentagon officials have not ruled out extending this to include rifles and other weapons.

Although US officials have denied that the equipment is for Sudanese opposition groups, saying it is for the "defence" of the recipient countries, it is uncertain that the equipment - reported in the Washington Post to be basic items suitable for outfitting a guerilla force - will be kept from Sudan's rebel forces.

In 1995 Eritrean President Issayas Aferwerki stated in an interview with the Economist that his government would give arms to anyone committed to overthrowing the Khartoum government. Ethiopia and Eritrea do not need US rifles, nor are they incapable of defence. In the 17 years prior to 1991, the former Soviet-backed Ethiopian regime - then Africa's largest standing army - received an estimated $2 billion in Soviet arms. Ethiopian and Eritrean rebel forces captured and redeployed these arms to oust the government.

Relations turn sour

Five years ago, Sudan supported Ethiopia's rebels and Eritrea's secessionists. In turn, the former Ethiopian regime supported Sudan's rebels. When Ethiopian rebels toppled their government and Eritrea seceded, their respective new governments attempted a policy of non-interference toward Sudan.

But since the 1993 Eritrean independence referendum, relations between the secular but Christian-dominated Provisional Government of Eritrea and Khartoum's militant Islamic regime have grown sour over Sudan's push for Arabisation and Islamisation. Eritrea, like Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, charges Sudan with creating regional instability by funding Islamic militants. Although Sudan's National Islamic Front leader, Hassan al-Turabi, and military leader Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir praised Eritrea's newly won independence in April 1993, their push to attract lowland Muslim Eritreans ended with Eritrea's 1995 expulsion of the Sudanese embassy and Sudan Airways. Then in June 1995, Eritrea hosted a milestone conference to unite Sudan's rebel forces, giving them the former Sudanese embassy in Asmara to coordinate their efforts.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Sudan's rebel coalition, was formed, consisting of the Beja Congress, the Sudan Alliance Forces, the Umma Party, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Legitimate Command of the Sudanese Army and the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance. All have agreed on the future process of development, democratisation and the restructuring of Sudan on the basis of social equality and justice.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia is also playing its part. The Sudanese embassy, once the largest in the region and the most feared among political exiles, was downgraded to a skeleton staff, and around Christmas 1995 there were reports of SPLA units returning to their former Gambela base in Ethiopia.

In March 1966, Sudan claimed that the Ethiopian army had launched a series of offensives along the border of its upper Blue Nile states using tanks and heavy weaponry to capture territory it then handed over to the SPLA. In June the Khartoum government-controlled newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm denounced the World Bank for its support of Ethiopian plans to build dams on the Atbara and Blue Nile rivers, the latter delivering 70% of the Nile's water. Uganda has similar plans for the White Nile.

In response to mounting opposition and its growing isolation, the Sudanese government attempted to legitimise itself through snap elections in March. Of the 20% who went to the polls, 75% voted for National Islamic Front zealots. A large part of Sudan's new foreign relations offensive focuses on Egypt. Following a meeting of the two presidents on the sidelines of the Arab Summit, held in Cairo on June 21, Sudan showed its willingness to trade Islamic militants for better relations. Pressure from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch also prompted Sudan to release former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, and officials have pledged they will release a further 200 prisoners on the 148 released in September.

On November 4 Sudan signed a draft peace agreement with Uganda, but a week later the US compromised any such deal by pledging military aid to Uganda. Khartoum in recent months has stepped up a campaign of aerial bombardment, employing cluster bombs to devastating effect.

Although ethnicity and religion play a key role in Sudan's civil war, it was generated by the will of a resource-starved northern elite to exploit the newly accessible oil, water and land resources of the south. Islamic law has been the tool of repression, and ethnic groups have been divided in order to be ruled or pitted ruthlessly against each another. Jihad (holy war) has been called to rally the poorer folk, who are often forcibly swept up into peasant militias.

Refugees

Since 1970 the population has nearly doubled to 27 million, of which up to 6 million are internally displaced, and at least 1 million have become refugees. The subsistence economy has been largely destroyed by the compound effect of drought, desertification, deforestation and war in the south, west and east.The resultant city-bound migration is unwelcome. In 1995, the government bulldozed thousands of homes in the shanty towns on Khartoum's fringes. Some 300,000 Ethiopian and 400,000 Eritrean refugees, many having lived, intermarried and had children since waves of migration brought them to Sudan during the famine and war-torn years of the early '80s, have been caught up in the conflict. Refugees suffer the injustices of trumped-up racial hatred and petty economic jealousies. Imprisonment, deportation and confiscation of property have become common.

Although Eritrea has been notably compassionate in its treatment of Sudanese refugees, Ethiopia has not learned to distinguish between pro- and anti-Khartoum Sudanese people in Ethiopia. The few who have been granted political asylum are neglected by the United Nations, and many dissidents in Addis Ababa have been "repatriated" to the Khartoum government.

By James D. Thompson Green Left Weekly posted 2 September 04

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Sudan has carried out fresh helicopter attacks in Darfur, worsening an already desperate humanitarian situation, while Arab militia targeted refugees trying to escape the conflict, the United Nations said.

African Union may send 2,000 troops to Darfur
The African Union (AU) may boost the number of troops deployed to Sudan's troubled Darfur region to 2,000, subject to the move gaining approval at a meeting of its members, a spokesman said.

Sudan rejects UN resolution deadline
Sudan has condemned a 30 day deadline set by the United Nations Security Council for action on Darfur, but has said it would implement a 90 day program as agreed earlier with UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

African Union considers Sudan peacekeeping mission
Intervention considered: The African Union says the Sudanese Government has failed to stop the bloodshed.

Annan urges more aid for Sudan
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan is pressing governments for more aid for the troubled Darfur region, as the Security Council considers threatening the Sudanese Government with sanctions over its role in the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Sudan vows to resist Darfur intervention
A crowd of boys welcomes the arrival of a convoy of Red Cross trucks carrying food and supplies to a camp between Chad and Sudan.

Annan, African leaders to hold Sudan talks
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will hold talks with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and other African leaders on peace initiatives in Sudan and Ivory Coast on Thursday, a Nigerian spokeswoman said.

Sudan warns against foreign intervention
Sudan has warned it will use force against any attempt at outside military intervention in the crisis-torn Darfur region, while rebels called for the quick arrival of foreign troops.

Sudanese refugees flood into Chad
Aid agencies in Chad are bracing for the arrival of more refugees from Sudan's devastated Darfur region. The United Nations estimates that up to 200,000 refugees have already crossed into Chad from Sudan and fears that as many again are on their way.

US threatens Sudan with UN sanctions
The United States has circulated a United Nations resolution threatening sanctions against the Sudan government if Khartoum did not prosecute Arab militia leaders in the western Darfur region.

UN sanctions for Sudan 'unlikely'
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says Sudan has made little progress in curbing marauding militias in the Darfur region but diplomats said sanctions against Khartoum were unlikely.

Sudan rejects human rights report on Darfur
The Sudanese government has slammed a report by Human Rights Watch over the strife-torn western region of Darfur and accused the organisation of attempting to provoke the UN Security Council into imposing sanctions against the country.

African Union tries to revive failed Darfur talks
The African Union (AU) says it has made fresh contact with the government of Sudan and Darfur rebels in an effort to revive peace talks that broke down over the weekend.

Health catastrophe looms in Sudan: UN
A malnourished Sudanese refugee child lies at a feeding centre in Iriba Town in Chad. The World Health Organisation has warned a major health catastrophe could erupt in western Sudan's Darfur region if the needed funds, personnel and supplies were not made available.

Sudan decrees end to relief restrictions
The Sudanese Government, under international pressure to help displaced people in the western region of Darfur, has ordered an end to restrictions on the movement of relief organisations and imports of relief supplies.

Sudan urged to take urgent action to protect refugees
The UN is urging the Sudanese Government to take urgent action to protect more than 1 million refugees.

Terrorism obscuring world crises, Sir William says
The former governor-general, Sir William Deane, has advised Australians not to lose perspective about international crises during the ongoing focus on terrorism.

UN warns of worsening conditions in Darfur

The United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) says conditions are worsening in Sudan's western Darfur region.

The WFP says disease and hunger are threatening lives. It is trying to deliver food to some of the more than 1 million people who have been displaced by fighting but officials say disease and heavy rains are adding to the difficulties. The number of hepatitis cases has doubled in the past month.

United Nations special representative Jan Pronk is expected to report to the UN Security Council tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Sudan has accused rebels of kidnapping more than 20 aid workers in the troubled region. United Nations officials are investigating the incident.

The Sudanese Government says 22 health workers were abducted near the town of Nyala in southern Darfur. The staff were part of a vaccination program. The Government says they were kidnapped by rebels, but there has been no official confirmation.

In a separate incident eight Sudanese workers from the World Food Program and the Red Crescent organisation went missing on Sunday.

Rebels have denied that the staff members were abducted.

Rebel leaders and government officials are taking part in peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja. Both sides have accused each other of breaking a ceasefire agreement.

By In Solidarity 1 September 04

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Sudan launches fresh helicopter attacks in Darfur: UN
Sudan has carried out fresh helicopter attacks in Darfur, worsening an already desperate humanitarian situation, while Arab militia targeted refugees trying to escape the conflict, the United Nations said.

African Union may send 2,000 troops to Darfur
The African Union (AU) may boost the number of troops deployed to Sudan's troubled Darfur region to 2,000, subject to the move gaining approval at a meeting of its members, a spokesman said.

Sudan rejects UN resolution deadline
Sudan has condemned a 30 day deadline set by the United Nations Security Council for action on Darfur, but has said it would implement a 90 day program as agreed earlier with UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

African Union considers Sudan peacekeeping mission
Intervention considered: The African Union says the Sudanese Government has failed to stop the bloodshed.

Annan urges more aid for Sudan
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan is pressing governments for more aid for the troubled Darfur region, as the Security Council considers threatening the Sudanese Government with sanctions over its role in the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Sudan vows to resist Darfur intervention
A crowd of boys welcomes the arrival of a convoy of Red Cross trucks carrying food and supplies to a camp between Chad and Sudan.

Annan, African leaders to hold Sudan talks
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will hold talks with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and other African leaders on peace initiatives in Sudan and Ivory Coast on Thursday, a Nigerian spokeswoman said.

Sudan warns against foreign intervention
Sudan has warned it will use force against any attempt at outside military intervention in the crisis-torn Darfur region, while rebels called for the quick arrival of foreign troops.

Sudanese refugees flood into Chad
Aid agencies in Chad are bracing for the arrival of more refugees from Sudan's devastated Darfur region. The United Nations estimates that up to 200,000 refugees have already crossed into Chad from Sudan and fears that as many again are on their way.

US threatens Sudan with UN sanctions
The United States has circulated a United Nations resolution threatening sanctions against the Sudan government if Khartoum did not prosecute Arab militia leaders in the western Darfur region.

UN sanctions for Sudan 'unlikely'
United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan says Sudan has made little progress in curbing marauding militias in the Darfur region but diplomats said sanctions against Khartoum were unlikely.

Sudan rejects human rights report on Darfur
The Sudanese government has slammed a report by Human Rights Watch over the strife-torn western region of Darfur and accused the organisation of attempting to provoke the UN Security Council into imposing sanctions against the country.

African Union tries to revive failed Darfur talks
The African Union (AU) says it has made fresh contact with the government of Sudan and Darfur rebels in an effort to revive peace talks that broke down over the weekend.

Health catastrophe looms in Sudan: UN
A malnourished Sudanese refugee child lies at a feeding centre in Iriba Town in Chad. The World Health Organisation has warned a major health catastrophe could erupt in western Sudan's Darfur region if the needed funds, personnel and supplies were not made available.

Sudan decrees end to relief restrictions
The Sudanese Government, under international pressure to help displaced people in the western region of Darfur, has ordered an end to restrictions on the movement of relief organisations and imports of relief supplies.

Sudan urged to take urgent action to protect refugees
The UN is urging the Sudanese Government to take urgent action to protect more than 1 million refugees.

Terrorism obscuring world crises, Sir William says
The former governor-general, Sir William Deane, has advised Australians not to lose perspective about international crises during the ongoing focus on terrorism.