NSW Police Force: Deaths in custody?

Police under attack in Sydney's south-west

A police officer has been hit by a brick thrown by a community member in the third night of protest in Sydney's southwest.

The protest follows the deaths of two teenagers during a police pursuit on Friday night.

The definition of a 'death in custody' recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody includes, 'the death wherever occurring of a person who dies or is fatally injured in the process of police or prison officers attempting to detain that person'.

With deaths resulting from police pursuits, before the occupant or occupants of the vehicle are recorded as a 'death in custody', it would need to be established that there was a pursuit under way and still in progress at the time of death.

It would also need to be established what offence had been committed by the occupant/s of the vehicle and therefore whether only the driver or all occupants had committed an offence?

Late on Friday night, two teenagers were killed when a stolen car crashed at Macquarie Fields in south-western Sydney, after fleeing from a patrolling police car.

Crash investigation officers had rocks thrown at them early on Saturday morning, and on Saturday night police in riot gear were pelted with rocks and house bricks.

Last night's violent incident occurred in the suburb of Macquarie Fields where a group of 30 police officers advanced on 50 or more protesters.

The protesters pelted the police officers, wearing riot gear, with bricks and other projectiles.

Roads in the area have been closed while a helicopter monitored the situation from the sky.

Police announced yesterday that they were forming a task force to investigate two previous attacks.

Crash investigation officers had rocks thrown at them early on Saturday morning, and on Saturday night police in riot gear were also pelted with rocks and house bricks.

Assistant Police Commissioner Denis Clifford says cooperation between police and the local community is needed.

"The behaviour of certain people in the Macquarie Fields area over the last couple of nights has done nothing but hinder the investigation by the coroner and police into the circumstances, surrounding the death of the two young teenagers out there," he said.

"I'm asking the people who have been involved in that type of behaviour to allow police to get on with their job."

Assistant Commissioner Clifford says police are prepared if any further attacks occurred.

"Can I reassure the community out there, that we will have sufficient resources in that area to deal with anything that arises," he said.

"I certainly hope that there won't be a repeat of last night's behaviour. But if there is, we will have sufficient specialist resources in there to support the local police."

Channel Nine News: "If they didn't steal the car they would be alive today?"

But should young adolescence get the death penalty for learning?, trial and error?, and for making a mistake?, in a world where making a mistake is the only certain way of getting anything right during those growing years?

By Starsky and Hutch 28 February 05

Ed: You learn more from being wrong than from being right. Being right means being right all the time, but being wrong and right means being right in the end.

So if the above statement is true then in the process of being wrong, young adults need flexibility not death to prove otherwise and to lean by their mistakes. In short a second chance!

There should be no police pursuits that cause death when young lives are lost. When young lives are learning and gaining their wisdom.

Give Up the Chase and Stay Safe

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Fatal accident prompts police pursuit probe
Friday, January 16, 2004

A fatal car accident in New South Wales has prompted a review of the procedures police use during high-speed pursuits.

Police say a man and a young girl were killed when a speeding car crashed head-on into another car at McGrath's Hill in Sydney's north-west.

One of those killed was the 53-year-old driver of the speeding car. The child was in the other car. Her parents and an aunt are all in a critical condition in hospital.

The Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Madden says current procedures will be looked at.

"As a result of last night, we will review all our procedures," he said.

"A critical incident team has been called in. They will investigate what actually occurred, the decisions of the police and what went on, and what went through their minds, as well as our existing procedures."

Riot in Redfern over death in custody
16 February 2004

The reported claim that 50 police were injured during rioting in Redfern over a death in custody is nothing more than a counter claim required to balance the argument that Thomas Hickey wasn't chased to his death by police.

The counter claim makes it look good for police opposed to addressing serious procedural problems within the NSW Police "Force".

The death of a three-year-old girl during a pursuit on Windsor Road at McGraths Hill in January 2004, is another example of police pursuits.

The Staysafe committee released a report into police pursuits in November 1994.

But The New South Wales Opposition's police spokesman, Peter Debnam, said, "Many recommendations were yet to be implemented."

Four people were taken into custody after anger erupted at the death of 17-year-old Aborigine Thomas Hickey, who was impaled through the neck on a fence on Saturday morning.

Mr Waites says the riot began after the death of Mr Hickey, who was impaled on a fence in the area on Saturday. "

The misinformation was that they were under the belief that the police were actually involved in a pursuit where an Aboriginal youth was killed and that wasn't true," he said.

But why are police so quick to claim misinformation yet there has been no enquiry. Usually police won't say anything when there appears to have been a death in custody why the change?

Obviously there are witnesses who have said that police chased the youngster to his death. Waites says officers who were on patrol drove past the boy, who was riding his bicycle in the opposite direction. "They continued on their patrol," he said.

They weren't aware that after he'd passed them, he accelerated on his pushbike and gone around a corner and lost control of it. It wasn't till they came around the block again and people flagged them down and told them what happened [that they knew], so the suggestion that police have in some way been the cause of the death is fairly questionable."

But not if you're a witness to the police chase!

The teenager's mother, Gail Hickey, yesterday said police caused her son's death.

"I don't believe the police, I don't care what they say, I don't believe them," she said.

"They did chase him at that time. I got a witness to all that. He seen everything that happened. He told me he seen my son riding the bike real fast, next minute he seen cop cars coming, chasing my son to the building there, where it happened."

Local resident Donna says people are grieving. "It all started over the coppers chasing a young boy," she said.

"It happened yesterday afternoon or last night and it's just that everybody has gone off because they believe the coppers are involved in doing away with the young fellow."

Donna says people are angry because they believe police are responsible for the teenager's death. "He was murdered," she said.

"We've been down to look at the spot and everything and there's no sign, they cleaned it up that quick."

Redfern Aboriginal elder Lyall Munro says police harass local young people on a daily basis and have them running scared.

"The community here is very much aware of what happened," Mr Munro said.

"This type of thing is going to happen and our young people are going to die in this way whilst ever the police are allowed to get away with it."

Mr Munro says relations with police are at an all-time low.

"Community programs that we had going here ....all fell through because Aboriginal people saw what the street police done immediately after the meetings," Mr Munro said.

The president of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, Ray Jackson, says police could have managed the situation better.

He is a friend of the Hickey family and says a police car was driving in a street where the teenager's mother was grieving on Sunday afternoon.

"One report that I got was the police were smiling and sniggering and all this sort of thing and it was common knowledge that there was going to be a problem as soon as it got dark and that's exactly what's happened," Mr Jackson said.

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released the National Deaths in Custody Program annual report for 2002 Between January and December 2002, there was a total of 69 deaths in custody in Australia. There were 50 deaths in prison custody and 19 deaths in police custody and custody-related police operations.

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Community disturbed by riot violence?
Don't blame it on the social mix, don't blame it on the housing estate, don't blame it on the dysfunctional community but blame it on the Police Force!

OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Whitewash over Hickey's death
The New South Wales coroner has cleared police of any responsibility for the death of Aboriginal teenager Thomas 'TJ' Hickey.

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NSW police want new offensive equipment including long-range capsicum spray guns and modified armoured vehicles capable of spraying tear gas following a damning report on the Redfern riots in Sydney earlier this year.

Carr defends Redfern riot fallout
But such is the fact that police can do no wrong according to authorities that one wonders what benefit to the community this report would be other than to protect the police again.

The Young Man From Kamilaroi
On Monday, 5 July 2004, the Hickey Family and their supporters will come together in the Glebe Coroners Court with the Redfern Police, the same police, specifically unknown at this time, who pursued the Young Man to his death by impalement.

Police stalkers set to escape
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Payback over Redfern riot after death in custody
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Riot in Redfern over death in custody
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"If I Could Turn Back Time" Daily Terror, CH/7
THE real cause of last month's violent Redfern riots was the death of teenager Thomas "TJ" Hickey but perhaps only one element of the racism, harassment and bullying by the New South Wales police force and in this case Redfern police at the Block.

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Yesterday it was alleged police faced a potentially deadly confrontation with locals of a redfern housing block last week when a gun was grabbed from an officer's holster and held to his stomach.

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Community disturbed by riot violence?

Don't blame it on the social mix, don't blame it on the housing estate, don't blame it on the dysfunctional community but blame it on the Police Force!

Workers from the Campbelltown City Council, which covers the Glenquarrie Estate in Macquarie Fields in Sydney where the weekend riots took place, will spend this morning cleaning up the streets.

The Mayor of Campbelltown Brenton Banfield says his community is disturbed by the violence.

"I'd say very concerned - people that I've have spoken to are just appalled about what's been happening there," he said.

"I can understand that there's a real sense of tragedy I suppose, that two young people have been killed in a car accident but as to their [fleeing] the police I think that it is just inappropriate."?

He says the Glenquarrie Housing Estate, owned by the Department of Housing, is an area that is being looked at the moment by the department to try to change the social mix of that area.

"That part of the broader community is dysfunctional - that's how I'd describe it.

"The most disadvantaged people live there and they've became dysfunctional communities."

But no matter how inappropriate that is, it's not worth dying for? And the fact that it happened in Glenquarrie Housing Estate does not mean that it doesn't happen anywhere else in Australia? And I am sure that does not make that area dysfunctional opposed to other locations.

Brenton Banfield says housing estates are generally in poor condition.

"This was an estate that was developed probably 30 years ago by the Department of Housing and during that time the condition of houses have deteriorated," he said.

"We have in Campbellton a lot of housing estates that need a lot of money and work done on them - they've became degraded because of the passing of time.

"Those houses are now old or either in need of demolition or renewal."

But poor and disadvantaged people with, low socio-economic backgrounds do live in these estates no doubt.

And they may be more likely to take what opportunities they haven't got by taking a joy ride in someone else's car, instead of taking fewer risks and using fewer resources by buying their own car. But until they get caught and learn the difference like I did, it's not worth dying for otherwise I wouldn't able to write this article.

Nor is it worthy to blame the housing estate.

As for 'dysfunctional people' most communities that stand up for human rights opposed to the brute force dished out by police would be in good stead unless you think teaching and learning is all about 'killing' and 'dying'?

Police pursuit death toll rises: 61 killed in 10 years

At least 61 people have died during police pursuits in NSW over the past decade, a higher toll than previously revealed.

A Herald investigation last year found that 54 people had been killed in high-speed police car chases over the 10 years since November 1994, but five more deaths have been exposed through figures obtained under freedom of information laws.

Deaths in Custody

Indigenous 27 7.4

Non-Indigenous 88 0.5

Total 115 0.7

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology, National Deaths in Custody Program 1990-2003 [computer file]

By Just Us 28 February 05

Ed: Give up the Chase and Stay Safe!

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OUR STORIES MUST BE TOLD. THEY HAVE TO BE
On Sunday 13th February, a Community gathering will be held to enable all people to remember the death of one of our young Community members, 'TJ' Hickey.

Whitewash over Hickey's death
The New South Wales coroner has cleared police of any responsibility for the death of Aboriginal teenager Thomas 'TJ' Hickey.

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But such is the fact that police can do no wrong according to authorities that one wonders what benefit to the community this report would be other than to protect the police again.

The Young Man From Kamilaroi
On Monday, 5 July 2004, the Hickey Family and their supporters will come together in the Glebe Coroners Court with the Redfern Police, the same police, specifically unknown at this time, who pursued the Young Man to his death by impalement.

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Redfern police 'need to be made accountable'
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"If I Could Turn Back Time" Daily Terror, CH/7
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Was Thomas Hickey payback?
Yesterday it was alleged police faced a potentially deadly confrontation with locals of a redfern housing block last week when a gun was grabbed from an officer's holster and held to his stomach.

TJ HICKEY MEMORIAL MARCH AND VIGIL
Gather at the Block at 9am March to Phillip Street Redfern, "Turanga Block" vigial at site of "TJ's" death. March to Redfern Police Station to leave list of demands regarding the enquiries into his death.

The ALP's fascist police states
Welcome back Sid-in-knee. Old Falangist Samaranch would surely feel right at home in any number of fascist police states around this wide brown land today. Who needs Franco when you have Beattie, Rann, Carr, Bracks and co. Flamin' fascist fucks the lot of them.

Carr Govt dramatic increases in the NSW prisoner pop...
Following the opening of the 500 bed Kempsey prison, and a new 200-bed prison for women at Windsor the Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) and community organisations specialising in the rehabilitation of prisoners, have expressed concern....

The Australian Institute of Criminology has released the National Deaths in Custody Program annual report for 2002 Between January and December 2002, there was a total of 69 deaths in custody in Australia. There were 50 deaths in prison custody and 19 deaths in police custody and custody-related police operations.

The Veil of Freedom

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two years after the invasion of Iraq and just weeks before the country's first free election, [occupation, US puppet gov't] "Amina" began wearing a headscarf for the first time in her life. Her father insisted upon it.

"I don't like this and I don't see the danger. No one ever bothered me before," Amina says, sitting in her office located in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Khadimiya, her long brown hair streaming down her back. At first the 27-year-old professor at the engineering college resisted, arguing that her students will lose respect for her for caving in to the fundamentalists. But her father would not be moved: Amina didn't have a choice; the extremists were far too dangerous to be defied.

She is already making plans to leave the country to pursue a Ph.D. in Europe.

Life wasn't always this dangerous for women like Amina. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was a secular country where women could freely walk the busy streets without a scarf or a male escort, and stay out late at outdoor cafes with their families, sometimes until two or three in the morning. While women suffered as much as any other Iraqi under Saddam's tyranny, Baathist laws were noteworthy for their commitment to gender equality. Unlike their peers in the Arab world, Iraqi women enjoyed equal employment and educational opportunities and equal pay. But the U.S. invasion in March, 2003, changed everything. With the departure of Saddam, women became a target for both fundamentalist Islamists and U.S. soldiers. According to a new report released by Amnesty International early this week, "Women and girls in Iraq live in fear of violence as the conflict intensifies and insecurity spirals."

The fear of armed groups who terrorize anyone who defies their religious edicts has made many Iraqi women prisoners within their own home. "The lawlessness and increased killings, abductions and rapes that followed the overthrow of the government of Saddam Hussein have restricted women's freedom of movement and their ability to go to school or to work," the human rights organization reports.

Then there is the added threat of abuse posed by U.S. soldiers: "Women have been subjected to sexual threats by members of the U.S.-led forces and some women detained by U.S. forces have been sexually abused, possibly raped."

With the Shiite victory in the January elections, the future for Iraqi women looks no less bleak. Shiites make up 60 percent of Iraq's population and consider Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as their spiritual leader. Their electoral triumph underscored and legitimized the Shiite majority's immense political power, and will ensure a dominant role in crafting the future Iraqi constitution. While many Shiites say they don't support a theocratic state and Sistani has proven to be a moderate leader, women's rights activists like Yanar Mohammed are less optimistic.

"Shiite political groups want to impose Islamic sharia and let it override the civil code that we've had for 30 years. This will turn women not into second class citizens but into third and fourth class citizens," says Mohammed, who heads The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, which opened the first domestic violence shelter for women escaping abuse or "honor killings" from their families. "In other words, the thief will have the hand cut off, the criminal will be beheaded and women will be stoned to death. Divorce will not be a woman's right," she says. Where Baathist laws prohibited a woman under 18 from marrying, Islamic law imposes no such minimum age of consent. Mohammed points out that without such protection a girl who is six can be married to a 70-year-old man, who is also free to have four wives. "This is a dark page in the history of Iraq. Women are being kidnapped, there is trafficking and now it will be written into the constitution that we will be denied equal rights."

Mohammed worries that a large number of the seats set aside for women (25 percent) in the National Assembly will be filled by members handpicked by the Islamic parties women who embrace the religious edicts of leadership.

To offset this threat, she is working on bringing together a secular coalition of educated, professional women and members of other political parties. They often meet in her office in a small and well-hidden residential house located off a side street in downtown Baghdad. The doors are guarded and the entry obscured. Security is important for any woman who intends to take on the fundamentalists, especially Mohammed, who always travels with two armed bodyguards.

Not all Iraqi women are as unhappy with the Shiite victory in the elections as Mohammed. Samira Hillmi, a 57-year-old educator in Iraq, willingly shrouds herself from head to toe in black as she strolls through a crowded market-place in Baghdad. She wears her veil as a choice, she says, for God, and it is to Him she is grateful for the recent turn of events. "The election was so good. Finally we will move forward now that the Shiites are no longer under the foot of Saddam," she says. Hillmi is not too worried about the possibility of the leadership establishing a theocratic state similar to Iran: "No, it will be OK. What we need is just for Iraq to be safe."

Like Hillmi, most Iraqi men are not very worried about the threat of fundamentalism. "I wouldn't be forced to wear an abaya," says Esam Pasha, a 29-year old artist. Pasha is confident that he will find ways to express his art under an Islamic regime much in the same way as he did under Saddam. Besides, he is sure that the United States will not let his country become Islamic, regardless of the sovereign status of Iraq. "Donald Rumsfeld says Iraq can choose any system we want as long as it isn't Islamic or Communist. That's the democracy we're allowed," he says sarcastically.

While those who fear Islamic fundamentalism may also resent the occupation, they are counting on the U.S. presence -- however despised by many Iraqis -- to keep the extremists at bay. "No, they cannot leave," Amina says. "The Taliban would be here in two days."

Eye on the Occupation

By Zelie Pollon posted 28 February 05

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Iraqi Women in the Occupation Prisons As Material and Means of Violations It is important to say at the beginning that there are many psychological, social and cultural obstacles for Iraqi women to talk openly about what they actually went through inside the occupation prisons.

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi minister
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Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was a threat and sought to possess weapons of mass destruction, United States President George W Bush reaffirmed when asked why no such weapons had been discovered in Iraq.

Saddam trial US propaganda
Saddam Hussein's trial will play an important part in the US election no doubt and for that to work at its potential just put a "women" behind it "She called the trials". Then add some "cleansing" like she's just doing the dishes and then some "reconciliation" by slaying Hussein during a US election. Now you can go and tell everyone you're reversing the trauma but really you're killing two birds with one Saddam.

Iraqi women eye Islamic law

BAGHDAD - Covered in layers of flowing black fabric that extend to the tips of her gloved hands, Jenan al-Ubaedy knows her first priority as one of some 90 women who will sit in the national assembly: implementing Islamic law.

She is quick to tick off what sharia will mean for married women. "[The husband] can beat his wife but not in a forceful way, leaving no mark. If he should leave a mark, he will pay," she says of a system she supports. "He can beat her when she is not obeying him in his rights. We want her to be educated enough that she will not force him to beat her, and if he beats her with no right, we want her to be strong enough to go to the police."

Broadening support for sharia may not have been the anticipated outcome of the US mandate that women make up one third of the national assembly. But Dr. Ubaedy's vision is shared by many members of the United Iraqi Alliance, a list of religious Shiite candidates that won a majority of seats. She says the women on the UIA list are meeting now to coordinate their agendas and reach out to women from other parties.

How their presence translates into action not only will shape women's rights in Iraq but goes to the heart of how much religion will dictate law. "When you have a fairly large number of women [in a legislature], it brings women's issues to the forefront," says Marina Ottaway, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. "On the other hand, [in Iraq] you have a majority of women elected from religious political parties, and this process will take place in the midst of discussions of the constitution and role of Islam in the constitution."

Ubaedy, a pediatrician who is married and has four daughters, offers a nuanced argument for sharia. She plans to encourage women to wear the hijab and focus on nurturing their families. At the same time, she says, she will fight for salary equity, paid maternity leave, and reduced work hours for pregnant women. But whether her voice and those of other women will be heard - especially if their views are unpopular - is uncertain. Assembly members opposed to strict Islamic views may have to rely on secular groups like the Kurds and supporters of Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to support them as lawmakers sit down to draft a new constitution.

After a disappointing showing in the election, Mr. Allawi made a splash this week with an aggressive bid to remain prime minister. He has said he is trying to form a coalition that will be able to overpower the UIA. But the strategy would require a hefty chunk of UIA members to defect from their choice of Ibrahim al-Jaafari. It would also need the support of the 135 members of the assembly - including the increasingly assertive Kurds - who are not in the UIA. The push is likely to result in offers of top government positions to Allawi's cohort in exchange for backing down.

In the nearly two years since the regime of Saddam Hussein fell, pressure has grown for women to conform to stricter Islamic standards. "The Baath Party, with all the things many believe they did wrong, [still ensured that Iraqi] women had the most rights in the region," says Rime Allaf, an associate fellow with the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, where she is researching women's status in Iraq. "Now, a lot of women are being very careful about how they dress. They are being told by perfect strangers, 'You need to cover your hair ... [and] your arms.' "

As a result, a central concern is how Islamic law might be interpreted and implemented. "Sharia depends on the man who is giving the law, the [religious leaders] and others. No one can guarantee sharia will be applied perfectly," says Abeer Rashid, a female candidate on Allawi's list who didn't win a seat.

On the ground, Iraqi women have very different ideas about what sharia means.

Umm Hibba, Aseel Abid, and Umm Sermat, politely ask about each other's families and health over tiny glasses of sweet tea in a relative's house. But the three, all wearing head scarves and loose-fitting black robes, erupt over questions of their rights under the new government. Sharia is a good idea, they say, if it is mixed with civil rights to guarantee they won't become second-class citizens. But Umm Hibba, who declined to give her full name for security and because it is sometimes considered inappropriate for a married woman, believes sharia is the only option. She has been told a secular government means one run by "infidels."

Ms. Abid says that, as a good Muslim, she supports sharia. But she likes a secular government and supports Allawi, who campaigned on his secularism.

Umm Sermat, who also would not give her full name, thinks Islamic law is a good idea but wants the protections she had under Mr. Hussein's secular regime. "The law [then] was with the women 100 percent," she says. A man "had to get his wife's permission to take a second wife. They should share the [assets] if the wife is separated. In a divorce, they have to prepare a furnished house for her... We don't want a sharia constitution like the Iranian model. We're not worried about [UIA] being like Iran because it also includes (Ahmed) Chalabi, a Shiite" who is secular.

But Umm Hibba jumps in with concerns that Iran's theocracy is making Iraq more conservative. "They said what I am wearing is devil clothes," she says of the time she was recently turned away from the main mosque in Baghdad's Shiite Kadhimiya neighborhood. She pulls incredulously at the shapeless black robe that got her banned because openings between the fasteners revealed flashes of the long formless dress underneath. Umm Sermat dismisses her concerns, saying the women in the national assembly will stand up for them, even those in conservative rural areas. "We aren't worried because these women are there," she says. "They have to give more rights to women, especially in the south, [where] the women are treated in an unfair way."

In Other Developments:

Iraqi Women - What's Next?

Women and girls in Iraq live in fear of violence. The current lack of security has forced many women out of public life and constitutes a major obstacle to the advancement of their rights. Since the 2003 war, armed groups have targeted and killed several female political leaders and women's rights activists.

Two new reports detail the plight of Iraqi women: Amnesty International's "Decades of suffering - Now women deserve better" and Women to Women International's "Windows of Opportunity: The Pursuit of Gender Equality in Post-War Iraq."

Both conclude that Iraqi women must play a key role in shaping the future of their country, and Iraqi authorities must take effective measures to protect women and to change discriminatory legislation that encourages violence against them.

Eye on the Occupation

By Jill Carroll posted 28 February 05

Related:

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Two explosions south of Baghdad kill up to 15
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FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse
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by Andrew Buncombe in Washington.

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World Vision Aust pulls out of Iraq
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US Senator slams !!! 'dysfunctional, rogue' CIA
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Civilian death toll to rise in Fallujah
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Illusionary demons blamed for US led Attack Iraq, Fallujah
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Full-scale attack on Fallujah begins
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US/Iraqi militants storm Fallujah hospital
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Unknown News Update - 2009
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Weapons inspectors missed WMD in Iraq
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US accused of breaching international law
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Jordan's king doubts Iraqi elections possible
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Annan tells world leaders to respect law
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CO-OFFENDERS DO NOT REBUFF UN ON 'ILLEGAL WAR'
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Iraq war illegal, says Annan
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Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
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Iraqi Women in the Occupation Prisons As Material and Means of Violations It is important to say at the beginning that there are many psychological, social and cultural obstacles for Iraqi women to talk openly about what they actually went through inside the occupation prisons.

Ancient Babylon ruined by foreign troops: Iraqi minister
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Whatcha Gonna Do, When They Come For You? Bad boy!
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Saddam Hussein's trial will play an important part in the US election no doubt and for that to work at its potential just put a "women" behind it "She called the trials". Then add some "cleansing" like she's just doing the dishes and then some "reconciliation" by slaying Hussein during a US election. Now you can go and tell everyone you're reversing the trauma but really you're killing two birds with one Saddam.

Police's icy response to child's snowball

UK: Here is some good advice: if you are 13, live in Kent and like throwing snowballs, make sure there is not a police car in the way.

Amy Hodges, from Ashford, may not have known this when she accidentally broke the rear window of a Kent constabulary vehicle with her snowy missile. She has paid the penalty.

She spent four hours in a cell, had her fingerprints taken, was obliged to give a DNA sample, and was given a formal reprimand when officers decided not to proceed with a charge of criminal damage.

Her mother, Theresa, who was in the cell with her, is furious. "So my daughter now has a criminal record for throwing a snowball. What is the world coming to?

"She's not a bad girl at all and certainly didn't mean to break the window - she hadn't been aiming at it, just fooling around with friends.

"The officer involved should have established who she was and then contacted us. We would have paid for the damage and punished her ourselves. All this fuss for a snowball? It defies belief. Have they nothing better to do?"

But the Kent police spokesman was unrepentant. "A 13-year-old girl was arrested after a snowball was thrown at a moving car, smashing the rear window," he said.

"We consider this to be a dangerous action which could have had very serious consequences. We chose to reprimand the girl at the police station rather than charging her with criminal damage.

"We felt this was an appropriate way to deal with this incident."

He then put in the metaphorical size 12 police boot. "This might be a nice girl from a fine upstanding family but she broke the law and committed criminal damage. The law is for everyone and we are there to uphold it."

By David Ward posted 28 February 05

INDONESIA: US to resume military ties

In the boldest statement on the subject to date, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has signalled that the US is ready to restore full military training ties with the Indonesian military (TNI). But the announcement coincides with new evidence of the TNI's involvement in the murder of two US nationals in 2002 and what is being dubbed the "biggest timber heist ever".

On February 17, Rice told reporters that she was in the "final stages" of consultations with the US Congress on certifying Indonesia as eligible to benefit from the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program. "I think it's a good time to do that", she said, citing what she called Jakarta's "successful" presidential election last year and cooperation in the investigation of the 2002 murders.

Jakarta was quick to endorse Rice's comments. Foreign affairs spokesperson Marty Natalegawa said on February 18 that the program would serve as a "correction for an anomaly" that had hindered relations between the two countries.

The Bush administration argues that renewing military ties with the world's most-populous Muslim country is crucial to prosecuting its "war on terror" [demons, fear-mongering propaganda and scapegoats. This intensified following the devastating December 26 tsunami.

Washington argued that had it maintained links, coordination between US troops and the TNI during relief operations would have "made it possible to respond much more quickly and effectively".

Washington also parroted Jakarta's lie that the embargo on spare parts for US-built Hercules transport planes hindered aid efforts -- Jakarta has been allowed to buy the parts under US law since 2002. It also regurgitates Indonesia's claim that the TNI is "trying to reform" and that reestablishing ties will assist in developing a more democratic and professional military.

If anything however, the TNI's handling of relief operations in Ache -- restricting the movement of foreign aid workers, hoarding and reselling humanitarian aid and harassing local aid groups -- demonstrated that it remains the corrupt and abusive institution it has always been.

Congress first voted to restrict Indonesia from the IMET program following the Dili massacre in 1991. All military ties were severed in September 1999 when the TNI and its militia proxies razed East Timor.

The most sensitive issue however, remains the murder of two US school teachers and an Indonesian national near the Freeport Gold and Copper mine in West Papua in August 2002. Indonesian police and rights groups concluded that the TNI was behind the attack although an investigation by the FBI -- which has been dismissed as a "white-wash" -- later exonerated the TNI blaming instead rogue elements of the armed separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). In June 2004 the US indicted alleged OPM member Anthonius Wamang for the murders.

In the latest revelations, the West Papua-based Institute for Human Rights Studies and Advocacy (ELSHAM) says it has uncovered new evidence linking the TNI to the attack. In a February 17 press statement, ELSHAM said that IMET should not be released until the FBI "explores well-documented ties between the TNI and Wamang as well as a number of yet-to-be indicted coconspirators".

ELSHAM has established that Wamang travelled to Jakarta in January 2002 at the TNI's expense. Wamang had no prior combat training and ELSHAM believes it was provided at this time. Wamang reportedly claims the ambush was planned during the trip.

In an interview with the ABC in August 2004, Wamang admitted to purchasing ammunition from the TNI. ELSHAM says it now has detailed evidence on two long-term TNI collaborators who helped procure the weapons. One of the two flew to Jakarta and stayed at the home of a serving TNI officer, Colonel Sugiono. The weapons were purchased through TNI agents and Sugiono arranged and paid for the individual's return to Papua. The rifles were not forwarded immediately but stored at the Cikini police station in Jakarta.

ELSHAM says that the TNI's most probable motive was to ensure continued "security payments" from Freeport. According to a communication by Freeport with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company paid the TNI US$5.6 million in 2002. ELSHAM says Freeport made these payments in the form of direct monthly transfers into the account of the West Papua military commander. Payments were discontinued a month before the attack.

These allegations are not new. In 1991, Emmy Hafild, from the Indonesian environmental NGO Walhi, claimed that the local military commander boasted to her that Freeport directly supported military operations and helped pay military salaries.

In an article posted by Laksamana.net on September 2, 2002, Denise Leith, author of The Politics of Power: Freeport in Suharto's Indonesia, argued that for years Freeport was willing to tolerate the TNI's demands for money, but on July 26 that year, US Congress passed the Corporate Fraud Act requiring US companies to file certifications by August 14 declaring that their financial accounts were true and accurate. Leith suggests that it changed its corporate policy and the attack was staged to force Freeport to recommence payments.

If this isn't enough, a new report alleges that the TNI is involved in a massive illegal logging racket in West Papua.

The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and its Indonesian partner Telapak say that 300,000 cubic metres of wood is being smuggled out of Papua every month to feed China's timber processing industry.

"It's probably the largest smuggling case that we've come across in our time of research on illegal logging in Indonesia", the groups said at a February 17 press conference. "This illegal trade is threatening the last large tract of pristine forests in the whole Asia-Pacific region".

They alleged it would not be possible without the participation of the TNI and police at every stage. "The army, police and navy are all involved but it is mainly the navy", said Yayat Afianto of Telapak, "It is not the institutions but dozens of bad apples, including generals".

The government says combatting illegal logging is one of its top priorities but freely admits to TNI involvement. The coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Widodo AS, told the February 19 Jakarta Post "It is organised crime and it involves many officials" adding it be difficult to arrest and prosecute military or government officials because "they are very tricky".

Even before the latest information was made public, Forestry Minister H. MS Kaban had revealed that illegal logging was costing the state 60 trillion rupiah annually. To put this in perspective, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have successfully pressured the government to scale back the 59 million rupiah it spends on fuel subsidies. The resulting cuts will cause widespread hardship and are expected to trigger widespread public anger and protest.

By GLW: James Balowski, Jakarta posted 28 February 05

Related:

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100's of thousands of Aussies cancel holidays in Indonesia?
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Fool me twice 1-20 -Official release (BALI BOMBINGS/ETimor) Exposing the Australian government's lies about the East Timor massacres, the cover-up of the Bali bombings (including '93 WTC attack) and subsequent anti-terror legislation forced through parliament.

The Truth About Bali Bombings Part 1 REMIX Part One + Two: Que Bono. Who Benefited? The Bali Bombings were a direct US-Israeli response to the growing Peace marches and Anti War Movement in Australia that was ballooning at an alarming rate after 9-11 and after Bush announced he was waging illegal invasions. It also very quickly secured Indonesia's and Australia's subservience to the US and cemented involvement in the US led War on Terror, and subsequent illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Part TWO: Who really Benefited from the Bali Bombings?

PART THREE: The Investigation(s) Or lack thereof The Primary man at the centre of the Bali investigations got warned off the scent by US Ambassador to Indonesia..

Part 4: The Truth About Bali Bombings Eye witness Testimony and memorial dedication..

Indonesian police set-up Jakarta man?
"Who would blow themselves up when there is no war? Who would give up their life for no struggle? The CIA would! Why? Because the CIA are at war with the world, and they aim to cause terror and slam the Iron fist of fear into the community in the Asian pacific region."

See Links History From 2002:

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GI killers uncovered
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Eye for an eye or blind toothless people?
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Australian Terror cell here long before Bali
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Did the CIA blow up Bali?
In a nation where conspiracy theories and rice are two of life's staples, Indonesians appear to be changing their habits. You can still get rice with your Kentucky Fried, but conspiracy theories easy to find, at least as far as the Bali bombings are concerned.

Australia's Terrorism Wake Up Call [164] The horrific bombings of the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Bali, on October 12, 2002, considerably strengthened the hand of the CoW in pursuing the War on Terror. Here was an opportunity to harden the hearts of the Australian and US public against Islamic fundamentalists. It was also a chance for the Indonesian government to justify harsh measures in the war against terrorists and secessionists, such at those in the province of Aceh.

2nd Renaissance -10 The War on Witches [150]
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a Papal Bull that became the rationale for establishing the Inquisition in Germany. The following excerpt from the Bull sets out the official view of the danger of witches to the community. The Bull and this this passage provided the sole excuse for the torture and cruel executions that were, ultimately, to be the fate of up to fifty percent of the population of some villages.

First strike and you're out!
The ideology of a super loser? John Howard shocks the nation again. A nation who cannot believe Howard's stupidity following the Bali bombing. The Bali bombing which was in direct retaliation for his previous remarks towards a first strike on Iraq.

Civil and Democratic Islam websites communicating?
THE internet is becoming a virtual forum for people exchanges, with many sites specifically targeting Australia to stop the racial hate followers, and plan to continue to communicate with each other. Fantastic!

GI Strikes again! Plots plots and more plots
GI cordial's foiled plot to flood foreign embassies in Singapore, including the Australian high commission, would have used high sugar levels at the controls of cordial laden truck, a US interrogation of a key GI figure has revealed. The plot, uncovered by Singaporean authorities last December before it was fully planned, originally was intended for missions in Manila, not Singapore. The revelations, obtained by GKCNN through key summaries of the US interrogation of Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, demonstrate the new depth of GI members' commitment to the sugar cause.

Alarm over terror in 'Australia'?
ISLAMIC extremists linked to GI cordial fired weapons and conducted close-quarter combat training in remote forests all over Australia. Paint Bombs were the weapon of choice.

Australian accused of plot to bomb embassies
A spokesperson for Justice Action Mr.Sooth Sayer said " the arrest is most likely connected to the invasion of the mans privacy by the new powers of ASIO. These are extraordinary laws that were invented, using people as pawns to get unprecedented powers to use to lever John Howard's propaganda machine."