BY ALISON DELLIT
Have you ever indulged in "actions to advance a political, religious or ideological cause directed against the national interest"? If so, you'd better watch out because that is an offence under the new law that defines "terrorism" flagged by Prime Minister John Howard on September 2.
According to Howard, the law is designed to prosecute "violent attacks or threat of violent attacks". It will carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
You better hope that you're not accused of "terrorism" — the new legislation will make it an offence even to refuse to answer questions in an investigation. The penalty for that will be five years' imprisonment.
Howard also announced a proposal to increase the powers of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. ASIO already can infiltrate organisations, carry out surveillance and provide evidence to federal police officers, while having their identity protected. It is an offence under federal law to reveal the identity of an ASIO agent.
Under the proposed changes, intelligence agencies would gain the power to detain suspects for up to 48 hours on a warrant from a magistrate. It is almost certain that the identity of the agent that provided the "evidence" for the warrant would be kept from the detainee. In such circumstances accountability is almost impossible.
It is the least significant of the proposals — the institution of a small number of armed security guards on commercial aircraft that has received the most attention from the corporate media. After all, who can object to more powers to harass terrorists?
However, these powers will be used to harass Australians "of Middle Eastern appearance". Details are already emerging of Palestinian Australians visiting the US in September being investigated for no other reason than their "suspicious" names.
ASIO raids on "suspected" terrorist groups have more than doubled since September 11. Although information on who is being raided is a state secret, one was an Islamic youth camp. The camp, which featured sing-a-longs, obstacle courses and a paint-bomb game, was suspected of having engaged in "terrorist training".
At the heart of this is the impossibility of identifying a terrorist. The FBI definition includes revolutionary socialist groups, Reclaim the Streets and Carnival Against Capitalism. The CIA's definition includes members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Hamas of Palestine, the Basque separatist group ETA and the Kurdistan Workers Party, as well as the states of Cuba, North Korea and Libya.
Instead of just lambasting last year's S11 protesters as "violent", could Victorian Premier Steve Bracks have them accused of terrorism under the new laws because they used "violence" to achieve political ends?
Could raising money for Cuba be construed as financing terrorism? Could you be chucked into jail for five years for refusing to provide a list of all your anti-capitalist friends?
The level of public support for the right to protest makes such scenarios unlikely, although technically possible. Instead, the brunt of the new powers is likely to be felt by members and supporters of national liberation struggles overseas — such as Tamils, Kurds and Palestinians.
Without question, the "mastermind" responsible for the most use of terror against populations and governments to achieve its political goals is the US government.
The examples are legion: the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and multiple attempts to murder Fidel Castro; the attacks on Nicaragua and years of covert support to the small bands of contras; and the punitive sanctions on Iraq which kill 5000 children a month.
But Howard is not interested in challenging US state terrorism, because he supports its objectives. Acts of terror and violence directed at innocent civilians are only defined as "terrorism" by the world's imperialist governments when they threaten their political and economic interests.
Any law against terrorism will inevitably be directed against those who are fighting imperialism, making no distinction between the mass murderers who planned the World Trade Center bombing and the Kurdish people forced to defend themselves with arms against a Turkish state that seeks to obliterate their culture and lives.
Many refugees in Australia are members of oppressed minorities who have actively opposed their governments. Many have supported groups that the US defines as "terrorist". This legislation provides another excuse to harass refugees and refuse them entry.
We must oppose any attempts to introduce a law against terrorism. Murder and conspiracy to murder are already crimes, there is no need to introduce further legislation that singles out political and religious beliefs.
The ALP has indicated broad support for Howard's proposed laws. The Greens and the Australian Democrats have yet to comment. Natasha Stott-Despoja, while speaking to the Senate motion to commit Australian troops to the US war on Afghanistan, called for more resources for ASIO.