Arrests at Jabiluka Westpac protests
By Jim Green
Protests outside three Westpac branches in Cairns, two in Brisbane and one each in Sydney, Surfers Paradise, Noosa and Canberra on April 13 continued the campaign to highlight the role of the corporation in financially supporting the Jabiluka uranium mine being built inside Kakadu National Park.
At Noosa well-known author Nancy Cato, who is 80 years old, took part. The 15 protesters in Canberra attracted interest and support from passers-by, one telling them she had decided not to use Westpac for refinancing a loan because of its involvement in the mine.
In Brisbane and Sydney, there were arrests. Outside the West End branch in Brisbane, where six people were handing out information leaflets, about 10 police appeared and directed the protesters to leave and not come within 100 metres of the branch for 24 hours.
Although the protesters then moved away from the branch, one was arrested for disobeying police directions. A spokesperson, Karl-Erik Paasonen, said, "We fail to see why someone should be arrested, especially when we could not be accused of disrupting Westpac's business operations, since we were about 30 metres away.
"We are urging Westpac to invest in ethical projects that are consistent with their much-publicised environmental policy instead of in projects that will destroy the lives of the indigenous people in Kakadu", he explained
Two were arrested in Sydney. One, a 16 years old, was charged with assault. He refused to give police his name and was refused bail. He appeared in the Bidura Children's Court the following day and was then released.
The other, Jesse Wynhausen, from the Sydney Jabiluka Action Group, was arrested after a confrontation with a Westpac security officer over a protest banner. Police used capsicum spray in arresting Wynhausen, claiming he was kicking them, but he said he was simply trying to stop them closing the door of the police van. "I wanted to know what I was being charged with but they refused to tell me", he said.
This highlights the concern raised by those opposed to increased police legal powers and weaponry, including capsicum spray, that these will not be used for non-lethal control of violent people, but for inflicting injuries on people being arrested or as a means to disrupt political demonstrations and workers' pickets. Police again refused to divulge their regulations concerning the use of capsicum spray.
Len Kanaar, from Friends of the Earth, said, "I can personally vouch that this man was smaller in stature than most officers present, completely outnumbered by police, and a totally inappropriate amount of force was used in the arrest." Kanaar said the police were far more civil at another Westpac protest earlier the same day, when television camera crews were present.