Kerry Smith
Four peace activists who broke into the United States' Pine Gap spy base near Alice Springs last year will stand trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court on October 3. The four, members of Christians Against All Terrorism, will plead not guilty.
Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie, Bryan Law and Donna Mulhearn face charges under the Commonwealth Crimes Act and the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952. It will be the first time the latter has been used since it was enacted in 1952 at the height of the Cold War. It provides for a maximum sentence of seven years' prison for trespass.
Under the act, the consent of the attorney-general is required before the prosecution can proceed. In a political and legal first in Australia, Philip Ruddock decided in April to prosecute, blurring the separation of political and judicial powers.
Mulhearn said the group entered Pine Gap on December 9 to carry out a "citizen's inspection" for suspected terrorist activity because the base played a role in providing targeting information for US missiles that killed innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We believe that killing children with a bomb dropped from a plane is as much an act of terrorism as doing it with a suicide bomb", Mulhearn said. "We are opposed to all forms of terrorism. If we condemn suicide bombings, it would be natural for us to condemn military bombing if we are to maintain any intellectual and moral honesty on the issue.
"Our aim is to expose the truth about Pine Gap and its connection to the killing of civilians. We could not allow the US and Australian governments to continue to conceal the role of Pine Gap in the ongoing war in Iraq", Mulhearn said. According to Michael McKinley, a strategic analyst at the Australian National University, "the Pine Gap contribution [to the Iraq war] is much more significant than any sending of Australian soldiers".
Despite the activists informing the defence minister and widely publicising their intention to enter the base, and the consequent posting of extra police at Pine Gap, two members of the group managed to enter the base, climb onto the roof of a building, hang banners and take photos before being found. An hour later, in broad daylight, two other group members walked through the outer restricted area up to the high security fence, and one activist started cutting through it before being stopped by security.
The break-in forced the base to be shut down for about five hours.
The "Pine Gap Four" will use the defence of necessity to fight the charges in court. "We'll be arguing that the situation in Iraq is so dire that, as citizens of conscience, we are compelled to take action to address it", Mulhearn said. She added: "We believe that the Nuremberg Principles, along with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ought to inform any assessment of the Iraq emergency and its dire consequences.
"We'll be arguing that the kind of nonviolent action we took is an appropriate form of action to address this unjust and aggressive war. We'll argue that the open and respectful nature of our action renders it 'reasonable' and 'proportionate' in the face of the military/terrorist threat. Australia, a resolute ally of the US in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, makes us complicit in war crimes committed by the US in Iraq."
A National Peace Convergence in Alice Springs during the trial will bring activists from around Australia together for a week of action and solidarity.
[To offer the Pine Gap Four legal, financial or other aid, phone Donna Mulhearn on 0422 749319 or visit .]
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, July 26, 2006.
Visit the