and so it begins..

[rioters bloc]

they don't wait long, do they? i await in interest the results of these trials.


AFP detail terror arrests

November 8, 2005 - 9:19AM

Anti-terrorism raids across NSW and Victoria overnight was a joint counter-terrorism operation by the federal, NSW and Victorian police with the spy agency ASIO, federal police say.

Nine men have been charged in Melbourne with terrorism related offences and six were being held in Sydney after a joint counter-terrorism strike across the two states, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said today.

A spokesman said 23 search warrants were executed in suburbs across Sydney and Melbourne this morning on warrants as part of a joint counter-terrorism operation by the federal, NSW , Victorian police and ASIO.

"A number of search warrants are still being executed," he said.

"Nine men have been arrested and charged in Melbourne with terrorism related offences," the spokesman said.

The charges included intentionally being a member of a terrorist organisation and intentionally directing the activities of a terrorist organisation, he said.

"Six men are currently in custody in Sydney, they've not been charged at this stage," the spokesman said.

The nine men in Victoria will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court later today.

edit: here's the link - http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/afp-de...1212033546.html (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/afp-detail-terror-arrests/2005/11/08/1131212033546.html)

[Commie Rat]

We are so fucked.

[drain.you]

Australia foils 'terror attack'


About 500 police took part in the raids in Sydney and Melbourne
Australian police say they have foiled a terrorist attack in the final stages of its preparation, after 16 people were arrested in Sydney and Melbourne.

New South Wales police chief Ken Moroney said a "potentially catastrophic attack" had been averted.

One suspect was shot and wounded during a raid in Sydney. Chemicals, weapons, and computers were seized, police said.

The operation came nearly a week after Australia's anti-terror laws were changed to give police greater powers.

Police raided 23 houses in Sydney and Melbourne early on Tuesday, as part of the country's largest ever counter-terrorism operation.

The raids involved about 500 police officers and followed a 16-month investigation, officials said.

"I'm satisfied that we have disrupted what I would regard as the final stages of a large-scale terrorist attack, or the launch of a terrorist attack," Mr Moroney told Australia's ABC radio.

Court appearances

Those arrested in Melbourne include Abu Bakr, an outspoken Algerian-Australian cleric who has in the past praised Osama Bin Laden as "a great man".

He was among nine men who appeared in court in the city on Tuesday, and were charged with membership of a "terrorist organisation".


Each of the members of the group are committed to the cause of violent jihad


Prosecutor Richard Maidment told the court the men had formed a terrorist group to kill "innocent men and women in Australia".

He claims they received military-style training in rural Australia and had discussions about bomb-making.

Those arrested in Sydney are also due to appear in court.

"The members of the Sydney group have been gathering chemicals of a kind that were used in the London Underground bombings," Mr Maidment said, adding that Abu Bakr was the ringleader of both the Melbourne and Sydney groups.

Police said one of the suspects in Sydney was shot and seriously wounded after they came under fire. They said the suspect had refused orders to surrender.

There was no immediate comment from those arrested.

US ally

Police declined to give details of the likely target of the attack, but Victoria state police chief Christine Nixon said next year's Commonwealth Games, to be held in the city, were not a target.

Prime Minister John Howard said the arrests vindicated the government's decision to rush through amendments to the anti-terror laws.

"This country has never been immune from a possible terrorist attack," he said in a televised news conference.

"It's important that we continue to mobilise all of the resources of the commonwealth and the states to fight terrorism."

The changes were enacted on Thursday, to make it easier for police to prosecute suspects believed to be planning attacks.

Mr Howard at the time said he had received credible intelligence of a "terrorist threat".

Australia is a key ally of the US in its "war on terror", and has sent troops to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There has never been a major terrorist attack on Australian soil, although 88 Australians died in the 2002 Bali bombings, and Australia's embassy in Indonesia was bombed in 2004.
-BBC-



PM says new laws played part in raids


The swift passage of federal anti-terrorism laws had played a part in today's arrests of people allegedly involved in a terrorist plot, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Mr Howard drew attention to comments by Victorian Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon and Victorian Premier Steve Bracks in which both said last week's amendment had been instrumental in the raids and arrests which took place this morning.

"We were advised that the change would strengthen the capacity of the authorities to respond to the situation that had been identified, and it is the view of the two police commissioners and the Victorian premier that that is precisely what happened," he told reporters.

Mr Howard paid tribute to ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and the Victorian and NSW police forces for their role in today's raids.

He also praised all state leaders for the way they had backed the changes in terror laws.

"I also want to thank the premiers of the states for their prompt support for the change that was made to the law last week," he said.

"Without their prompt support and cooperation it may not have been possible to effect that change in the expeditious and effective way that transpired."

Mr Howard also praised Opposition Leader Kim Beazley for the way he had supported the government's changes to the anti-terrorism laws.

Shujat Mantoo, secretary of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said: "The way we see it these people will have their day in the court, they will be heard.

"If there is anything that implicates them, then justice will be done.

"There is due process, we believe, under the current system. The nine arrested in Melbourne and the six in Sydney are lucky because they have been arrested under the current legal regime."

Mr Mantoo said the proposed anti-terrorism measures that were introduced into parliament last week would mean authorities were unaccountable in the future.

"Under the new (proposed) regime that the government want to bring in (the arrests) would be covert and clandestine. In this case (of an arrest) the community would not know about it. There there are not checks and balances under the new (proposed) regime."

Keysar Trad, of the Lebanese Muslim Association, said he was concerned that the media were waiting outside houses targeted in the city's south western suburbs early today.

He said the publicity would only alarm the general public and said it was no way to handle national security.

"There is concern that in NSW virtually every element of the media had been tipped off and they were waiting outside the houses," he told ABC television.

"That's not the normal manner in which the security of the nation is handled."
-smh.com.au-

[drain.you]

A court has refused bail for seven men arrested in anti-terror raids across Sydney today

[rioters bloc]

Originally posted by Commie [email protected] 8 2005, 04:57 PM
We are so fucked.
fucking hell hey. anyone find it surprising that areas such as bankstown, punchbowl, and lakemba were targeted? and what about the shooting in green valley? it happened in front of my friend's sister's primary school. depending on which media source you believe, it was/wasn't related to the so-called 'terrorist raids'. apparently the cops had been tailing this guy leaving a mosque, eventually he got fed up and shot at them and then they returned fire. he's in hospital now.

[rioters bloc]

here's an email i got sent:

Dear friends

We should denounce the raids that took place at 3am in our suburbs.

Early this morning, around 3am, 400 police/TRG and other officers raided 15 homes in south-western Sydney. Where? Some of the reports tell us that these raids took place in Bankstown, Wiley Park, Lakemba and Punchbowl. We know well that these suburbs have a high number of people of Non English Speaking (NESB) as well as of Middle-Eastern backgrounds.

The fact is that these raid also involved fire-brigades, ambulance and helicopter (s). Imagine what it would have been like in those suburbs at 3am with masked men, looking like robo-cops, running around with guns, surrounding family homes, yelling and pointing guns at every person in
those homes; noisy choppers flying above, probably syrens and dogs; also officers dressed in special gear to handle "chemical weapons"!

This is the state of terror that Moroney and his hirelings are doing to our community, under the orders of the State and Federal Governments, backed up with information from ASIO.

Was all this necessary?

Thus far, all we know is that the men arrested were members of a "proscribed" organisation!

I am pretty sure that if they had had enough evidence to arrest these men, police could have obtained a warrant and visited the homes of these men at 'civil' hours of the day and issued them summons.

Instead police and their mob created panic in our communities; and are continuing to hype the panic in the general community, creating a state of fear and mistrust where anyone and everyone becomes a suspect.

We need to get to the truth of these raids, denounce any brutality and
intimidation. We also need to continue our campaign in defence of civil liberties, in defence of the Muslim community, in support of human rights, and continue to demand an end to the occupation of Iraq and the withdrawal of troops.

In solidarity
----
Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group

[Revolution67]

Hi mates,

I am an Indian marxist and relatively new to this board. I have lived in Melbourne, Australia for almost about two years and I simply loved the country and its people. Now, we have these reports of police conducting "early morning raids" and rounding up the suspects. For a while, freeing my mind from leftist/rightist bias, I would say had not Australia done the same thing if it were a communist nation? Is not the purpose of the government to protect its citizens from unforeseen dangers? Mates, how would you all have reacted if these people had succeeded in carrying out bomb blasts, that would have killed a large number of proletarians or workers? One can have differences being a leftist or rightist but one should not ignore the dangers facing the nation. Whether those men arrested are terrorists or not, only time will tell. If they are found guilty of hatching a sabotage they should get proper punishment otherwise they should be let off.

Thanks mates!

[4514]

if these guys are so guilty why did the police have to obtain speacil permission from the goverment to carry out the raids?
if there was substantial evidence against them why didn't police go through their normal channels to gain search warrants etc?
its all abit suss and wow what a coincidence it happened now why the goverments trying to pass new terror laws and industrial relations act..............oh my god look at that purple monkey dishwasher behind you..............nice distraction.
4514
arab friendly.

[bolshevik butcher]

I have to say, if they've had these powers for a week why did it take a week for them to do this? These men could have potentially launched this attack in the past week. I wonder how many of them will be relsed sooner or later?