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Australia defends anti terror measures { November 9 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2a45577a-510a-11da-ac3b-0000779e2340.htmlhttp://news.ft.com/cms/s/2a45577a-510a-11da-ac3b-0000779e2340.html
Australia’s Howard defends anti-terror measures
By Sundeep Tucker in Sydney
Published: November 9 2005 10:40 | Last updated: November 9 2005 10:40
Australian prime minister John Howard on Wednesday denounced “perverted fanatical Islam” and brushed aside demands for proposed new anti-terrorism laws to be dropped following this week’s arrest of 17 terror suspects.
Mr Howard told a radio interviewer that the terrorists wanted “some kind of caliphate and to see the triumph of Islam over other religions”. He added: “That is a perversion of the religion.”
The prime minister admitted that his thinking on terrorism had changed following the London bombings in July, in which UK-born suicide bombers killed 52 people.
He said: “The idea that terrorists are people that are flown in from another country to do their wicked deeds and then flown out is completely altered.” At least five of the 17 suspects are Australian citizens.
The prime minister was speaking a day after the biggest counter-terrorism raids in the country’s history resulted in mass arrests in Sydney and Melbourne. Twenty-two homes were raided, including a further swoop on Tuesday night in south-western Sydney which resulted in no arrests. Police claim that they foiled a “catastrophic” terrorist attack, possibly involving chemical weapons.
Critics of the government’s planned new anti-terror legislation said Wednesday that Tuesday’s raids had shown existing legislation was sufficient to deal with terrorism and the amendments would erode civil liberties and could lead to a targeting of the Muslim community.
Ameer Ali, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, on Wednesday used a high-level meeting in Canberra to warn the government to guard Muslims against reprisals following the raids.
Mr Ali said that he asked Philip Ruddock, attorney general, for an assurance that Muslims will not be targeted by “rednecks” in the community. He said: “There are rednecks in our society and they can take law into their own hands. My community must be safeguarded from racially motivated violence.”
Mr Ruddock said the planned laws, which the government hopes to have on statute within weeks, were “balanced and appropriate for the circumstances that we face”.
Meanwhile, one of the Sydney suspects, who is in hospital recovering from a gunshot wound following a shoot-out with police, was on Wednesday charged at a bedside hearing with 13 offences including planning a terrorist attack, attempted murder, firearms offences and assault.
He and seven other suspects arrested are due to appear in a Sydney court on Friday.
In Melbourne, two members of the nine-strong alleged terrorist group had their application for bail denied. Police allege the two bail applicants took part in military training and that one of them wanted to be a suicide bomber. Magistrate Reg Marron ruled that the men should not be released. All nine Melbourne suspects have been remanded in custody until January.
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