Fear APEC

The Sydney (APEC) meeting will require "maximum security," but it will be a worthwhile inconvenience says the PM. I would beg to differ, militarising part of an Australian city, subjecting its population to the oppression of martial law, is no more a “worthwhile inconvenience” than what being buggered by the rough end of a pineapple is.

The NSW Government has declared Friday 7th September of the Leaders Week as a Public Holiday, but this only applies in metropolitan Sydney, not the entire city or state. Three city train stations will be closed for three days while one bus station will be relocated for the same time period. Hospitals have been asked to cancel all elective surgery on the long weekend.

Loudspeakers and sirens have been installed in major streets in central Sydney. Police Minister David Campbell said "If there were a terrorist event or a major building fire and there were people in the streets, this is a way of giving them information" Sydney's city council has urged locals to prepare survival bags including maps, first-aid supplies, important documents, spare change and an extra set of keys in case of emergency.

Security personnel is said to include 3500 police officers and over 300 secure VIP motorcades. Police have bought a $600,000 water cannon to quell violent protesters and more than 30 buses will be used as mobile detention cells. The police Riot Squad have been issued with taser guns. Police maintain they will not be used against protestors as they are only appropriate for one on one situations. Does it not seem odd then that Riot Squad are given these weapons? How many one person riots do they attend?

Police aviation support branch staffing for APEC is numbered at 84. Police Minister David Campbell said helicopters would monitor motorcades, provide support for operational police and provide live downlink of images from onboard cameras to the Police Operations Centre. A Cessna Citation jet will be used to spot any aircraft breaching a 45 nautical mile restricted zone around the Sydney APEC conference venues.

NSW Police have been granted APEC-specific powers to detain people and subject them to random body searches in special “declared'' zones”. While visitors will be allowed to enter the areas, they will do so at the risk of personal searches and being under constant surveillance by ASIO and counter-terrorism police. One of the "declared zones'' will be an entire CBD block bordered by Macquarie St, King St and George St and Circular Quay to the north, caged by a 2.8m high reinforced concrete fence, marked with a series of policed checkpoints through which the public will have to be cleared.

APEC Task Force general manager of media and communications, Bernadette Ryan was reported saying “A letter from an employer or other credentials may be needed to prove an individual has a legitimate reason to be in APEC security zones”. The immediate surrounds of the Sydney Opera House, Government House and some areas of the Sydney Botanic Gardens will be totally locked down and off limits to the public. WTF, in Australia, we need certified legitimacy for moving about in public?

Chief executive officer of the NSW Business Chamber Kevin MacDonald said: “Given the experience of other major meetings of world leaders in recent years, I can understand why the police have decided to erect a temporary fence”. Police claim they are concerned peaceful protesters may link up with radicals and try to attack globally known businesses.

The Prime Minister's office has said that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was conducting security assessments for APEC, including "politically motivated violence checks against ASIO databases”. Police Minister David Campbell asserts antiwar demonstrators and anyone else considered “suspicious” will be arrested and detained without bail for the duration of the September 6-9 summit. “Known troublemakers” will also be denied access to restricted zones, to avoid any “embarrassment” to dignitaries.

In addition to 3500 police, 1500 ADF personnel including SAS commando troops will man checkpoints, conduct property searches, and be called on at the whim of the PM to crush protests, possible under newly enacted legislation. F/A-18 fighter jets will patrol Sydney air space along with the squadron of police choppers. Navy will also be involved, with its ships to guard against a seaborne attack. Navy divers will provide "niche security support" and be deployed around areas of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney Professor Michael Head said new powers, including expanded rights to shoot to kill, were given to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in last year's military callout legislation. Professor Head said troops have considerably wider and legally protected rights to use lethal force and their callout during APEC was yet another example of the creeping militarisation of Australia. Legislation will also allow Foreign Government security agencies to carry weapons and enforce their own security arrangements on Australian soil.

Radical protester's police fear

Peaceful protesters