Scott Parkin: peace activist or security threat?
By Crikey reporter Lucy Morieson
Exactly why is the visiting American peace activist Scott Parkin a threat to Australia's national security? According to today's SMH, up to six federal police and Immigration Department officers nabbed Parkin from a Melbourne cafe on Saturday because he's been classified as a "security threat" by the Department of Immigration. The 35-year-old history teacher from Houston is being held in the Melbourne Custody Centre – at a personal cost of $130 a day – awaiting deportation.
Parkin has been conducting a series of forums on peaceful protest methods, having successfully helped coordinate the well-known anti-globalization movement, the Houston Global Awareness Collective, out of his home town. Paul Wilson, a Crikey reader who attended one of Parkin's workshops on non-violent protest, describes Parkin as a "gentle spirit that writes his ideas on whiteboards with felt tip pens and encourages protest through ideas and dialogue."
A website advertising a lecture Parkin was due to give in a warehouse in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick prior to his arrest describes the protest methods of the Houston Global Awareness Collective as "community dialogue, teach-ins, film screenings, counter-recruitment and non-violent direct action."
His lawyer, Marika Dias of the Brimbank Community Legal Service, said Parkin had been detained by the Australian Federal Police on the authority of the Immigration Department and had his visitor's visa cancelled, as he was considered a threat to national security, although he was not told why.
According to reports in today's papers, Parkin, who has been in Australia for three months on a six month visa, was arrested on "character grounds" at the request of the Immigration Department, and will be deported "as soon as practicable."
Parkin had already visited Sydney and Brisbane without encountering any trouble, and took part in protests against US company Halliburton during the Forbes meeting in Sydney two weeks ago. And as Bob Brown points out, the Halliburton company has close ties to the current US administration, and there are fears the largely unexplained arrest occurred on orders from the American government.
blogged by Audrey Autonomy
Exactly why is the visiting American peace activist Scott Parkin a threat to Australia's national security? According to today's SMH, up to six federal police and Immigration Department officers nabbed Parkin from a Melbourne cafe on Saturday because he's been classified as a "security threat" by the Department of Immigration. The 35-year-old history teacher from Houston is being held in the Melbourne Custody Centre – at a personal cost of $130 a day – awaiting deportation.
Parkin has been conducting a series of forums on peaceful protest methods, having successfully helped coordinate the well-known anti-globalization movement, the Houston Global Awareness Collective, out of his home town. Paul Wilson, a Crikey reader who attended one of Parkin's workshops on non-violent protest, describes Parkin as a "gentle spirit that writes his ideas on whiteboards with felt tip pens and encourages protest through ideas and dialogue."
A website advertising a lecture Parkin was due to give in a warehouse in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick prior to his arrest describes the protest methods of the Houston Global Awareness Collective as "community dialogue, teach-ins, film screenings, counter-recruitment and non-violent direct action."
His lawyer, Marika Dias of the Brimbank Community Legal Service, said Parkin had been detained by the Australian Federal Police on the authority of the Immigration Department and had his visitor's visa cancelled, as he was considered a threat to national security, although he was not told why.
According to reports in today's papers, Parkin, who has been in Australia for three months on a six month visa, was arrested on "character grounds" at the request of the Immigration Department, and will be deported "as soon as practicable."
Parkin had already visited Sydney and Brisbane without encountering any trouble, and took part in protests against US company Halliburton during the Forbes meeting in Sydney two weeks ago. And as Bob Brown points out, the Halliburton company has close ties to the current US administration, and there are fears the largely unexplained arrest occurred on orders from the American government.
blogged by Audrey Autonomy
posted by Audrey Autonomy at 15:09
1 Comments:
hmm...smells like spam. Looks like the Normist's are utilising spam tech to recruit for their silly endeavours... whoever posted that last msg: Pleases shove your dumb religious scam right back up between your silly cheeks you rude git and dont graffiti my page ever again! your advertisment is not appreciated.
Post a Comment
<< Home