Australian Muslims Oppose Laws Targeting the Muslim Community Australias Islamic community has vowed to fight prime Minister Tony Abbotts terror laws after its religious leaders claimed the controversial measures appeared to be directed at Muslims. The Australian National Imams Council said it would vigorously campaign against measures that would give intelligence and police agencies extraordinary powers to detain, question and prosecute Australians involved in terrorist activities overseas. Likewise, the Lebanese Muslim Association described as deplorable the governments plans to soften the definition of terrorism, retain internet and phone data, make it easier to detain and question suspects returning from overseas, and reversing the onus of proof for people returning from terror hot-spots. In other words, the government plans to broaden the listing criteria for terrorist organisations, lower the threshold for arrest without warrant for terrorism offences, extend police and intelligence agencies’ powers to stop, question and detain suspects, and make it easier for the Australian federal police to seek control orders on people returning from fighting abroad. One of the most contentious proposals is the last one, to reverse the onus of proof for those visiting designated terrorist hotspots such as Syria, Iraq and Libya. Muslim travelers to these areas would have to prove their motives for travel were innocent. Moreover, the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, would be able to designate an area where terrorist organisations were conducting hostile activities, and it would become an offence to travel to those areas “unless there is a legitimate purpose”. These measures will only force the Muslim community further offside [and] will cause relations with the Australian Muslim community to deteriorate significantly, the association said in a statement. The Imams council said the proposed changes to the laws would severely impinge on the rights and freedoms of all Australians and especially those of Muslim faith. The imams comments are a blow to Tony Abbotts attempts to soothe concerns in ethnic communities. He was already under fire after Attorney-General George Brandis botched explanation of mandatory data retention that forms part of the shake-up of terror laws. To promote what he called a Team Australia approach, the Prime Minister decided to ditch a proposed repeal of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which makes it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate someone on racial grounds. But the Lebanese Muslim Association warned against fearmongering, saying that it would rather continue the debate about 18C than have new laws which only seem to target the Australian Muslim community. Muslims understand only too well the consequences of marginalisation, conflict and the war on terror, the association said. Former national security legislation monitor Bret Walker said Australia should resist legislating against essential freedoms and warned that increasing preventive detention of suspects would be more trouble than theyre worth. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was not consulted by the National Security Committee before the mandatory data retention plan was announced, yesterday confirmed industry concerns about requirements to store huge amounts of metadata for two years. If telcos are required to record, store and make accessible new classes of data in large volumes there obviously will be a significant cost and then you have the question of who bears the cost and in what proportions, Mr Turnbull said. This seemed to contradict Mr Abbotts assurances this week that internet service providers would not have to collect or retain any more metadata than they already did. Sources: Andrew Probyn, Muslims to fight new terror laws The West Australian August 8, 2014 Latika Bourke, Muslim groups slam Abbott governments new counter-terror plans The Sydney Morning Herald August 8, 2014 Daniel Hurst, nti-terrorism laws more frightening than racial abuse, says Muslim group The Guardian UK August 8, 2014
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 06:45:55 +0000
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