G20 : Not-corrupt police give sub-editor opportunity to use word ‘nab’

    Note that the G20 is meeting again this weekend (November 17/18) in Kleinmond, South Africa. “During this meeting — which will be hosted by the current Chair of the G20, our own Trevor Manual — the most powerful economic ministers and politicians will be surrounded by symbols of opulence — a golf course, five star accommodation, a beautiful conference centre, body guards, limousines, cavalcades, and sea views. They will swop smiles and handshakes for the press — who like the court jesters of old will sing these global capitalist elites’ praises. They will also tell us that these politicians have come to Kleinmond to create a better world for us. The biggest joke of all is that they will expect us to believe this lie. Of course, if you look past the superficial pomp, glitz and sheer propaganda that will be part of the Kleinmond gathering, you will find that a better world is not being created for us; a better world is being created for the global elite and their transnational companies to our detriment…” ~ The G20: The New Ruling Aristocracy of the World?, Shawn Hattingh, Monthly Review, November 15, 2007

Police nab G20 protester in Sydney
Mario Xuereb
The Age
November 17, 2007

A New Zealand man wanted for rioting in Melbourne at last year’s G20 economic summit has been arrested in Sydney on a holiday stopover to Europe. Victorian police heading the taskforce into last November’s violent rioting said Gabriel Shanks was arrested in Sydney yesterday en route to Spain and Britain. He was wanted for riot and affray offences committed during the summit on November 18. The 22-year-old was arrested by airport police and remanded to appear at Waverly Court for an extradition hearing on Monday. Victoria Police officers will fly to Sydney for the hearing and expect Mr Shanks to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

It comes nearly one year on from the violent confrontation between protesters and police in Melbourne’s CBD. “He was arrested as he was travelling through Sydney airport from New Zealand en route to Europe,” said Detective Sergeant Adrian Richards. “Police at the airport arrested him on our behalf, we believe he was going to Spain or England. It’s unclear if he was going for political purposes and have no idea of his travel intentions – it’s a coincidence that he has happened to return to Australia the same week as the first anniversary (of the riot),” Detective Sergeant Richards said. Mr Shanks was one of 28 “persons of interest” featured in police photographs from the summit protest released to the media.

Officers heading Operation Salver, the taskforce investigating the riots, have arrested 12 of the people featured. The G20 demonstrations on November 18 injured 10 police officers, with one constable bitten during a confrontation between 100 protesters and 60 police near Parliament House.

In March, police charged another five people in Sydney over the violent protests. Four men aged 20 to 25 and a 17-year-old youth were arrested in raids in five suburbs. A total of 26 people have been charged in relation to the G20 economic forum riot with a total of 246 offences. Most who have appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court since have had their bail extended until February when they will appear for committal hearings. Last month, Melbourne protester Akin Sari – who was also arrested in Sydney – pleaded guilty to rioting during the summit.

Note that Fairfax Media is being quite coy about its role in “assisting police with their enquiries”; that “Mr Shanks was [allegedly] one of 28 “persons of interest” featured in police photographs from the summit protest released to the media” fails to acknowledge the fact that Fairfax published all 28 on its site. Such active collaboration with police may have been read as an unusual editorial decision sparked by the inordinate amount of interest dramatic images recorded at the G20 protest generated. However, given the decision by Fairfax in Aotearoa/New Zealand to publish similar, potentially prejudicial material regarding the alleged “terrorists” involved in the Urewera 16 show trial — “leaked” to them by police — may perhaps be more justifiably read as a particularly intense form of corporate/police state action. Note also that, over twelve months later, The Age continues to publish online all 28 photos provided to them by police, and notwithstanding the fact that at least some of those featured are currently awaiting trial.

About @ndy

I live in Melbourne, Australia. I like anarchy. I don't like nazis. I enjoy eating pizza and drinking beer. I barrack for the greatest football team on Earth: Collingwood Magpies. The 2024 premiership's a cakewalk for the good old Collingwood.
This entry was posted in State / Politics, Student movement, War on Terror. Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to G20 : Not-corrupt police give sub-editor opportunity to use word ‘nab’

  1. Pingback: One good thing, two bad… « Anarchia

  2. grumpy cat says:

    yes this is truly shit.
    my paranoid speculation is that Operation Salver is still trawling for more arrests and/or that they had a list of people they were interested in that they gave to the NZ cops and the NZ cops gave them a tip-off…
    poor show.

  3. @ndy says:

    Possibly, yes. But I wouldn’t say it was paranoia, more like good sense. For example, it may be that Australian authorities have simply compiled a list of names of those from other islands wanted for prosecution in Australia over offences allegedly committed at G20, and then distributed these to immigration authorities. If so, then once a person comes into contact with immigration authorities, they would be detained and police informed of their detention. In any case, Australian and NZ police authorities (especially in the case of intelligence) work very closely together, both in relation to matters of regional importance, and as part of local efforts which inform US-centred global intelligence networks. In this context, it’s worth keeping in mind that the authorities make no effort to disguise the fact, if not the detail, of the intensive monitoring and policing of anti-summit networks they routinely and systematically engage in. For example, in the case of G20, the head of security for the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Patrick Shearer, was recruited to provide advice to local police; in the case of S11 (2000), local authorities engaged in various forms of collaboration with police and other government agencies in Seattle (site of N30 in 1999). Or even, more comically, the agents they send to the protests themselves…

    Finally, as we reflect on the fate of Gabriel and the other two dozen or so individuals charged, as well as Akin Sari as he sits in prison, let us remember, again, the words of Senior Constable (Proletarian) Mick Armstrong, he of ‘Austudy 5’ fame:

    The anarchist crazies involved in the ultra-violence were in no serious sense part of the demo. Just like their black bloc mates in Europe they simply exploited the demo for their own purposes.

    Right throughout the lead-up to the demo they made clear their hostility to and contempt for other protestors. On the day they did all they could to disrupt the demonstration and were hostile, abusive, threatening and ultra-sectarian towards people on the demo.

    Australia, fortunately, has not previously been blighted by the sort of black bloc anarchist activities which have had such a disastrous impact on demonstrations in Europe. These people are simply provocateurs that open up protests to police repression. In Europe their ranks have been riddled by police agents and fascists.

    What gave them a certain critical mass at the G20 was the presence of considerable numbers of anarchists from overseas. One of our members from New Zealand said he recognised at least 40 NZ anarchists. He knew at least 20 of them by name. There were also a considerable number of black bloc anarchists from Europe. We know of people from Sweden, Germany and England. These people are like football hooligans who travel the world looking for violence.

    On top of that there were also a considerable number of anarchists from interstate.

    Because of the behaviour of these provocateurs the media and the law and order brigade are having a field day.

    The left should offer no comfort to these crazies. We should do whatever we can to isolate them. They are wreckers. If they grow in Australia it will simply make it harder to build future protests and movements.

  4. Asher says:

    What happened to Akin? I heard about him skipping his last court date, then being caught in Sydney, and in the article about Gabe I see that he plead guilty to some (or all?) of his charges last month – has he been sentenced yet?

  5. @ndy says:

    Yeah, he pled guilty to some, [is on remand awaiting sentencing…]

    G20 committal expected to last four weeks
    The Age (AAP)
    October 12, 2007

    The committal hearing for activists charged over the violent protests outside the G20 summit in Melbourne last year will hear from almost 50 witnesses, and is expected to last a month.

    The Melbourne Magistrates Court was told today that the prosecution intends to call between 40 and 50 witnesses when the committal hearing begins on February 18 next year.

    Twenty-two people are facing a range of charges including aggravated burglary, riot, affray, unlawful assembly, criminal damage and conduct endangering persons.

    It follows the violent protests that marred the G20 summit of the world’s financial leaders at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Collins Street, Melbourne, on November 18 last year.

    The protesters are accused of throwing milk crates, rubbish bins, bollards and signs at police and their vehicles.

    Many of the witnesses will be Victorian police officers who were stationed outside the hotel and in surrounding streets during the event.

    Lawyer David Hollowes said that if the Crown intended to use the argument that police were terrified, then he would want to be able to cross-examine those officers.

    “The prosecution seek to rely on all these witnesses to prove that they were terrified,” Mr Hollowes told the court.

    “Then the defence are entitled to test that at will.”

    The committal hearing is expected to run for four weeks.

    Magistrate Sarah Dawes extended bail to all of the accused except Akin Sari, 29, of Pascoe Vale, who is facing 16 charges relating to the G20 protests.

    Sari is in custody after he failed to appear in court in August.

    He was arrested in Sydney last month after two warrants were issued, and faced the Melbourne Magistrates court last week where bail was refused.

  6. What can we do? Girls Just wanna have fun thats it.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.