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PIne Gap 4 to Stand Trial in Alice Springs & Other Anti-War Resistance Updates
international |
anti-war / imperialism |
news report
Thursday April 20, 2006 23:35 by Ploughshares TRIAL later 2006-Alice Springs, Northern Territory, AUSTRALIA

They're on Trial For Us, We're on the Loose for Them
This week four people were brought to the Australian Supreme Court. The four calling themselves Christians Against All Terrorism had last December cariied out a citizens inspection of the CIA/NSA Pine Gap base outside of Alice Springs, Northern Territory Australia.Pine Gap is supposed to be one of the most "secure" military sites in Australia. Besdies playing a global spying role it also targets for cruise missile attacks in Iraq. Check link below for photos from Dec Citizens Inspection. Pine Gap 4 Pre-Trial Day 1 Report Wednesday April 19
A group of anti-war protesters claim "operational secrecy" is hindering their efforts to defend themselves against charges of breaking into a top secret Australian spy base.
Donna Mulhearn, 37, Jim Dowling, 50, Adele Goldie, 29, and Bryan Law, 51, have faced a committal hearing in Alice Springs Magistrates Court, charged with breaking into the Pine Gap spy base in central Australia.
The four were charged under the Defence Special Undertakings Act with entering a prohibited area and taking photos on December 9 last year.
The group, which styles itself Christians Against All Terrorism, fronted the hearing wearing jackets and overalls saying "Citizens Inspection Team".
Mulhearn, a well-known Catholic pacifist from Maitland, is a former "human shield" who was captured and later freed by insurgents during her second trip to Iraq.
Members of the group claimed to the court that US military action in Iraq was "terrorism" and a humanitarian emergency that Australian citizens should deal with.
They said they would rely on the defence "of necessity", which says private citizens can take illegal action when there is an extraordinary emergency threatening them.
Representing themselves, the members claimed that the fact they had gained access to the site showed the Australian Federal Police protecting the base were unable to protect Australia from a terrorist threat.
Among those quizzed by the four about the role of Pine Gap in the targeting of missiles in Iraq was the deputy chief of the Pine Gap Joint Defence Facility, Michael Burgess, the top Australian official at the base.
However, the defendants were told the base was an intelligence collection facility and that operations there were classified.
In court, the group tried to extract information about buildings at Pine Gap, 20km from Alice Springs, and what they were for.
"We needed to inspect Pine Gap for terrorist activity," group member James Dowling told the court, after calling US Intelligence chief John Negroponte "a known terrorist".
Mr Negroponte inspected the base just three days before the group broke in.
But the protesters were told repeatedly that most things about the base, including even whether employees rode bikes on the grounds, was "classified".
All four protesters are charged with criminal damage and entering a prohibited area.
Goldie, Dowling and Mulhearn are further charged with using a camera in a prohibited area.
The charges carry jail terms of up to seven years and their use had to be decided by Attorney General Phillip Ruddock.
The group face separate charges of criminal damage under the NT criminal code.
Law said the group was the first to ever be charged under the Defence Special Undertakings Act and had been kept in suspense for four months.
"It has certainly raised the stakes," he said.
Law, a father of one, and Dowling, a father of seven, said they expected custodial sentences if the case went to trial and they were found guilty.
Pine Gap 4/ Pre-Trial Day 2 April /20th.
Four anti-war protesters have been committed by an Alice Springs court to stand trial on charges of breaking into the top secret Pine Gap spy base "to stop war crimes".
Protesters Donna Mulhearn, 37, Jim Dowling, 50, Adele Goldie, 29, and Bryan Law, 51, told the Magistrates Court they had entered the base because they saw it as their duty as citizens to act when their government was involved in "crimes against humanity".
The four, members of a group calling itself Christians Against All Terrorism, will stand trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in June on charges which could see them jailed for up to seven years.
They are accused of entering the Pine Gap prohibited area 20km from Alice Springs on December 9 last year and damaging fences, sensors and switches.
Ms Mulhearn, who went to Iraq twice as a "human shield", Ms Goldie and Mr Dowling are also accused of using a camera in a prohibited area.
They told the court they believed the joint US-Australian facility played a role in the targeting of missiles in Iraq.
"We went to Pine Gap to take personal responsibility for what we believe is a crime against humanity," group member Jim Dowling said.
He said the Nuremberg war crimes trials in which Nazi leaders were prosecuted had pointed out "that citizens have a right and a duty to take action against their government when it is committing war crimes".
Alice Springs Magistrate Michael Carey found there was sufficient evidence to commit the four for trial and adjourned minor charges under NT law until July.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock had to approve the use of the charges under the Defence (Special Undertakings) Act and the protesters claim it is the first time they have been used since the legislation was passed in 1952.
They will be arraigned on June 5 in Alice Springs for a trial later that month and will face further charges under the NT criminal code in July.
They have not yet been required to enter a plea.
Mr Law objected to a bail condition that barred the group from going within two kilometres of Pine Gap, saying it obstructed their constitutional right to conduct a civilised protest at the gates of the base.
He told the court that the top Australian official at the base, Deputy Chief of Facility Michael Burgess, had given permission for a peaceful protest to be held.
But Mr Carey said the condition would stand because there had been no change to group's risk of reoffending.
LINK - to photos of the Pine Gap action
http://melbourne.indymedia.org/news/2005/12/101603.php
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4http://globalcalliraq.org/en/node
20th April 2006
Today four of us, Donna Mulhearn, Bryan Law, Adele Goldie, and I were arraigned to go to Supreme Court trial later in the year, (possibly between August and December) for our Citizens Inspection of Pine Gap last December.
The Committal hearing began yesterday morning. The magistrate soon realised nothing was going to be simple when he couldn’t even get us to agree that the property in question belonged to the Commonwealth. I was quick to point out that, no, in fact the Traditional custodian for the land was an Arrente man Patrick Hayes who had given us permission to be on it a the time of our inspection.
One of the first prosecution witnesses was the Deputy Director of the Base Mike Burgess. Although most of his responses were that answers to our questions were “classified information”, we were still able to make clear our reason for being there and our belief that the base was engaged in providing targeting information for terrorist bombing campaigns. We also asked Mr Burgess about the presence at the base of a suspected international terrorist, John Negroponte. Mr Negroponte was at the base on the same day we arrived in Alice Springs last December. Mr Negroponte is presently coordinator for all US intelligence agencies including the CIA and NSA.
But he was formerly famous for supporting and Death Squads in Honduras and Contra terrorists in Nicaragua in the 80’s when he was Ambassador for the former.
Also in the spotlight was the infamous Raytheon Corporation. Mr Burgess informed us that Raytheon was responsible for all maintenance at the Pine Gap base from fixing a broken tile on a roof to hi-tech repairs. It was in this capacity that Raytheon charged Pine Gap $12,000 to repair the 3 small cuts we made in their security fences. At this point it was important to point out that Raytheon have been exposed a number of times for defrauding or overcharging the US Government.
But overcharging for fixing toilets or fences is not the prime way Pine Gap helps Raytheon make their billions. You see Raytheon is one of the largest weapons makers in the world, making Tomahawk Cruise Missiles as well as many other less famous weapons of mass destruction. Pine Gap provides targets for the US military who then drop Raytheon missiles and bombs on those targets. At a million dollars for a cruise missile, it is easy to how Raytheon could make the $22billion dollars they did last year. Really all they need is for the US government to given them the contract for the hospitals and morgues in their occupied territories and Raytheon would have the whole game sown up!
Donna Mulhearn, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie and Bryan Law. They were in court in Alice Springs
What is the latest please?
There seems to be a media blind-spot on this?
Check this thread for detailed reports on the trial that concluded last Friday.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/82758
Despite the government's best efforts, a nine strong prosecution legal team, the first use of the Defence Undertakings Act (7 year max) since it was written in 1952, the Attorney General's decision to use it against the four, demands for house arrest during the trial, a call for custodial sentences for all four foloowing the guilty verdicts on all four counts......the judge displayed integrity and independence.
In sentencing the Judge made the observation that hundreds of peace activists (mostly in the 1980's) had been arrested for tresspass at Pine Gap all the penalties had been fines. she also observed there was no precedents for sentencing under the Defence Undertakings Act as it hadn't been used in the over 50 years of its existence. She sentenced Jim and Bryan to $1,000 fines (indefault ten days imprisonment) and Adele to $500.
Also check www.pinegap6.org for background on the action and more information.