A-Infos (en) NZ APEC Opponent Claims Victory in SIS Case

[Mark Eden <Poo@TradesHall.org.NZ>]

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Hi all, 
after that little message asking for more people to send news to A-Infos I
thought I would send some news of the planned anti APEC action here in
Aotearoa. The APEC leaders summit is in Auckland on September 12-13th and
one third of all NZ police will be on duty protecting Bill Clinton and the
other world leaders from any protests planned by us peasants. Already
homeless people in Auckland are being rounded up and jailed, in orer to make
the place look tidy for the world media.
 I thought I would start with some good news. In 1996 during an anti APEC
conference, two Security Intelligence Service (SIS) agents were caught
redhanded breaking into the house of an anti APEC activist. The Activist,
Aziz Choudry, sued the SIS for illegally breaking and entering his house.
The govt reponded by changing the law, making it legal for SIS agents to
break into peoples houses from now on, and just last week announced an out
of court settlement with Aziz. According to some govt sources quoted in the
media, they paid out more than $100,000 to Aziz.
 I will try and send more news of anti APEC actions as they happen.
Mark Eden
Wellington


APEC Opponent Claims Victory in SIS Case 
Thursday, 26 August 1999, 9:34 pm 
Press Release: Gatt Watchdog 	
	GATT Watchdog and APEC Monitoring Group organiser Aziz Choudry has
announced that he and the Crown have reached an out-of-court settlement of
his civil claim following the illegal break-in of his home by two Security
Intelligence Service agents just prior to the July 1996 APEC Trade Ministers
Meeting.

	The settlement involves a payment to Mr Choudry of substantial
damages and towards his legal costs, and an apology. 
	"This is a victory, but I'm unimpressed by the calibre of the
Crown's "apology" for the illegal break-in". 
	"The Government is really only 'sorry' that its SIS agents got
caught. It has gone to great lengths to cover up its dirty tricks. It must
have a lot to hide," he said. 
	Mr Choudry says he is pleased to have scored a rare victory over the
SIS given its history of being unaccountable to either the public or the
courts. He is also pleased that the case has exposed that the official SIS
complaints procedure, which recent law changes leave untouched, is a
complete farce. 
	"Any reasonable observer would agree that in the absence of any
other explanation, what this case shows is that the SIS have indeed been
taking action against people engaged in lawful political protest and
dissent". 
	"The break-in occurred while I was involved with organising an
alternative conference in opposition to the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting.
Ironically, this settlement comes as I am part of a group organising an
alternative conference and rally opposed to APEC at the time of September's
APEC Leaders Summit." 
	"Human rights violations are synonymous with APEC meetings. The
government, and especially those responsible for the huge security operation
for next month's Auckland APEC summit should remember that the heavy-handed
actions of state security forces against critics of APEC at the time of APEC
meetings tend to haunt the governments which sanction them long after the
event." 
	He noted that the brutal security crackdown around the November 1997
Vancouver APEC Summit was still the subject of a politically explosive
inquiry into the security operations. 
	"My case and the questions it raises are a major source of
embarrassment for the Government. I have heard from a reliable source that
Don McIver, the current Director of the SIS considered resigning over this
affair. No wonder the Government wants to get this matter settled prior to
the APEC Leaders Summit. But if the Government thinks it can brush the
issues and concerns that this case has raised in relation to the SIS, the
"mantra of national security" and the rights of people to dissent under the
carpet, it is very wrong." 
	"Senior Police officers and the LTSA were complicit in facilitating
and covering up this illegal break in. They actively obstructed attempts to
get to the bottom of this incident and covered the SIS's tracks. But heads
won't roll because they can all hide behind a convenient shroud of "national
security" How many other undetected illegal SIS break-ins have they and
other government agencies taken part in?" 
	Mr Choudry was scathing about claims that there were checks and
balances and mechanisms of oversight in place to curb potential abuses of
SIS power. 
	"The supposed statutory checks and balances on the powers of the SIS
did not work as soon as they were put to the test shortly after their 1996
revamp. The report into my complaint to the Inspector-General of
Intelligence and Security was a whitewash. And the 1999 legislative
amendments have actually expanded the powers of the SIS, not reined them
in." 
	"The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security was unwilling or
unable even to admit the involvement of the SIS in his report into my
complaint against the SIS on the bungled 1996 operation. I had to take legal
action to get an admission from the Crown that the SIS - and that their
entry was illegal." 

	ENDS 

--
PO Box 6387, Te Aro,
Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Phone 0064 04 385-6728



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