Waleed Aly has questioned a former top cop about why police are trying to stop protests to mark the October 7 terror attacks on Israel by Hamas that killed 1200 people.
NSW Police are seeking an injunction in the NSW Supreme Court against planned protests planned for this Sunday and Monday, claiming they pose a risk to public safety in the wake of last weekend Sydney and Melbourne rallies displaying flags of terrorist group Hezbollah.
The Project host, who on Tuesday stated he believed the protesters did nothing unlawful in carrying flag and photos of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, asked why police should step in to stop the demonstrations now.
‘They’ve (the protesters) been gathering for the past 51 weekends,’ Aly told former NSW police deputy commissioner and Counter Terrorism Commander Mick Willing who appeared on the program on Wednesday night.
‘Overwhelmingly these have been peaceful protests. Do you think the NSW Police have made the right call here in applying for a ban?’
Mr Willing replied that he did even though the vast majority of protests in the Sydney CBD were carried out safely.
‘Community safety has to underpin the conduct of those protests and on this occasion, after negotiating with protest organisers, police feel they can’t ensure public safety,’ he said.
‘And they’ve got no other recourse but to take it to the Supreme Court to get a decision in relation to it.’
The Project Host Waleed Aly (pictured left) interviews former NSW police deputy commissioner and Counter Terrorism Commander Mick Willing
NSW Police are seeking an injunction in the Supreme Court against protests planned for this Sunday and Monday. Pictured is last Sunday’s rally in Sydney
Aly asked if police had to prove to the court there was a safety concern.
Mr Willing said that in NSW protesters had to apply to police and show that safety would not be compromised.
‘So, when they (police) go to the Supreme Court – it doesn’t happen often – they have to convince the court that under all the circumstances and taking everything into account, that the conduct of a particular protest is more likely than not to be unsafe to the public.
‘And so it’s a threshold that they have to meet and a decision that the court has to make.’
Fellow program host Sarah Harris made the point that organisers had said they couldn’t guarantee Hezbollah flags would not fly again.
She asked Mr Willing if that happened how police should act.
‘Well, I think the general public out there – and it’s a widespread sentiment – is that police need to take strong action and make arrests,’ Mr Willing said.
‘They have to operate within the confines of the legislation that exists and simply waving or possessing a flag is not enough.
‘There has to be certain thresholds that have to be met. The legislation itself is only new.
‘It hasn’t been tested. But I think it’s time it it’s tested and I think the general public would expect that arrests be made.’
Melbourne protesters were seen holding aloft framed photos of recently killed Hezbollah boss Hassan Nasrallah (pictured centre) and the yellow and green flags of Hezbollah (pictured left)
Mr Willing also told The Project hosts that he thought ‘tensions are high’ and that a comment by protest organisers who have vowed to defy a court order shows a worrisome attitude.
‘So, how could they possibly control those that are involved in the protest itself, it puts public safety at risk. It puts police officers at risk and I think now is not the time to conduct that sort of a protest,’ he said.
A similar protest is expected to be held in Melbourne this weekend.
But unlike their NSW counterparts, Victoria Police doesn’t have the power to deny a protest from occurring, ‘so long as it is lawful’.
But police confirmed it would have a presence at the rallies planned for October 6 and 7 aimed at ‘keeping the peace and ensuring the safety of those attending and the broader community’.
‘Victoria Police does not have the power to deny a protest from occurring, so long as it is lawful,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Victoria Police respects the right for peaceful protest however any unlawful behaviour will not be tolerated.’
The latest saga comes after Aly backed the legal right of protesters to wave Hezbollah flags and display photos of its recently slain leader even though the organisation has been listed a terrorist group in Australia since 2003.
He expressed his opinion when asked by co-host Steve Price on Tuesday night whether protesters should be allowed to do this.
‘I certainly don’t like it,’ Aly admitted.
‘I’ve got nothing good to say about Hezbollah.
‘The way the law is drafted, the offence isn’t merely holding up that symbol. That’s not all that is required for the offence, it’s necessary, but not all of it.
‘There also needs to be other elements, basically incitement and vilification. That’s where it gets tricky.
The Australian Federal Police said it was investigating the show of Hezbollah symbols but waving a flag or displaying a photo were not necessarily against the law
‘That’s where I think the police investigation will take some time, because it’s not just going to be about whether you waved a placard.’
The Australian Federal Police said in a statement that merely holding the flag or a photo of Nasrallah was not an offence in itself.
It only rises to the level of an offence if the symbols are used to spread ideas of racial superiority or hatred or were likely to offend, insult or intimidate a person for reasons such as race, religion or nationality.
Officers can direct people to take down the symbols but cannot remove them by force, although those who fail to comply face fines.
In NSW, protesters initially complied when asked to put away Hezbollah flags but many brought them out later, prompting police to seize at least two flags.
Price said the law did not go far enough.
‘The Australian public today have a right to be very confused. Nasrallah is a deadly terrorist,’ Price said.
‘He has been responsible for some horrible terrorist attacks, killing of Americans, and all sorts of people and yet you can walk down the street with a framed photograph of him after he was taken out by Israel.’
Iran has sent a barrage of missiles at Israel with this shot showing the rockets above Tel Aviv
He said there was a policing double standard between the hands-off approach to the protesters on the weekend with the aggressive shutdown of even peaceful protests against Covid-19 lockdowns.
‘(At) Covid protests people who were protesting being locked in their houses were fired on with rubber bullets and arrested and dragged down the street,’ Price said.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the AFP had confirmed they were investigating a number of breaches, believed to be as many as six.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-leader Alex Ryvchin called it ‘sickening to see fellow Australians on our streets mourning the death of this terrorist kingpin’.
The protests went beyond concerns about the loss of life and future of Lebanon and veered into ‘active, open, specific support for Hezbollah’ which police needed to take action against, Mr Ryvchin said on Monday.
Nasrallah was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Friday as the conflict threatened to engulf more countries in the region with Hezbollah backer Iran entering the conflict in a more direct manner by firing rockets at Israel.
The current round of fighting began when Hamas fighters stormed Israel from Gaza on October 7 last year and inflicted widespread death and destruction.
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