Symbols are powerful forces in a movement. They can gather people in, unite them under the one banner, proclaim to the world: this is who we are. A flag, for instance, is a potent symbol. Nations go to war under its unfurling. Flags fly over our parliaments, outside our civic buildings.
Last Sunday in Melbourne and Sydney, we saw the other nature of flag waving, that is, of fomenting hatred, terrorism and division. At both rallies called to demand ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, several people displayed the flag of Hezbollah. They were in the minority. There were more flags of Lebanon and Palestine. The day before, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut.
A Hezbollah flag at the pro-Palestine rally outside the State Library of Victoria on Sunday.Credit: AAP
Hezbollah, like Hamas, has been deemed by the Australian government as a terrorist organisation, as it has by the United States, Britain and the European Union. Hezbollah is backed by Iran, and among its stated aims is the destruction of Israel and the expansion of Islamic influence.
The brandishing of the Hezbollah flag on the streets in Melbourne and Sydney can be labelled a provocation, an act of stupidity or naivety, or a gesture of racial violence. It is a dichotomy of democracy that while demonstrations are an integral part of its nature, they also allow within that supporters of repugnant organisations to shout and march. Up to a point.
Federal legislation states that the display of symbols of prohibited terrorist organisations is a crime in certain circumstances. These include if the display was likely to humiliate or insult, offend “a member of a group of persons distinguished by race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion or national or social origin”. The penalty for an offender can be a year’s jail.
The responsibility for prosecuting this law lies with the Australian Federal Police, who are investigating six possible breaches of the law. While we welcome the investigation by the AFP, it is tempered by the framework of the Commonwealth Criminal Code pertaining to terrorism and symbols.
AFP deputy commissioner Krissy Barrett said yesterday that displaying the flag was not enough for a successful prosecution.
“We need to prove that it is a terrorist organisation symbol, and then it’s got to be done in circumstances in which a reasonable person would consider that the conduct either advocates inciting others to use violence or use force [and] could incite others to humiliate, intimidate, based on race or religion.”
The Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan expected police to pursue the protesters.
“This is driving deep grief and division here on the streets of Melbourne,” she said.
She’s correct. Expressing compassion for the many innocent lives lost during Israel’s escalating strikes or calling for greater restraint out of desire for peace can be done forcefully without declaring support for Hezbollah.
The truth of this was evident on Sunday where other protesters appeared surprised by the outburst at their rally’s conclusion and did not join them.
Victoria recently enacted legislation making it a crime to intentionally display or perform a symbol or gesture used by the Nazi Party in a public place or in public view. A decision in the first case brought under the new law is expected to be delivered this month.
Action against advocates of terrorism is welcome, but there is a dismaying feature to public comments from the political arena. There is also an element of tired predictability where migrants are tarred with the spectre of potential terrorists entering the country.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton decried that no one had yet been arrested over the Hezbollah flags or that, indeed, they hadn’t already been deported. It is not clear what evidence he had that these people were not Australian citizens.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke “presumed” most were Australian citizens but in the same breath said he’d cancel the visa of any protester supporting Hezbollah who was not.
“I’ve got very strong views against hate speech and hate symbols, very strong views, and I don’t want the anger and hatred from around the world being imported into Australia.”
These are clumsy interventions that veer close to impugning entire migrant groups.
The Age does not suggest that any person pictured at the protests will or should be charged – that will be determined by the justice process.
We do suggest that freedom of speech in a democracy, from protesters to politicians, carries responsibilities. Not inciting violence or hatred upon one particular part of that society should be their guiding light. To not do so is a red flag for a society’s health.