Extreme NSW police powers ‘to stop violence’ at pro-Palestinian protests
Pro-Palestine protesters will rally in Sydney regardless of whether police will respond with rare and ‘extraordinary’ powers.
Pro-Palestine protesters are determined to rally in Sydney at the weekend even as police warn they will consider invoking extreme powers hardly used since the Cronulla riots to stop them.
On Friday afternoon, the NSW government called for calm as three men were arrested outside the Sydney Jewish Museum for allegedly performing Nazi salutes, with fears that further violent acts could result from the Free Palestine protests at Hyde Park on Sunday.
NSW Acting Police Commissioner Dave Hudson said police could be given the power to search attendees without probable cause and demand proof of identity, where failure to do so would be considered an offence.
“Sunday’s protest is being organised by the same group that organised the violent protest last Monday,” he said.
“These are extraordinary powers but we think we have the threshold and we are currently considering those in relation to authorising raising them to … ensure public safety.”
The last time police were given this level of authority was during the 2005 Cronulla riots.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said while there was a right to protest in NSW, there was also a right to be “free from intimidation, from the incitement to violence, from racial vilification and actual violence”.
“Police will of course be reasonable and proportionate on the weekend,” he said.
“There is no place for (racial vilification, violence and incitement to violence) and no tolerance for that in NSW or on city streets, and the police will have no tolerance for that on the weekend and in the weeks ahead.
“Whether that protest (on Monday) was hijacked or there was malevolent intent from the very beginning, it doesn’t matter.
“The organisers of the protest have shown the NSW police, the government, and the people of NSW that they can’t manage a peaceful protest.”
While police and the government told protesters not to come into the city on Sunday, the Palestinian Action Group said it was “encouraging people to come for a peaceful gathering”.
“There is nothing illegal about gathering in a park,” co-organiser Amal Naser said.
The lawyer for the Palestine Action Group said the suggestion the powers would be invoked was “a very aggressive misuse of police authority” and they were considering pre-emptive action if it went ahead.
Organisers said they believed they could ensure the protest was peaceful.
“We have a team of legal observers and lawyers and human rights organisers and a large number of marshals to ensure the safety of our community and to ensure police aren’t draconically using their powers,” Ms Naser said.
Fahad Ali, another co-organiser, said people who wanted to incite racism “are not welcome in our movement”.
“If anyone is motivated to engage in any kind of racism, any kind of troublemaking, they should absolutely not come, they should absolutely stay home,” he said.
Faith NSW co-chairs, including former Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark, president of the Australian National Imams Council Shadi Alsuleiman, and other multi-faith leaders called for religious groups to “live in harmony” and “engage in respectful dialogue”.
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