BY ARUN PRADHAN
MELBOURNE — The furore caused by police brutality against S11 protesters, and the explicit backing given to it by Premier Steve Bracks, has not died down. Community lawyers assembling the case against police are confident that an ombudsman's inquiry will reveal the extent to which police acted outside the law.
The legal team is paying particular attention to the September 12 baton charges against non-violent blockaders. "I believe that on [September 12] the police acted unlawfully. Technically they were allowed to use reasonable force to make an arrest, but no one was arrested", Damien Lawson of the Western Suburbs Legal Service told Global Action Radio on Community Radio 3CR on September 22.
Nandor Tanczos, a New Zealand Greens parliamentarian who participated in the blockade, described the morning attack to the New Zealand media. Tanczos said protesters were sitting with their arms interlocked, chanting "No violence, no violence" as police in riot gear walked over them, kicking some and dragging others away. Eleven people were hospitalised in that single attack.
Pauline Spencer from the Fitzroy Legal Service told Green Left Weekly that even though her group expected police violence, her team was still surprised at its extent.
Spencer noted that the media hype before S11, which focussed on "expected violence", laid the groundwork for police attacks. Before the protests, community legal services came under fire for organising onsite legal advice and observation. Some media commentators campaigned against the use of "taxpayers' money" in this way by the legal services.
The police actions against the S11 protesters by the Labor state government were carried out in the spirit of the previous Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, said Spencer. She said Kennett had militarised the police force by establishing the Special Operations Group and the Fourth Response Unit.
Spencer criticised Labor premier Steve Bracks for his support for the police actions. Bracks said that protesters "deserved everything they got" and had planned to organise a barbecue for the police involved, before being forced to cancel it.
Bracks "has used his position to create a climate that makes it difficult for an unbiased inquiry to occur", Spencer added.
More than 500 statements from witnesses and victims have been collected. Phone 0500 806 806 if you can contribute evidence.