CANBERRA - The Australian government deported, Thursday, Scott Parkin, a soft-spoken peace and environmental activist, of the Texas-based Houston Global Awareness Collective, for participation in non-violence and civil disobedience workshops in this country.

In a debate in the Australian Senate, Greens Senator Bob Brown, described the adverse security assessment by the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) and the subsequent decision to deport Parkin, while refusing to provide any reasons either to him or his lawyers, as ''outrageous''.

''What has the government to hide here? It is the government that is hiding and being covert and being dangerous. Not Mr Parkin, it is the Howard government that is the dangerous entity here,'' he said.

Parkin, who completed a master's degree in history on the Vietnam War, is an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. On Saturday, Parkin was arrested en route to a workshop in Melbourne where he was to speak on non-violent activism against the Iraq war.

Late August, he spoke at a street theater protest outside the Sydney office of 'KBR' , a subsidiary of the contracting company, Halliburton, which has been awarded substantial deals by the U.S. government in Iraq. ''Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR are essentially the poster children of war-profiteering,'' he said.

In a statement, written in prison on Wednesday, Parkin said that ''the only information that I have received is that I have been assessed as 'a direct or indirect risk to Australian national security'.''

In the Senate on Wednesday, Minister for Justice Senator Chris Ellison stated that while ASIO did not oppose Parkin's entry into the country six weeks ago, its ''understanding of his intentions has changed while he has been in Australia.''

Ellison went on to tell the Senate that ASIO ''is responsible, of course, for protecting the community from security threats and all forms of politically-motivated violence, including violent protest activity.''

In his written statement issued from prison, Parkin rejected the inference that he has supported or encouraged violent protest. ''I am strongly opposed to any violence and do not believe that violence delivers any political gain, and in fact, detracts from positive political engagement,'' he said.

An Australian friend of Parkin's, Iain Murray, dismisses the Australian government's claims. ''Scott is diametrically opposed to violent protest,'' he told IPS. ''He is passionate about history, he is passionate about social change à and he cares a lot about teaching and sharing information. But he does not support or advocate violence,'' he said.

The president of 'Liberty Victoria', Brian Walters, believes the case illustrates the danger of granting unfettered powers to government agencies. ''The only reasonable inference that we can draw is that he is being removed because of his peace activism but, in fact, we don't know as no one will say. They used the term 'national security', which is a pretty nasty allegation in today's climate, to cloak their responsibility to actually respond,'' he said.

For Parkin, the long-term implications could be significant. If the ASIO assessment stands unchallenged, it is likely that the U.S. could prevent him from leaving that country forever.

While Parkin has agreed to be deported to avoid the mounting financial costs of his detention, he has instructed his lawyers lodge an appeal against his security re-classification with the Migration Review Tribunal.

His appeal can proceed after he has left the country, under the provisions of the National Security (Information) Act and the government can issue a certificate preventing the disclosure of what it believes to be national security information.

Parkin's arrest and treatment has sparked widespread concern, including amongst mainstream media outlets. Faced with mounting criticism, the government has sought to curb further critical media coverage by banning journalists from visiting Parkin in prison.

Early in the week, the Leader of the opposition Labour Party, Kim Beazley, raised concerns about Parkin's arrest and requested a confidential briefing from ASIO on its actions. After briefing, Arch Bevis, the opposition's 'shadow minister' on homeland security, the Labour Party said that it would not oppose Parkin's deportation.

The Labour Party's Senate leader, Senator Joe Ludwig, opposed Brown's motion calling on the government to explain the reasons for deporting Parkin. ''Labour does not support the details of sensitive security operations being disclosed in an open forum. This is particularly important given the complex and sensitive security environment which we now operate in,'' he said.

Walters believes the Labour Party would have been told little and made a political judgement to play safe. ''At best Labour would have only been told about the decision. There is no opportunity to challenge the facts or the judgements made about the facts.. The bottom-line is that the Labour Party have run dead on this,'' he said.

While a spokesman for Beazley did not respond to repeated requests for an interview, a spokesman for Bevis said that the Labour Party opposed any action by ASIO on political grounds, but this case involved national security. Asked if Labour still supported Parkin and his lawyers being informed of the allegations against him, Bevis's spokesman would only say that he was entitled to appeal against the decision.

Walters believes that the case illustrates that ASIO ''is not being properly supervised''.

''We are the only Western nation who doesn't have a bill of rights and that means that our terrorism laws have been enacted in a context of where there is just no countervailing force against them,'' he said.

Copyright © 2005 IPS-Inter Press Service

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