Waleed Aly has questioned a former senior police officer about why police are trying to stop protests to commemorate the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas that killed 1,200 people.
NSW Police are seeking an injunction in the NSW Supreme Court against protests planned for this Sunday and Monday, claiming they pose a risk to public safety following last weekend’s demonstrations. in Sydney and Melbourne displaying flags of the terrorist group Hezbollah.
The Project host, who on Tuesday stated that he believed protesters had done nothing illegal by carrying the flag and photographs of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, asked why the police should intervene to stop the demonstrations now.
“They (protesters) have been gathering for the last 51 weekends,” Aly told former NSW police deputy commissioner and counter-terrorism commander Mick Willing, who appeared on the show on Wednesday night.
‘The vast majority have been peaceful protests. Do you think the NSW Police have made the right decision in calling for a ban?
Willing responded yes, despite the vast majority of protests at Sydney CND taking place safely.
“Community safety must underpin the conduct of these protests and on this occasion, after negotiating with the protest organizers, the police feel they cannot guarantee public safety,” he said.
“And they have no other recourse but to take it to the Supreme Court to obtain a decision on the matter.”
Project presenter Waleed Aly (pictured left) interviews former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner and Counter-Terrorism Commander Mick Willing.
Police in New South Wales are applying to the Supreme Court for an injunction against protests planned for this Sunday and Monday. In the photo, last Sunday’s rally in Sydney.
Aly asked if the police had to prove in court that there was a security problem.
Willing said in New South Wales protesters had to go to police and demonstrate that security would not be compromised.
“So when (the 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, a particular protest is more likely to take place than no. be unsafe for the public.
“Therefore, it is a threshold that they must meet and a decision that the court must make.”
Show host Sarah Harris noted that organizers had said they could not guarantee that Hezbollah flags would not fly again.
He asked Mr Willing if that happened and how police should act.
“Well, I think the general public – and it’s a general feeling – is that the police need to crack down and make arrests,” Mr Willing said.
‘They have to operate within the limits of existing legislation and simply flying or possessing a flag is not enough.
‘There have to be certain thresholds that have to be met. The legislation itself is just new.
‘It hasn’t been tested. But I think it’s time to put it to the test and I think the general public would expect arrests to be made.”
Melbourne protesters were seen holding up framed photographs of recently assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (pictured center) and yellow and green Hezbollah flags (pictured left).
Willing also told The Project hosts that he thought “tensions are high” and that a comment from protest organizers who have vowed to defy a court order shows a worrying attitude.
‘So how could they control those 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 have that type of protest,” he said.
A similar protest is expected to be held in Melbourne this weekend.
But unlike their counterparts in New South Wales, Victoria Police do not have the power to deny a protest from taking place, “as long as it is legal”.
But the police confirmed that they would be present at the demonstrations planned for October 6 and 7 aimed at “maintaining peace and ensuring the safety of attendees and the community at large.”
“Victoria Police does not have the power to deny a protest taking place, as long as it is lawful,” a spokesperson said.
“Victoria Police respects the right to peaceful protest but will not tolerate any unlawful behaviour.”
The latest saga comes after Aly backed protesters’ legal right to fly Hezbollah flags and display photographs of their recently slain leader, despite the organization being on the list of terrorist groups in Australia since 2003.
He expressed his opinion when asked by co-host Steve Price on Tuesday night if protesters should be allowed to do this.
“I certainly don’t like it,” Aly admitted.
‘I have nothing good to say about Hezbollah.
‘The way the law is written, the crime is not simply displaying that symbol. That is not all that is required to commit the crime, it is necessary, but not all.
‘There also needs to be other elements, basically incitement and defamation. That’s where it gets complicated.
The Australian Federal Police said it was investigating the display of Hezbollah symbols, but waving a flag or showing a photograph was not necessarily illegal.
“That’s where I think the police investigation will take some time, because it won’t just be about whether you waved a banner.”
The Australian Federal Police said in a statement that simply holding the flag or a photograph of Nasrallah was not a crime in itself.
It only rises to the level of a crime if the symbols are used to spread ideas of superiority or racial hatred or if they could offend, insult or intimidate a person for reasons such as race, religion or nationality.
Officers can order people to remove the symbols, but cannot forcibly remove them, although those who do not comply face fines.
In New South Wales, protesters initially complied when asked to remove Hezbollah flags, but many later removed them, leading police to confiscate at least two flags.
Price said the law didn’t go far enough.
‘Today’s Australian public has a right to be very confused. “Nasrallah is a deadly terrorist,” Price said.
“He’s been responsible for some horrible terrorist attacks, murders of Americans and all kinds of people, and yet you can walk down the street with a framed photograph of him after Israel eliminated him.”
Iran has sent a barrage of missiles at Israel and this shot shows the rockets over Tel Aviv.
He said there was a police double standard between the hands-off approach to protesters at the weekend and the aggressive shutdown of even peaceful protests against Covid-19 lockdowns.
“(In) the Covid protests, people protesting being locked in their homes were shot with rubber bullets and arrested and dragged down the street,” Price said.
A spokesman for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the AFP had confirmed they were investigating a series of breaches, believed to number six.
Australian Jewry Executive Council co-leader Alex Ryvchin called it “disgusting to see other Australians on our streets mourning the death of this terrorist kingpin.”
The protests went beyond concerns about the loss of life and the future of Lebanon and turned toward “active, open and targeted support for Hezbollah” against which police needed to take action, Ryvchin said Monday.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Friday as the conflict threatened to engulf more countries in the region, with Hezbollah-supporting Iran entering the conflict in a more direct way by firing rockets at Israel.
The current round of fighting began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from Gaza on October 7 last year, causing widespread death and destruction.