Guerrillas in mist test terror laws

The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 17 October 2007

It sounds like a re-run of Sleeping Dogs, writes The Dominion Post. There are claims of guerrillas in the mist and in our midst. There are reports of napalm explosions, threats against Prime Minister Helen Clark and murmurings of co-ordinated attacks by Maori sovereignty, environmental and peace groups. The police invoke anti-terrorism legislation and swoop in raids that end in the arrest of 17 people on firearms charges, and the possibility of more to follow under terrorism laws passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

To many, the events of Monday seem so extraordinary as to be treated as farce. A house raided in Wellington is the site of a free bicycle repair service - undermining to capitalism perhaps, but hardly a threat to the safety of the state. One of the house's residents, Sam Buchanan, seems more bemused than alarmed at events, grumbling that he supposed he was expected to replace a glass door broken in the raid, and observing "it's been a very annoying morning". Already people are making jokes about New Zealand's own PLA - Pipi Liberation Army.

However, there are serious issues at stake. Terrorism is a reality of the 21st century. So is encroaching on civil liberties in the name of necessity.

The dilemma democracies face is drawing the line between activities that should truly be categorised as terrorism, and those which may be inconvenient, embarrassing and troublesome to the powerful, but which are the right of any citizen.

The properly cautious approach of those who drew up New Zealand's terrorism laws is apparent by the inclusion of an extra step in the process even before the police can charge those they have arrested with offences under the Terrorism Suppression Act - a piece of legislation with fearsome powers that allows a very wide net to be cast. They must convince Solicitor-General David Collins to approve any prosecution.

Even if that approval is gained, the virtue of the New Zealand system is that when it comes to individuals, the decisions are ultimately made not by the Government, by its lawyer, or the police, but by the courts.

Police and governments do get things wrong - one need look no further than across the Tasman where Mohamed Haneef was charged under terrorism laws but never prosecuted after the evidence against him proved to be flimsy at best.

However, Tame Iti and the 16 others have not been left to languish indefinitely in prison cells, or cast into some legal never-never land such as Guantanamo Bay. They have not been subject to any special powers of arrest or detainment, unlike Dr Haneef, who was locked up for 12 days even before being charged under the more draconian Australian terrorism laws. They will have their day in court, where the case made by the police will be tested.

It is the job of the police to be vigilant in the protection of the safety of New Zealanders, and to do what, within the law, they believe is necessary to achieve that. It is the job of the courts to be equally vigilant in the protection of the liberties of New Zealanders, and to judge whether police have done their job properly. The police have made their decisions. Now it is up to the courts to make theirs.