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'Scott Parkin' (b. 1969, Garland, Texas) is a US peace activist, community college history teacher, and a founding member of the Houston Global Awareness Collective. He has been vocal in his criticism of the American invasion of Iraq, Halliburton. Since 2006, he has worked as an organizer for the Rainforest Action Network - organizing campaigns against Citibank, TXU and Wells Fargo Bank.
While Parkin was visiting Australia in 2005, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) contacted him to request an interview, which he declined after being advised that it was not compulsory. Shortly after, he was assessed by ASIO to represent a threat to national security, leading to the cancellation of his visa and his detention by Australian Federal Police and immigration officials on 10 September 2005.
Parkin was kept in solitary confinement in a Victorian prison until he was removed on the September 15. He was not charged with any offence or provided with any explanation for his treatment beyond the advice that a "competent authority" considered him a threat to Australia's national security.
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Parkin was told that he was expected to pay AUD$11,700 to the Australian Government for the cost of his detention, the flight back to the US for himself and two Australian Government escorts and their accommodation in Los Angeles for four nights (15th September - 19th September).
The reasons for Parkin's detention and removal from Australia remain unknown.
While in Australia, Parkin participated in an anti-war profiteering protest outside the Sydney headquarters of Halliburton subsidiary KBR on August 31, and was also reported to have attended the 2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference protest. On the day of his detention, he was due to give a workshop entitled: ''Bringing Down The Pillars - People power strategies against war and capitalism''.
After Parkin's removal, The Australian newspaper reported that sources alleged Scott Parkin may have intended to advocate techniques such as throwing marbles underneath police horses. Parkin said he would never encourage such behaviour and a subsequent report issued on December 6 (see below) by the Inspector-General of Intelligence Services said that these claims were "not a reliable guide to the ASIO assessment".
Despite the lack of details being provided by ASIO, it has been suggested that Scott Parkin may have been deported to test the Australian public's reaction to anti-terror laws being introduced around the same time as the deportation, a claim that has been denied by Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.
On October 31, 2005, the Director-General of Security and head of ASIO, Paul O'Sullivan, acknowledged that Mr Parkin was not involved in any violent activity in Australia.
On December 6, 2005, the Attorney-General released (a report) by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell, detailing his investigation into the circumstances of Scott Parkin's deportation. That report claims that the deportation was in accordance with the law. However, the veracity of the report cannot be tested as the relevant facts were withheld from the published document on account of secrecy provisions.
In January 2006, Newsweek magazine reported that the Pentagon's Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) agency had monitored and filed a report on a June 2004 protest organised by Parkin's group, Houston Global Awareness Collective.[1] According to ''Newsweek'', CIFA filed a report on the protest in its database after ten members of Parkin's group distributed peanut butter sandwiches to employees at Halliburton's Houston headquarters, in protest at allegations that Halliburton overcharged for military food contracts in Iraq.
In December 2005, lawyers acting for Parkin lodged a Federal Court challenge seeking to quash the adverse security assessment. Parkin's lawyers are also acting for two Iraqi refugees, Mohammed Sagar and Muhammad Faisal, who have been held in immigration detention for over five years after receiving adverse security assessments from ASIO. The subsequent appeal process may test the power of the Attorney-General, under the National Security Information Act, to prevent particular evidence from being heard in an open court.
Scott Parkin’s barrister is Julian Burnside, QC. In an interview on Radio National, Burnside said it may be difficult to appeal the adverse security assessment, and showed concern for the degradation of due process and transparency:
:The difficulty that confronts us, potentially, is that the Attorney-General has got power under the National Security Information Act to certify conclusively that revealing the contents of the report would adversely affect Australia’s national security interests. And if he certifies that, then any court hearing our challenge will have to hold a private hearing in which the court considers whether or not to allow the evidence to be produced in court. And in that process the statute directs the Judge to give primary weight to the conclusive certificate of the Attorney, which looks (and it’s never been tested) but it looks as though it gives him the chance to stymie the process of examining the basis for the report.
On 3 November, 2006, the Federal Court ruled that lawyers for Parkin and ASIO confer on the release of documents detailing the allegations against Parkin.[2]. On 28 November, ASIO was granted leave to appeal to this decision after lawyers for the security agency argued that providing a list of documents relevant to the Parkin, Sagar and Faisel case would cause "irreparable harm" to Australia's national security.[3] On 22 May, 2007, the full bench of the Federal Court revoked ASIO's leave to appeal and ordered the matters be heard by the primary judge.[4] The hearing before Justice Sundberg is set down for 21 September, 2007 at the Federal Court in Melbourne.[5]
★ The transcript of a radio interview with Scott Parkin, after his deportation
★ Parkin detention mystery deepens
★ Protest advice led to US activist's detention
★ Sydney Indymedia: US Peace Activist to be Deported
★ The Law Report: 20 September 2005 - Scott Parkin
★ Deported activist not violent, admits ASIO chief
★ Deported activist denies violent protest claims
★ Inspector General Reports on ASIO Security Assessment of Scott Parkin
★ Deported peace activist launches legal challenge
★ Michael Isikoff, "The Other Big Brother", ''Newsweek'', January 30 2006.
★ Activist gets ASIO papers, ''News.com.au'', November 03, 2006.
★ Friends of Scott Parkin
★ Houston Global Awareness Collective
★ Nonviolence Training Project
★ Australia Revokes Scott Parkin's Visa
| Contents |
| Detention and removal by Australian Government |
| Speculation concerning reason for removal |
| Federal Court challenge |
| References |
| External links |
Detention and removal by Australian Government
While Parkin was visiting Australia in 2005, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) contacted him to request an interview, which he declined after being advised that it was not compulsory. Shortly after, he was assessed by ASIO to represent a threat to national security, leading to the cancellation of his visa and his detention by Australian Federal Police and immigration officials on 10 September 2005.
Parkin was kept in solitary confinement in a Victorian prison until he was removed on the September 15. He was not charged with any offence or provided with any explanation for his treatment beyond the advice that a "competent authority" considered him a threat to Australia's national security.
Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Parkin was told that he was expected to pay AUD$11,700 to the Australian Government for the cost of his detention, the flight back to the US for himself and two Australian Government escorts and their accommodation in Los Angeles for four nights (15th September - 19th September).
Speculation concerning reason for removal
The reasons for Parkin's detention and removal from Australia remain unknown.
While in Australia, Parkin participated in an anti-war profiteering protest outside the Sydney headquarters of Halliburton subsidiary KBR on August 31, and was also reported to have attended the 2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference protest. On the day of his detention, he was due to give a workshop entitled: ''Bringing Down The Pillars - People power strategies against war and capitalism''.
After Parkin's removal, The Australian newspaper reported that sources alleged Scott Parkin may have intended to advocate techniques such as throwing marbles underneath police horses. Parkin said he would never encourage such behaviour and a subsequent report issued on December 6 (see below) by the Inspector-General of Intelligence Services said that these claims were "not a reliable guide to the ASIO assessment".
Despite the lack of details being provided by ASIO, it has been suggested that Scott Parkin may have been deported to test the Australian public's reaction to anti-terror laws being introduced around the same time as the deportation, a claim that has been denied by Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.
On October 31, 2005, the Director-General of Security and head of ASIO, Paul O'Sullivan, acknowledged that Mr Parkin was not involved in any violent activity in Australia.
On December 6, 2005, the Attorney-General released (a report) by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell, detailing his investigation into the circumstances of Scott Parkin's deportation. That report claims that the deportation was in accordance with the law. However, the veracity of the report cannot be tested as the relevant facts were withheld from the published document on account of secrecy provisions.
In January 2006, Newsweek magazine reported that the Pentagon's Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) agency had monitored and filed a report on a June 2004 protest organised by Parkin's group, Houston Global Awareness Collective.[1] According to ''Newsweek'', CIFA filed a report on the protest in its database after ten members of Parkin's group distributed peanut butter sandwiches to employees at Halliburton's Houston headquarters, in protest at allegations that Halliburton overcharged for military food contracts in Iraq.
Federal Court challenge
In December 2005, lawyers acting for Parkin lodged a Federal Court challenge seeking to quash the adverse security assessment. Parkin's lawyers are also acting for two Iraqi refugees, Mohammed Sagar and Muhammad Faisal, who have been held in immigration detention for over five years after receiving adverse security assessments from ASIO. The subsequent appeal process may test the power of the Attorney-General, under the National Security Information Act, to prevent particular evidence from being heard in an open court.
Scott Parkin’s barrister is Julian Burnside, QC. In an interview on Radio National, Burnside said it may be difficult to appeal the adverse security assessment, and showed concern for the degradation of due process and transparency:
:The difficulty that confronts us, potentially, is that the Attorney-General has got power under the National Security Information Act to certify conclusively that revealing the contents of the report would adversely affect Australia’s national security interests. And if he certifies that, then any court hearing our challenge will have to hold a private hearing in which the court considers whether or not to allow the evidence to be produced in court. And in that process the statute directs the Judge to give primary weight to the conclusive certificate of the Attorney, which looks (and it’s never been tested) but it looks as though it gives him the chance to stymie the process of examining the basis for the report.
On 3 November, 2006, the Federal Court ruled that lawyers for Parkin and ASIO confer on the release of documents detailing the allegations against Parkin.[2]. On 28 November, ASIO was granted leave to appeal to this decision after lawyers for the security agency argued that providing a list of documents relevant to the Parkin, Sagar and Faisel case would cause "irreparable harm" to Australia's national security.[3] On 22 May, 2007, the full bench of the Federal Court revoked ASIO's leave to appeal and ordered the matters be heard by the primary judge.[4] The hearing before Justice Sundberg is set down for 21 September, 2007 at the Federal Court in Melbourne.[5]
References
★ The transcript of a radio interview with Scott Parkin, after his deportation
★ Parkin detention mystery deepens
★ Protest advice led to US activist's detention
★ Sydney Indymedia: US Peace Activist to be Deported
★ The Law Report: 20 September 2005 - Scott Parkin
★ Deported activist not violent, admits ASIO chief
★ Deported activist denies violent protest claims
★ Inspector General Reports on ASIO Security Assessment of Scott Parkin
★ Deported peace activist launches legal challenge
★ Michael Isikoff, "The Other Big Brother", ''Newsweek'', January 30 2006.
★ Activist gets ASIO papers, ''News.com.au'', November 03, 2006.
External links
★ Friends of Scott Parkin
★ Houston Global Awareness Collective
★ Nonviolence Training Project
★ Australia Revokes Scott Parkin's Visa
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