[asia-apec 1195] Re: NZ/APEC: Activist not backing down

[Tony Clarke]

Hi Aziz,

Well done my friend! The struggle continues!

I received your message from a few days ago about  looking at ways to
internationalize your fight-back campaign against SIS. I will be away on
vacation until the first week of August. Let's try to connect by email then.
O.K?

Cheers,
Tony


-----Original Message-----
From: Gatt Watchdog <gattwd at corso.ch.planet.gen.nz>
To: asia-apec at jca.ax.apc.org <asia-apec at jca.ax.apc.org>
Cc: jaggi at tao.ca <jaggi at tao.ca>; rf.dsouza at auckland.ac.nz
<rf.dsouza at auckland.ac.nz>; saskia at gn.apc.org <saskia at gn.apc.org>;
sheac at ucla.edu <sheac at ucla.edu>
Date: Friday, July 09, 1999 3:29 AM
Subject: [asia-apec 1190] NZ/APEC: Activist not backing down


>
>Christchurch Star, Friday July 9 1999
>
>Activist not backing down
>By Marianne Betts
>
>A ground-breaking case against the Security Intelligence Service
>will continue, despite a ruling from the Court of Appeal to keep
>documents relating to the bungled break-in of a Christchurch
>activist's home secret.
>
>Aziz Choudry, who is suing the SIS for $300,000 after a break-in
>at his Sockburn home three years ago, during the Apec Trade
>Ministers meeting, said he would continue with his civil case
>regardless of the ruling.
>
>"I won't back down on this and will have to see where we will go
>from here," Mr Choudry said.
>
>He said he had asked the court to review 60 secret documents
>relating to the botched break-in which the SIS had refused to
>disclose.
>
>Four of the five judges ruled the SIS did not have to disclose
>these documents and that a certificate by Prime Minister Jenny
>Shipley saying their release would prejudice national security was
>sufficient to prevent the High Court judge in the case from
>reviewing the documents.
>
>Mr Choudry said he was disappointed by the judgement, which would
>fuel anxieties about the service.
>
>The Apec Monitoring Group, of which Mr Choudry is part, feared the
>judgement gave the SIS and the Prime Minister protection from any
>real scrutiny of their activities and allowed them to keep secret
>information they deemed to be prejudicial to their activities.
>
>Spokesperson for the group Leigh Cookson said the judgement was
>disturbing, coming in the year New Zealand is to host the Apec
>forum.
>
>"Any assurance given that the opponents of Apec in 1999 will have
>their right to dissent respected can only be treated with
>suspicion and contempt," Ms Cookson said.
>
>The majority decision from four of the five judges said the
>judicial inspection of the documents would be unlikely to advance
>matters responsibly.  Justice Thomas disagreed, saying national
>security would suffer.
>
>
>