Dozens of Islamic extremists said to be operating in Australia

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 8, 2005

SYDNEY, Aug. 3 Kyodo

There are up to 60 Islamic extremists operating in terrorist cells in Australia and an attack is inevitable, former Australian Security and Intelligence Organization officer Michael Roach has said.

''The threat is real. It's a matter of when will this happen,'' Roach told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television late Tuesday.

His claim was backed by Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty, who said Wednesday it is difficult to give an exact figure, but Roach is ''close to the figure that I am aware of,'' the Australian Associated Press reported.

Roach, who worked with Australia's intelligence office for 30 years, said Australia is hosting a terrorist network in Sydney and Melbourne, and most members are known to Australian intelligence, ABC reported.

He reportedly said some members of this network have received military training overseas and have passed this training on to others.

Prime Minister John Howard, who has already said there is a real possibility of some kind of terrorist incident occurring in Australia, told the media that Roach's information was no great revelation.

He said it is well known there are people in Australia who trained with overseas terrorist groups and ''those people who are regarded as a threat, or are regarded as of interest, are under very regular surveillance.''

Roach has called on members of the public to use their mobile phones to photograph suspicious people of ''Middle Eastern appearance,'' as well as strange parcels and vehicles, as such photos could be invaluable should anything occur.

''What the public needs to be looking for is somebody standing in the corner, somebody who's holding onto their backpack, somebody who looks really concerned and anxious or somebody wearing a vest that looks so unusual and (of) Middle Eastern appearance,'' he told ABC.

He said evidence collected from the public after the recent bombings in London has shown how important mobile phone technology can be in helping police track terrorists.

''Unfortunately, Middle Eastern people are going to be approached more often than not and that's just the way it goes at the moment. But if that person has nothing to fear, nothing to hide and is approached politely, that person, by rights, should not be concerned with that at all,'' he reportedly said.

Hasan Lali, secretary of the Islamic Society of New South Wales State, was quoted by AAP as saying Muslims ''would be targeted unfairly (and) this will infringe on our life.''

Howard said people should not be targeted because of their physical appearance, noting that to discriminate on the basis of someone's color or appearance was not ''the Australian way.''

Keelty, the federal police commissioner, said such an approach could alienate the entire Islamic community.

''One of the things I fear is that we are marginalizing the Islamic community by broad-brush stereotyping,'' he was quoted by AAP as saying.

''We are focused on the people who we are aware have trained overseas. We are not focused on the Islamic community per se. There are a lot of very, very, very good people in the Islamic community and they are the ones who will identify, in my view, where the problems are in the first instance,'' he said.

Howard said it will be difficult to strike a balance between complacency and overreaction when fighting terrorism at home.

''This is going to involve a very difficult balance between the traditional freedoms we all cherish, but also the need to take steps necessary to protect us against the evil of terrorism,'' he said.

Abdul Wahee, a member of the Islamic Society, said public safety is important and everyone needed to be observant, telling the AAP, ''No one can read or predict the mind of a terrorist. These people have fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who also have no idea what goes on inside their heads.''