Minorities
Disregard Safety, Acquire
AAP General News (Australia)
02-18-1999
NSW: Probe underway into failure to stop Kurd attack
SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - An investigation is underway into the failure of state and federal
authorities to stop a violent nine-hour siege at the Greek consulate in Sydney yesterday.
Kurdish protesters smashed in the ground floor glass facade of the inner-city office block
in a pre-dawn attack, dousing themselves with petrol and threatening to set themselves alight.
Assembled riot police were menaced with clubs, bricks and Molotov cocktail petrol bombs.
The Sydney invasion and another clash between protesters and police in Melbourne came hours
after the Greek Consul-General warned Australian agencies of possible violence.
The Kurdish emigrants were protesting against the arrest of their rebel leader Abdull
ah
Ocalan on charges of treason, terrorism and murder by the Turkish government.
His capture in Kenya after leaving the Greek Embassy compound and return to Turkey set off
massive protests yesterday as enraged Kurds seized Greek and other embassies and held hostages
across Europe.
Many Kurds believed Greece had turned Ocalan over.
Consul-General Rosa Ieremia said she was alerted to the danger in a fax from the Greek
government on Tuesday afternoon.
She said she promptly advised the protocol section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade and the New South Wales protective group.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer confirmed Ms Ieremia's warning was
received, but said the department was not at fault.
"The department received a fax from the Greek consul at 4pm ... and alerted the Protective
Services Co-ordinating Centre by 4.20pm and had sent a note back to the Greek official by
4.50pm saying that the appropriate aut
horities had been notified," he told AAP.
Despite at least eight hours warning, NSW police responding to an alarm at the consulate
thought they were attending a break-in, only to be confronted by 60 demonstrators.
A spokeswoman for the NSW police said they had been too busy dealing with the attack, but
an investigation was being held into the incident.
"Investigations are underway into when they were notified and what action was taken," she
said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said the failure to protect the
consulate was a disgrace.
"We failed, we dismally failed, those responsible fell down on the job and we're very
fortunate that we didn't get a much worse outcome," he said.
During the tense nine hour siege, riot police partially shut down the city centre until
10am.
After hours of questioning, 65 protesters were charged with unlawful assembly at protected
premises and were all bailed to appear in Downing C
entre court on March 9.
Further and more serious charges are likely to be laid after police have examined video
evidence of the attack.
AAP lk/kr
KEYWORD: OCALAN AUST DAYLEAD
Ãâ┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�šÃ”š¿ 1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Cite this article
02-18-1999
NSW: Probe underway into failure to stop Kurd attack
SYDNEY, Feb 18 AAP - An investigation is underway into the failure of state and federal
authorities to stop a violent nine-hour siege at the Greek consulate in Sydney yesterday.
Kurdish protesters smashed in the ground floor glass facade of the inner-city office block
in a pre-dawn attack, dousing themselves with petrol and threatening to set themselves alight.
Assembled riot police were menaced with clubs, bricks and Molotov cocktail petrol bombs.
The Sydney invasion and another clash between protesters and police in Melbourne came hours
after the Greek Consul-General warned Australian agencies of possible violence.
The Kurdish emigrants were protesting against the arrest of their rebel leader Abdull
ah
Ocalan on charges of treason, terrorism and murder by the Turkish government.
His capture in Kenya after leaving the Greek Embassy compound and return to Turkey set off
massive protests yesterday as enraged Kurds seized Greek and other embassies and held hostages
across Europe.
Many Kurds believed Greece had turned Ocalan over.
Consul-General Rosa Ieremia said she was alerted to the danger in a fax from the Greek
government on Tuesday afternoon.
She said she promptly advised the protocol section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade and the New South Wales protective group.
A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer confirmed Ms Ieremia's warning was
received, but said the department was not at fault.
"The department received a fax from the Greek consul at 4pm ... and alerted the Protective
Services Co-ordinating Centre by 4.20pm and had sent a note back to the Greek official by
4.50pm saying that the appropriate aut
horities had been notified," he told AAP.
Despite at least eight hours warning, NSW police responding to an alarm at the consulate
thought they were attending a break-in, only to be confronted by 60 demonstrators.
A spokeswoman for the NSW police said they had been too busy dealing with the attack, but
an investigation was being held into the incident.
"Investigations are underway into when they were notified and what action was taken," she
said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie Brereton said the failure to protect the
consulate was a disgrace.
"We failed, we dismally failed, those responsible fell down on the job and we're very
fortunate that we didn't get a much worse outcome," he said.
During the tense nine hour siege, riot police partially shut down the city centre until
10am.
After hours of questioning, 65 protesters were charged with unlawful assembly at protected
premises and were all bailed to appear in Downing C
entre court on March 9.
Further and more serious charges are likely to be laid after police have examined video
evidence of the attack.
AAP lk/kr
KEYWORD: OCALAN AUST DAYLEAD
Ãâ┚¬Ã…¡ÃƒÆ’”�šÃ”š¿ 1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
Cite this article