U.S. Military Ship Visits Cairns-NVDA Report : Melbourne Indymedia

Can’t Get Arrested in Cairns
An Account by Bryan Law (Peace by Peace/Pine Gap Inspection Defendant

On Friday 1st September the USS Salvor came to the sunny port of Cairns for five days rest and recreation. Perhaps the dinkiest vessel in the US 7th Fleet, the USS Salvor carries a crew of 130 and is a tug/rescue/dive/fire-fighting ship that tries to assist damaged shipping in a war, or at other times.

This was the sixth US warship visit to Cairns since May last year and Peace by Peace has managed to take action against every one of them. Our actions continue to improve. We got to try out some new ideas this time
too, and they all worked.

The Early Warning System we’ve implemented worked a treat. Eagle Eye One tipped us off inside an hour of the ships arrival, and we quickly collected intelligence about what the ship was, how long it’d be staying, when and how we could best carry out our public inspection
attempt. We spoke with a commission officer of Queensland Police on Saturday, and the Force Protection Officer from the US Embassy on Monday
morning – to build confidence.

At 5.30 pm on Monday 4^th twenty citizens assembled to carry out and/or witness some nonviolent direction.

We also decided to escalate our action on this visit by making a second serious attempt to get to the gangway of the ship at a time when Police were NOT notified in advance.

At the public action we were evenly matched with Police. 20 a side. There were maybe six unarmed Port Authority security, and a few US Navy guards on board with M16 rifles. Maybe a sniper.

What I noticed about the public action was:

(a) we had no chance of getting onto the active secure area of the dock.

(b) the Police were all happy and smiling, and knew exactly why we were there

(c) so did the US Navy

(d) a lot of people were paying attention

Twenty minutes of theatre and discussion yielded three arrests for appearing to threaten the peace. (WE were threatening the peace, it’s a bloody warship you know) After the action was over, Terry, Michael and Margaret were driven to Cairns Police station and released without
charge. Significantly, none was given the usual formal direction not to return to Trinity Wharf until the ship had left.

All attendees were happy with the action and felt it was an effective way to build social power, and a rewarding experience for them.

The lone ranger rides.

I regret to say that I was the only activist ready and prepared at this time to make the second and more serious effort at getting on-board. The major obstacle to others seems to be employment security in the event
of arrest and conviction, along with the inability of employed people to find time at short notice.

Some also find the prospect of capsicum spray, bullets and fire-hoses a shade intimidating.

Nevertheless Peace by Peace has a few participants now developing their capacity to expand the range of actions they will take.

On Tuesday 5th September, at 4.15 pm, I entered the active security area of the wharf where USS Salvor was tied up. Margaret Pestorius attended a separate location to witness events.

It would be true to say I caught the Port security and Police napping. There were four on duty and three were down the other end of the wharf in the shady tent. The fourth was near the gangway and had no power to
arrest me. The first to notice me were two US Sailors on the foredeck of the ship. They shouted, and Australian security began to run. I’ve never seen a Police officer run so fast. My commitment was to walk calmly, so
I got about half way to the gangway before being intercepted by police.

During this time, two US Sailors ran down to the mid-way point of the gangway – with a fire-hose. They checked the fire-hose to make sure it was pressurized, and assumed a defensive position. I was expecting the fire-hose, and it seems to be the lowest level force the US Navy will
use in the event that Queensland Police fail to prevent us getting to the gangway.

I still couldn’t get arrested for trespass. I was detained, removed from the Wharf, then driven home in a paddy wagon without charge, and without being given a direction not to return. The powers that be have decided
they don’t want to see any of us in Court explaining what we were doing, and why we’re doing it. It’s a pity really, because I love my day in Court.

What I noticed about the Lone Ranger action was:

It was more fun than a barrel full of monkeys

We were past the fence and looking at the gangway

The Queensland Police have changed their policy in response to our escalation

If there were three of us, we’d have forced them to use the firehose

Think about the PR value in a decent photo of US Sailors using a firehose against known nonviolent citizens in appealing white uniforms. We could circulate such a picture very widely.