In the past two days, incredible things have happened in Australia, which has been free and harmonious.
The local media in Australia, for saying what they should not have said, were "copied by the police"!
Australian Federal Police raided the headquarters of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney on Wednesday, following a raid on the residence of the Daily Telegraph journalist on Tuesday, ABC said. The police operation targeted three journalist reports in 2017 that revealed the killing of civilians by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, and police said ABC was suspected of disclosing confidential information.
The Daily Telegraph was raided or because of previous revelations that Australian government was considering large-scale surveillance of its own citizen.
Police have been shelled into violating freedom of the press in two operations against the media in 24 hours.
In an instant, there was a global stir, and public opinion was in an uproar.
At noon today, ABC News angrily denounces Australian government: the attack on the Australian media is the democratic threat!
After two police raids, the Australian CNN was worried about freedom of the press or succumbing to government power.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, also wrote that protest believed the two police raids would raise concerns among Australian journalists.
British media, including The Times and Sun, have condemned the fact that Australians` right to know has been compromised by Australian government.
Australia, which has always touted itself as a democratic country, has happened such a terrible thing for two days in a row. Where would it go if even the authority did not have the freedom of the press in Australia?.
What about freedom of speech, the deal?
Ha.
Australian police raided ABC headquarters because of a report?
Police arrived at the ABC headquarters at 11:30 on Wednesday with a search warrant bearing the names of two journalist and news executives, the BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) reported on June 5.
ABC has proposed protest for the attack.
Video screenshot of police entering ABC building
According to several Australian media reports, the Australian Federal Police`s copy of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comes from an investigation launched by the Australian media in 2017, the Afghan Archives.
The program exposed materials from the Australian military suspected of being innocent civilians and children in shoot, Afghanistan, came from confidential documents leaked by the Australian Defense Department.
So now the Australian Federal Police`s copy of the ABC is to investigate how secret information was leaked to the media.
And according to a post posted by a senior editor of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Federal Police prepared a detailed search warrant for the search, so that the law team of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was unable to stop it. At present, we can only cooperate with the provision of materials to them.
He tweeted that the police were checking 9214 documents found in the ABC system, including "thousands of ABC internal emails."
"I am still shocked by the authority given by the search warrant. It allows AFP to `add, copy, delete, or modify` data on ABC`s computer. Think about it for all Australians: at this point, AFP has the right to delete content from ABC computers. This is Australia in 2019. "
The federal police responded in a statement issued late
"all AFP search warrants are authorized by the local judge or by the appropriate members of the judiciary. This is the result of supporting documents or materials provided to the court, which are fully suspected of having committed a criminal offence. "there is no plan for today`s action, arrest, no one. "the operation has nothing to do with the search warrant carried out yesterday (Tuesday, June 4, 2019) in Canberra. "
Two raids in two days, targeting journalist!
Just a day before the police raided the ABC headquarters, the police raided the home of journalist Annika Smethurst, an Australian woman, on the 4th. Smethurs was suddenly stuck at home by a group of Australian federal police when she was about to leave for work in the morning.
After showing her the court`s opening search warrant, the police began searching her home, as well as electronic products such as her personal computer and mobile phone.
The action instantly triggered the panic of the entire Australian media.
Last year, Smethurst reported that Australian government was considering a secret plan to monitor its citizen on a large scale.
The raid sparked widespread speculation in public opinion, and the Global Times, the domestic media, even sent a direct article: "is that the real reason why Australia does not allow Huawei to build a 5G network?"
It is pointed out that the Australian government has the behavior of monitoring and eavesdropping on citizen.
Judging from the confidential meeting exposed by the woman journalist in the Daily Telegraph, Australia`s Department of Defense, the Department of Internal Affairs and the Department of cyber espionage are very much planning to give their cyber intelligence departments mandatory authority. As a result, government institutions and private enterprises must cooperate with and comply with the measures they take for national security reasons.
According to the content of its report, the deeper reason why Australia has been shutting out Huawei is clear.
Smethurst`s employer, (News Corp Australia), the Australian News Corporation, condemned the police raid as "rude and draconian."
The police said they were not linked to the two intensive operations, but were linked to an independent accusation suspected of publishing confidential information. "this is an extremely serious incident that could undermine Australia`s national security." The police, on the other hand, have always been independent and impartial.
After two raids, the journalist trade union in Australia, protest, said the "attack on freedom of the press in Australia" was "disturbing."
David Anderson (David Anderson), managing director of ABC, also said in a statement that the police raid "raised legitimate concerns about freedom of the press."
"ABC Broadcasting supports its journalist, will protect its sources and will continue to report national security and intelligence issues in the clear public interest without fear or bias."
In addition, ABC`s lawer will assess whether to challenge the terms of the search warrant.
Australia`s journalist reacted strongly, calling the raid "intolerable" and "chilling", and an editor said he had "never seen such a savage attack on the media."
"although the police insist that the two operations are not linked, the timing is very curious," The British Broadcasting Corporation commented. "the two raids for two days in a row are related to reports published more than a year ago. And the article is to discuss the transparency of Australian institutions. "
In addition to the two attacks, more people also spoke out: on Tuesday, Ben Fordham, host of Australian 2GB radio program, also said, Government is investigating how he learned that as many as six ships carrying refugee had recently tried to arrive in Australia. In this regard, Australian Ministry of the Interior speaker did not confirm or deny the existence of the investigation.
Some suspect that it is the whistleblower, not the media, that is really targeted.
There are also voices that the media should defend the interests of all report people as loudly as they defend themselves.
After Tuesday`s raid, newly elected Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (Scott Morrison) responded that while he supported freedom of the press, "our law has been safeguarded and I have never been troubled by it."
The opposition party Labour Party asked Peter Darden (Peter Dutton), an internal affairs minister, to explain the operation, but police said Darden had not been notified in advance.
Internal affairs minister Darden also said in a statement that he was not involved in the matter and said AFP was "independent of government to conduct investigations and actions," and that "it is entirely appropriate for them to conduct investigations independently, in fact, it is their statutory duty."
Journalist, a member of the Guardian`s Australian division, lamented on her social account that she had written an article last year reminding people of Australia`s new national security bill. It is also believed that the prospect of freedom of the press in Australia will be even worse in the future.
Impression conclusion
The pursuit of freedom and truth of the press is the goal that every Australian journalist has always been determined to pursue. In this land, everyone has a vocal rights, and the freedom of news reporting can best reflect the value of Australia`s pride.
Just because he said something he shouldn`t have said, government brutally treated journalists in a police raid, which is bound to attract the reprimand of global public opinion.
Where will Australia go if the free authority of the press cannot be protected and defended on this land?
