[Reader-list] censorship

[Bikram Jeet Batra]

Two news pieces from the BBC website today - both from
Australia. Read together. 

----

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6285665.stm
Australian anger at flag controls

Organisers of the Big Day Out said they feared a
repeat of "racism
disguised as patriotism" at last year's event, which
came weeks after
race riots in Sydney.

Politicians and veteran groups have strongly condemned
the move.

PM John Howard said the "proposition" that the display
of the flag
should ever be banned "is offensive and it will be to
millions of
Australians".

The Big Day Out is Australia's biggest outdoor rock
concert, held in
Sydney and other major cities around the country.

It often features some of the world's most well-known
bands, and
tickets for this year's concert sold out in a matter
of hours.

Angry veterans

In a statement on the Big Day Out website, organisers
said, in recent
times, there had been an "increased incidence of flags
brandished
aggressively and this has led to increased tension.

"With all this in mind and the aim to create a happy,
peaceful,
musical event, organisers would like to request that
fans please leave
their flags at home."

The concert has already been brought forward 24 hours,
to take place
on Thursday, the eve of Australia's national day, to
avoid any
nationalistic overtones.

Event producer Ken West said he was concerned by the
use of the flag
by white mobs during race riots on Sydney's Cronulla
Beach in December
2005, and by some fans at the Big Day Out concert a
month later.

"The Australian flag was being used as gang colours,"
he was quoted by
The Daily Telegraph newspaper as saying. "It was
racism disguised as
patriotism and I'm not going to tolerate it."

He also said he was disturbed by clashes at last
week's Australian
Open tennis tournament in Melbourne between ethnic
Croatian and
Serbian fans.

The saga has prompted protests across the political
spectrum - and
especially from Australian war veterans, who say the
flag is a symbol
of national unity rather than division.

Don Rowe, president of a veterans group in New South
Wales state, said
the event organisers were trying to bar a symbol which
had served
through two world wars.

Prime Minister John Howard added: "The event
organisers should not ram
their peculiar political views down the throats of
young Australians
who are only interested in a good day out."


AND

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6285971.stm

Flight ban for anti-Bush T-shirt

A passenger barred from a Qantas airlines flight for
wearing a T-shirt
depicting US President George Bush as a terrorist has
threatened legal
action.

Allen Jasson said he was sticking up for the principle
of free speech
by challenging the decision by the Australian flag
carrier.

Mr Jasson was stopped as he was about to board the
flight from
Melbourne to London last Friday.

Qantas said the T-shirt had potential to offend other
passengers.

The T-shift features an image of President George W
Bush, along with
the slogan "World's Number One Terrorist".

'Principle'

The 55-year-old computer specialist, who lives in
London, had
encountered difficulties with the same T-shirt on an
earlier Qantas
flight in December.

After clearing the international security checks at
Melbourne Airport,
he reportedly approached the gate manager to
congratulate him on the
company's new-found open-mindedness.

At that point, Mr Jasson was ordered to remove the
T-shirt after being
told it was a security threat and an item which might
cause offence to
other passengers.

He was offered the chance to board the flight wearing
different
clothing, but refused.

"I am not prepared to go without the t-shirt. I might
forfeit the
fare, but I have made up my mind that I would rather
stand up for the
principle of free speech," he told Australian media.

A Qantas spokesman defended the airline's decision,
saying: "Whether
made verbally or on a T-shirt, comments with the
potential to offend
other customers or threaten the security of a Qantas
group aircraft
will not be tolerated".



	
	
		
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