A comrade recently had a visit by the big "A", so i figured it's probably time for an expose' on some practical anarchy when dealing with ASIO/ NSA, and of course what to expect. 1. What to expect
Firstly, if you've paid attention to the news you would know that discussing killing the now ex-prime minister on the phone is not the smartest thing you could do. Let's face it, who hasn't thought of "boning" Jonnie anyway? But as we know, ASIO's recruitment program has grown exponentially over the past few years, and they do need to justify those inflated budgets somehow!
If you do appear to be important enough to be on their radar, the first stage is monitoring. You become flagged for surveillance if you have an association with someone who is being monitored.
You can then become a medium level threat - when your involvement in a suspected group is a low level threat and you meet other specified criteria (like access to weapons or chemicals in your job or you are one of the main activists in the flagged group), in which case you just might warrant a visit. That's when it gets really exciting.
They always come in pairs, and will generally visit your home, rather than your work place to maintain a low profile. Questions will be asked about why you belong to specific groups, your ideology, and your associations with other monitored people. Finally, they will demand that you sign a confidentially agreement. (more on that later).
All of your associations are then monitored as well - your friends and family to determine what threat level they possess. In most instances, your family is monitored purely for leverage and secondly as a weak link - hoping that under pressure they will divulge all of your dirty seditious secrets.
In a lot of cases, I believe the ASIO visit is just to let people know that they are being watched, therefore hoping to prevent any escalation of seditious behaviour; to "put the scares in em". In other instances, they are intentionally obtuse, thrusting warrants and injunctions around like confetti.
2. How to deal with them
The first visit is to touch base with you, but their contract of confidentiality certainly has chutzpah. They will demand that you have no right, no authority and no choice but to abide by their rules, sign the agreement and say nothing about their visitation. Their aim is gentling - to break your psyche like a horse into accepting what they say as gospel. They will tell you that signing the agreement does not mean that you agree to the terms and conditions, but that you MUST sign it with various B.S reasons.
Technically they are right, and signing a document doesn't mean that you have agreed to the terms and conditions. However, legally in signing a document you are BOUND by the terms and conditions. Once you sign it, it is a legal contract where your signature will be upheld in a court of law. So if you sign a confidentiality agreement and then tell others about your story, you will be held accountable.
You have the right to NOT sign the document!
You have the right to retain the document and have a lawyer look at it!
You have the right to disagree with everything that they say to you!
You have the right NOT to meet them!
You have the right NOT to answer any questions!
You have the right NOT to let them into your home or office (unless they have a warrant)!
You have the right to read the warrant BEFORE letting them into your home or office!
above all You have the right to REFUSE!
Their game is to break your psychological resolve, by applying pressure. Keep your cool, don't get angry. Once you loose your cool, games' over.
When they have a warrant there isn't a lot you can do, but you do have the right to be present in the house to "assist". I've heard from other comrades stories about how ASIO officers provided a warrant to search the guys house (lets call him Joe for the sake of argument). The warrant was requesting specific information which Joe was happy to hand over, but begged them to let him hand over the stuff when he got home, which they agreed. Suffice it to say, Joe didn't believe them and went home anyway to find them rifling through every facet of his home leaving as much mess as they could.
This is an intimidation technique, where anyone with an ego trip consciously makes your life difficult for no other reason that they can. Put it another way, destruction of property is just in a days job in securing the nation, so, say goodbye to the perfect and prized couch, which is obviously hiding illicit documents.
Above all, it's important to remain friendly, calm and if possible document as much of the event as you can through any medium that you can (photographs, recordings or just take notes, about time, location, names of agents, what they did). Take photos of how they left the property after they've gone. Remember, in a war of information, it pays to collect your own.
After a visit make sure you don't have any conversations on the phone that can be taken out of context (like offing the prime minister). When you do meet up with other monitored people, don't take your phone, and if you do, take the battery out. They can only track you when the cell phone is on.
Finally, if you still haven't had a visit by ASIO and you want one, I'd call up all your friends and talk about all the bombs you're going to make, head off to bunnings and buy as much fertilizer as you possibly can, and call as many chemical companies asking about how you can get your hands on some much needed Uranium. So if you're not being monitored now, its only a matter of time before every conversation you have is recorded.
Fortunately, I'm still waiting for my visit....
For more information on YOUR rights when visited by ASIO:
http://www.activistrights.org.au/cb_pages/asio_visit.phpand above all KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
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