SA: Police storm Baxter camp amid fears protester

AAP General News (Australia)
04-20-2003
SA: Police storm Baxter camp amid fears protester

By Lauren Ahwan

ADELAIDE, April 20 AAP - Police officers stormed a campsite near the Baxter detention
centre today amid fears a protester was armed with a rifle.

However the alleged weapon was later believed to be a camera tripod that a protester
had pointed towards a police helicopter.

Elicia Savvas, a legal support team member with the protesters, told AAP that Special
Tasks and Rescue (STAR) Group officers entered the campsite today armed with guns.

"We were just sitting around and the police came in, the STAR force people came with
big guns - MP5s," Ms Savvas said.

"They came in and just went right into the middle of the campsite ... and said they
were looking for people they thought might have pointed a gun at the helicopter.

"It turned out, if it was anything, it was just a camera tripod."

Jack Smit, spokesman with protest group Project SafeCom, described the incident as a police raid.

"They surrounded the camp with machine guns, which is total bullshit, of course," he told AAP.

"They (police) have a chopper flying around day and night and this morning someone
grabbed a camera tripod ... and was just playing guns."

A police spokeswoman denied police were armed with machine guns but said they would
have carried standard police equipment.

She could not provide details of what standard equipment was.

The incident was sparked after camera footage captured a protester holding what appeared
to be a firearm, she said.

"The bloke that was in the chopper reckoned it was a rifle," the spokeswoman said.

"We didn't actually confirm it wasn't a rifle but we couldn't find a weapon.

"So we're not totally sure what it was, the people on the screen (monitoring camera
footage) reckon it was a rifle ... but we couldn't find one."

The man with the camera tripod was not believed to have been arrested or charged in
relation to the incident.

Twenty-nine protesters have been arrested amid clashes with police since arriving at
the South Australian detention centre, near Port Augusta, on Good Friday.

Overnight, protesters threw rocks at police in an attempt to get into the centre.

Protesters will later today hold a concert outside the Port Augusta prison, where some
former Woomera detainees were believed to be held.

The Woomera centre was officially mothballed last week.

Most protesters will leave Port Augusta later today to return home.

AAP la/cdh/jlw

KEYWORD: BAXTER STORM

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