Peter Dutton demands charges, deportation of pro-Hezbollah protesters

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Peter Dutton has called for protesters who supported the terrorist group Hezbollah and mourned the terror group’s slain leader at rallies at the weekend to face criminal charges or deportation.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday, after a week of escalating Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon that prompted renewed international calls for a ceasefire.

Some demonstrators waved the Hezbollah flag, a listed terrorist organisation in Australia, while many held placards mourning the death of Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in a Beirut air strike at the weekend.

The Opposition Leader compared those placards to glorifying Adolf Hitler or Osama bin Laden.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has warned anyone seeking to incite “discord” in Australia risked having their visas cancelled, but the Coalition wants him to go further.

Mr Dutton said it was “completely unacceptable” that no arrests or visa cancellations had happened since the protests, warning that it essentially gave licence for more anti-Semitism.

Referring to Jewish schools reportedly employing armed guards, Mr Dutton told Nine Radio: “I really worry that we’re moving into a very precarious period now”.

“There is an absolute outrage in relation to the glorification of a terrorist leader, which surely must be against the Australian law; and if it’s not, the Parliament should be recalled to pass a law that prohibits that from happening,” Mr Dutton said.

“Now, of course, the laws do provide for an offence in that regard, and the law should be enforced. I find it completely unacceptable that the Government wouldn’t be arresting people already, or cancelling visas of people who are glorifying Hezbollah and Hamas and others. They have no place in our country.”

The Australian Federal Police has said displaying a prohibited symbol on its own does not meet the threshold of a Commonwealth offence.

Speaking about the protesters who held photos of Nasrallah, Mr Dutton said there would been outrage if photos of Hitler or bin Laden had been shown.

“Hezbollah is a listed terrorist organisation in our country. If we’ve got people here who think that that organisation is okay, and they’re saddened by the death of this terrorist, if they’re on a visa, they should be deported because if we knew about that when they made their visa application, they wouldn’t get a visa to come here in the first place,” he said.

Earlier, foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said there was an onus on police to carry out “thorough investigations”, which he hoped would lead to criminal charges.

“The government needs not to just share words in relation to this, but demonstrate actions, and do so swiftly,” Senator Birmingham said.

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