Those following the SIEVX story closely will be interested in yesterday's media release by Channel Nine's Sunday Program
regarding statements made on the weekend by the Australian Federal Police regarding Kevin John Enniss - the subject of two Sunday feature stories on people smuggling earlier this year . [1, 2]:
'Today's statement by Australian Federal Police about its investigation into Kevin John Enniss is a disgraceful attempt by the agency to cover up its involvement with a notorious people smuggler. The statement seeks to divert attention from the growing stench surrounding what AFP now admits was a covert disruption operation inside Indonesia.
The AFP release is a blatant attempt to pre-empt a forthcoming SUNDAY broadcast that raises serious concerns about the propriety and legality of aspects of this covert operation waged by Australian intelligence and police agencies against asylum-seekers.
The AFP has admitted today for the first time that it authorised a criminal informant to operate as a people-smuggler inside Indonesia - to the extent that he was allowed to steal off people seeking refugee status, as a way of disrupting their journey to Australia.
The Australian Federal Police has lied repeatedly about this disruption campaign. This is what AFP's Director of International Operations, Dick Moses, told the SUNDAY Program in our original program:
"Q: Has the Federal Police ever authorised any informant to involve themselves in people-smuggling?"
"A: That's categorically No. The AFP has not done so."
"Q: Has the Australian Federal Police ever authorised any informant to take money off asylum seekers intending to get illegal passage to Australia?"
"A: My answer to that is categorically no. The Australian Federal Police has never done so."
As has characterised much of AFP's dealings with SUNDAY on this affair, both answers by AFP were blatant lies, designed to deflect further inquiry into a grubby operation waged on foreign soil.
SUNDAY has already prominently acknowledged in a separate broadcast, as soon as it became aware of the possibility, that two sources on the story might have fabricated some information. We have publicly stated that because of that concern, we could no longer sustain an allegation that Enniss landed asylum-seekers on the Australian mainland.
The AFP and other intelligence agencies have plenty to hide about their dealings with Kevin John Enniss and other informants involved in 'disruption' activities against asylum-seekers.
The Sunday program will reveal more details next week (1 September 2002).
24 August 2002'