Police investigate Kurdish Community

From the HeraldSun on 19/8/10 by Wayne Flower and Amelia Harris titled "Police raid Kurdish asssociation HQ in anti-terrorism funding blitz.

A COMMUNITY lawyer has condemned the timing of a police raid on the Kurdish Association of Victoria's hall as a political stunt.
Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police officers conducted the raids at Glenroy, Coolaroo, Pascoe Vale and Dandenong as part of a joint operation which an AFP spokeswoman relates to the financing of a terrorist organisation.
The headquarters of the Kurdish Association of Victoria in Pascoe Vale was one of the buildings raided.
Moreland Community Legal Centre principal lawyer Chris Ryan - who works closely with the group - suggested the raid was a political stunt.

"We believe that this is more than a coincidence that this has happened now,'' he told reporters.
''I mean, the warrants were issued the other day. It didn't have to happen now, it could have happened after the election but is hasn't happened after the election has it?''
Police loaded boxloads of evidence into a car before allowing members back into the building.
A spokesperson said the organisation would not be making a comment on the matter today.
Worried members of the association have gathered outside the building, where police continue to interview the association's president.
Member Gulay Baykal protested the organisation's innocence.
"We were not expecting this. I never thought it could happen,'' she said.
''This is a community based organisation. We are trying to respond to social and cultural needs of the Kurdish community. We don't know what's going on. We are just concerned.
"We are innocent. We haven't done anything wrong here.
"We've been here since 1984 so this is the main organisation of Kurdish people who live in Victoria.''
Ms Baykal acknowledged the struggle of the Kurdish people in Turkey, but denied the group was helping to fund terror attacks.
"Many people have been imprisoned and many people have been killed so of course there is a struggle there for cultural and identity rights and here we are doing the same thing.''
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been listed by the Australian Government as a terrorist organisation since 2005, has killed at least 40 Turkish civilians in suicide attacks since 2008.
There has been as yet no suggestion by investigators that the raids are connected to the PKK.
The Kurdish people are nationless and are one of the largest minority ethnic groups in the world.
Approximately 15 to 20 million Kurds live in the unofficial “Kurdistan” region between Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. At least eight million Kurds live in southeast Turkey.
Other members of the Victorian Kurdish Association said today they were baffled about why the hall was raided.
''It's shocking,'' a woman said. ''We don't know what is going on.
''This is a friendly place,'' another man said. ''They help a lot of people.''
The AFP rang members of the association at 6am this morning saying they had search warrants for the hall and wanted to know who had the keys.
"The association has been running for 25 years in Australia and this is the first time anything like this has ever been happening," one member said.
"All our finances are accountable.
"We’ve never had any issues with any government bodies before. I can only assume that someone’s made a dobbing and the police have just come."
One member told the Herald Sun the association had "always had a good relationship’’ with Australian police.
An AFP spokeswoman said the operation did not relate to a terror-related threat or incident.
The spokeswoman would not say what was seized and what arrests, if any, had been made.
The AFP later issued a brief statement on the raids.
"The Joint Counter Terrorism Team located in Melbourne has this morning executed a number of search warrants as part of a joint counter terrorism investigation into allegations of financing of a terrorist organisation,'' the federal police said.
"The community can be assured that this investigation is not related to any terrorist related threat or incident.
"It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage as it is an ongoing operational matter.''
- with Mark Buttler and AAP