Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 08:49:46 +1000 From: sjwright-AT-vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au (Steve Wright) Subject: AUT: Lorenzo update 10 July/1 I haven't yet heard any details about the local demos proposed over this. It's curious IMHO that Graeme Campbell, another far right MP like Hanson, has criticised the government for denying Lorenzo his visa . . . ______________ [The Age Melbourne[[NEWS AD] [Home ][News][Sport][Business][Computers][Education] [Entertainment] Thursday 10 July [Image] 1997 [Image][Prev Story][Next Story] Black Panther fooled system, says minister By KAREN MIDDLETON, Canberra A convicted American hijacker and former member of the radical Black Panthers group, Mr Lorenzo Ervin, had outsmarted the Immigration Department's computer data-matching system simply by using a different middle name, a senior minister said yesterday. The acting Immigration Minister, Senator Amanda Vanstone, said Mr Ervin would be deported to the United States tomorrow after the Government rejected applications to allow him to stay in Australia while his lawyers began court proceedings to challenge the cancellation of his visa. This was despite the US Government having previously granted him "executive clemency" over a 1969 aircraft hijacking conviction for which he served 14 years' jail. Immigration officials were yesterday consulting US officials over the meaning of the clemency but said this would not change the deportation decision. Senator Vanstone said Mr Ervin's case would not be reviewed and that he was being deported because the Government had deemed him to be "not of good character". A US consular spokeswoman said executive clemency was the power of the president to pardon or commute a criminal sentence. But she was unsure whether this negated or erased a person's conviction - the key issue on which the decision to cancel Mr Ervin's visa was based. The Government's decision attracted criticism from Aboriginal groups and proponents of free speech, including an independent former Labor MP, Mr Graeme Campbell. The Angry People anarchist group has planned protests in several states today and a spokesman said protests would also be held overseas. Mr Ervin, who is being held in a correctional centre in Brisbane, issued a statement through his lawyers alleging immigration officers had assaulted him when he was arrested on Tuesday after voluntarily attending a meeting to discuss his visa. Senator Vanstone said the assault allegation would be investigated only if a formal complaint was made. She said Mr Ervin had been able to enter Australia by adding his "stage name", Kom'boa, as his middle name when travelling. She agreed this raised questions about the sophistication of the data-matching system. Mr Ervin came to Australia to undertake a four-week speaking tour on racism arranged by Angry People. But he was arrested and had his visa cancelled on Tuesday after the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, saw media reports that he planned to speak to Aboriginal groups and said he should be deported. [Go to top of page] HOME | THE_NEWS | BUSINESS | SPORT | COMPUTERS | CLASSIFIEDS | FAIRFAX_RESEARCH | SUBSCRIPTIONS =A91997 David Syme & Co Ltd --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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