R 020009Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1100
INFO AMCONSUL MELBOURNE 
AMCONSUL PERTH 
AMCONSUL SYDNEY 
FBI WASHINGTON DC
DIA WASHINGTON DC
CIA WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T CANBERRA 000204 
 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/TIA/ITA, DS/IP/EAP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2019 
TAGS: ASEC PTER
SUBJECT: CANBERRA - SECURITY ENVIRONMENT PROFILE 
QUESTIONNAIRE (SEPQ) SPRING 2009 
 
REF: STATE 13023 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Daniel Clune for reason 1.4(D) an 
d (G). 
 
¶1. (U) This response has been coordinated and cleared by the 
EAC.  The following responses are keyed to the questions 
listed in the reftel and cover all constituent posts in 
Australia. 
 
POLITICAL VIOLENCE 
 
I.(SBU) Demonstrations 
 
¶A. Yes. There are significant Greek, Malaysian, Lebanese, 
Serbian, Indonesian and Pakistani communities and there are 
growing Ethiopian, Somalian, and Sudanese communities in 
Sydney and Melbourne.  Both of those capital cities have seen 
demonstrations numbering 10,000 to 15,000 during the 2006 
Israel-Lebanon conflict.  Should an issue providing 
sufficient motivation arise, these communities would be 
capable of mounting very large scale anti-U.S. demonstrations. 
 
i. Yes- The majority of the anti-American demonstrations 
occur near US facilities.  Within the last 12 months, there 
has only been one known protest away from US facilities in 
which protesters chained themselves to military vehicles 
preparing to participate in the joint Department of 
Defense/Australian Defense Force exercise "Talisman Saber". 
 
ii. Yes-Canberra: 
      February 24, 2008 Pro-Serbian demonstration with 
approximately 70 protesters; 
      July 4, 2008 Amnesty International demonstrators with 
approximately 12 protesters; 
      January 10, 2009 pro-Palestinian demonstration with 300 
protesters. 
      Sydney: 
      January 1, 2008 Amnesty International-300 protesters; 
      March 8, 2008 Kosovo Independence rally-2000 
protesters, 
      November 11, 2008 Stop the War coalition-12 protesters, 
      November 16, 2008 Syria(after US Airstirke)-20 
protesters, 
      December 19, 2008 End Iraq War-30 protesters, 
      December 27, 2008 End Iraq and Afghanistan-40 
protesters, 
      December 29, 2008 Gaza Strip-1500 protesters, 
      January 3, 2009 Gaza Strip-50 protesters 
      January 4, 2009 Gaza Strip-15 protesters 
      January 9, 2009 Gaza Strip-30 protesters 
      January 15, 2009 Gaza Strip-12 protesters 
      January 28, 2009 Sri Lankans-50 protesters 
      January 29, 2009 Sri Lankans-50 protesters 
      January 30, 2009 Sri Lankans-50 protesters 
      January 31, 2009 Sri Lankans-50 protesters 
      February 4, 2009 Sri Lankans-5000 protesters 
      February 21, 2009 Kosovo-125 protesters 
      Melbourne: 
      February 18, 2008 Anti-Kosovo Independence- 200 
protesters 
      February 22, 2008 Anti-Kosovo Independence-38 protesters 
      November 5, 2008 Pro-Cuba-13 protesters 
      January 9, 2009 Anti-war-15 protesters 
 
      Perth: 
      July 25, 2008 Save our Senate/No War/ Socialist 
Alliance-12 protesters in conjunction with a Secretary of 
State visit. 
      September 12, 2008 No war/Socialist Alliance-13 
protesters 
      October 29, 2008 Australia/Cuba Friendship Society-13 
protesters 
      January 22, 2009 Friends of Palestine-50 protesters 
 
iii. For Canberra 100 to 500 
     For Sydney 450 to 500 
     For Melbourne 100 to 200 
     For Perth 50 or less 
 
iv. Anti-American demonstrations are usually triggered by 
U.S. foreign policy initiatives and military actions. 
 
¶B. Generally peaceful 
 
i. No.  However anti-Kosovo independence protesters damaged 
the building where the US Consulate Melbourne is located, by 
throwing objects and launching a flare at the front window of 
the building.  Also, protesters marching on their way to the 
US Consulate Melbourne burned a Victoria State Police 
vehicle. 
 
ii. No. 
 
¶C. Yes. Various groups to include farmers, blue-collar 
workers, Indigenous Australians and other issue motivated 
groups have demonstrated against the Government of Australia. 
 The typical issues are environmental concerns and Indigenous 
rights issues. 
 
i. Yes.  The US Embassy Canberra is located very near the 
legislative buildings in Canberra.  Protests often will begin 
at one location and end near the US Embassy or one of the 
other missions located nearby. 
 
ii. Issue dependent.  Generally hundreds, occasionally in the 
thousands. 
 
iii. While generally peaceful, Australian law enforcement 
authorities have noted that issue motivated groups (IMGs) 
with anti-war, anti-globalization or environmental protection 
agendas have become more organized and more prone to engage 
in demonstration tactics that have led to some violence since 
late 2006. 
 
II. (SBU) Macro Conflict Conditions 
 
¶A. No/No 
¶B. N/A 
¶C. N/A 
¶D. N/A 
 
III. (S/NF) Host Country Capabilities 
 
¶A. Yes.  Commensurate with the United States. 
¶B. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement 
Administration have provided training to some Australian law 
enforcement agencies. Additionally, the Australian Federal 
Police has requested "High Threat PRS training for their 
Close Personal Protection teams. Post Regional Security 
Officer(RSO)is coordinating with Diplomatic Security to 
arrange for this type training in the future.  The 
effectiveness of training received is considered highly 
effective. 
¶C. No 
¶D. Yes.  The GoA intelligence services have thwarted three 
terrorist plots(Benbrika-Al Qaeda, Jack Roach-Jama'ah 
Islamiyah, Willie Bridgette-Lashkar-e-Tayyiba) that were in 
the late planning stages. 
¶E. Yes, however privacy laws in Australia restrict the 
sharing of information between law enforcement agencies. 
¶F. Yes, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization 
(ASIO) and  host country law enforcement agencies have 
disrupted at least two potentially lethal terrorist plots 
within the past two years. 
¶G. Yes 
¶H. Very good 
¶I. Effective 
¶J. Effective 
 
INDIGENOUS TERRORISM 
 
¶I. (S/NF) Anti-American Terrorist Groups 
 
¶A. None to date; nevertheless, there have been incidents of 
extremists with an anti-western agenda coalescing into cells 
that intended to strike Australian interests. Such cells 
could just as easily decide to attack U.S. interests, but 
there are no indications that any such cells currently exist. 
Australian authorities also have noted that acts of violence 
by unaffiliated or disaffected individuals are possible and 
could occur with little, if any, prior warning. The solitary 
nature with which such incidents can be planned and carried 
out would make detection difficult.  It is also worth 
mentioning that although only anecdotal evidence exists, 
there are indications that incarcerated indigenous persons 
are adopting a brand of radical Islam while imprisoned.  To 
date there is no evidence that once released from 
incarceration these groups continue following these beliefs, 
indicating it may be a method of obtaining favors while 
incarcerated. 
¶B. No. 
¶C. No. 
¶D. No. 
¶E. No. 
¶F. N/A. 
¶G. N/A. 
 
II. (SBU) Other Indigenous Terrorist Groups 
 
¶A. No 
¶B. N/A 
¶C. N/A 
¶D. N/A 
 
TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM 
 
¶I. (S/NF) Transnational Terrorist Indicators 
 
¶A. Yes: Hezballah, Jama'ah Islamiyah (JI), Lashkar-e-Tayyiba 
(LET), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) and assorted 
Sunni, Shiite, and extremist fringe groups. 
 
¶B. Presence of all these groups is primarily for support, 
finance, and propaganda activity. 
 
¶C. No. 
 
¶D. Yes, Tamil Non-governmental organizations(NGO) and other 
Islamic Charities. 
 
¶E. Yes, There are ethnic and religious groups in Australia 
that are generally well assimilated, of which some members 
are believed to be sympathetic to international terrorist 
groups and their ideologies and actions. However, Post notes 
there are some groups that are not well assimilated which 
increases their sympathies for these extremist organizations. 
 These groups, normally the older generations, who in turn 
nurture extremism in the youth, feel more ties to their 
country of origin than to Australia and perceive racism and 
stigmatization from the Australian government and general 
public, thus making them sympathetic to anti-Western 
ideologies.  In most instances, Post does not believe these 
groups would take up arms for this cause, but would not 
necessarily condemn those who would. 
 
¶F. EAC assesses the level, intent, and scope of hostile 
intelligence services in country as low.  Several hostile 
intelligence services are known or suspected to have 
undeclared officers in Australia, including services from 
Russia, China, and Iran. There are no current indications 
that these services pose a direct threat to U.S. persons, 
facilities or interests. The capabilities of Australia's 
security, intelligence and law enforcement services are such 
that any third country service seeking to do harm to U.S. 
interests almost certainly would consider Australia an 
extremely difficult operational environment and focus its 
resources elsewhere.  Moreover, Australian authorities would 
notify the Mission of any such threat coming to their 
attention, allowing for prompt employment of appropriate 
countermeasures. 
 
¶G. Both weapons and explosives are available, though 
explosives are more readily obtained.  Australia has strict 
gun control laws, though there is a black market for 
firearms.  Explosives of the type to make relatively 
unsophisticated but effective bombs are quite readily 
available, due to large agricultural and mining sectors.