Kurds volunteers need exemption from foreign fighters law: QC

Bret Walker SC / QC is a leading legal expert in Australia and has advocated the exemption of the YPG under current Foreign Incursion legislation. The views of Bret Walker SC are welcome and reflects a growing voice in the legal community on this issue. Ultimately it is up to the Attorney General to decide on whether to exempt a particular group or assign amnesty. Exemption would not lead to a rush of Australians joining the YPG but it would give due recognition to the legitimacy of the Democratic administration in Rojava. The decision would also provide the returned Australian volunteers, Matthew Gardiner and Ashley Dyball a resolution to their legal limbo and give the families of the fallen comfort knowing that this country does not consider their sons criminal. The way forward seems pretty obvious, exempt the YPG, provide amnesty to the returned volunteers, recognize the legitimacy of the Rojava autonomous administration and review the terror listing of the PKK. As we approach our Federal elections, speak to your local members, tell them how you feel about this issue. Get the word out, 3000 signatures is not enough, likes on Face Book are not enough. The Story by Paul Maley (The Australian, May 31) : Terror laws should be amended to ensure Australians who fight with ‘’friendly’’ foreign militias are not subject to the same punishment as those who fight for Islamic State, one of the country’s pre-eminent legal authorities says. As reports emerged that another Australian, Jamie Bright, had been killed fighting for Kurdish forces in Syria, Bret Walker QC said it was time to rethink the ­nation’s terror laws. Mr Walker, the former independent national security legislation monitor, called on the government to exempt from ­prosecution Australians who fight with the enemies of Islamic State, saying the nation’s criminal code must reflect its foreign policy. Mr Bright, reportedly shot last week in northeastern Syria during a confrontation with Islamic State, was the third Australian believed to have died while fighting with the Kurds. In June 2015, 23-year-old Reece Harding was killed when he stepped on a landmine and in February that same year, former Australian Army reservist Ashley Johnson died during a firefight with Islamic State. A fourth Australian, Ashley Dyball, was deported from Germany where he was allegedly taking a break after fighting with the Kurds. He was investigated by Australian Federal Police for possible breaches of the Foreign Incursions Act. Mr Bright’s death has once again highlighted an apparent contradiction in Australia’s policy against Islamic State: while the government does all it can to support the Kurds in fighting Islamic State, including delivering weapons, it is illegal for Australian citizens to do the same. In September 2014, then-prime minister Tony Abbott announced RAAF planes would deliver arms shipments to Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq. Reacting to Mr Bright’s death, Malcolm Turnbull yesterday repeated the government’s warning to Australians travelling abroad to fight with foreign militias. “If they come back within Australia’s jurisdiction, they will be held to ­account for that,” the Prime Minister said. However, Mr Walker said, if the government could arm the Kurds, “we can presumably ­gazette a notice that fighting for the Kurds is OK’’. ‘’War and warlike activities are at the heart of international politics and Australia’s position in international politics should emphatically be a matter for executive government and not for the courts,’’ Mr Walker told ­The ­Australian.