By Margaret El-Chami

Most charges against more than 200 people arrested during last November's anti-Aidex protests were dropped last week because of lack of evidence.

Organisers from Stop Aidex (now called Stop Aus-Tec) say this shows that arrests were used by federal police to discourage protesters from exercising their democratic rights.

“When the police found that they were not able to make mass arrests and place bail conditions [which would curtail people from going back to the protest site] they used another tactic”, said Stop Aus-Tec spokesperson Felicity Ruby.

That tactic was picking individuals off from the site for minor offences like obstruction, resisting arrest and hindering police in the execution of their duties.

According to the organisers of Stop Aus-Tec, police did not proceed with many of the charges laid against demonstrators. The arrests were a means to demoralise the protesters and to scare people out of participating.

The inquiry into police conduct brought about by the ABC's documentary Cop It Sweet has also encouraged the withdrawal of many of the charges.

“The mass withdrawal of cases is an attempt to take the heat out of the issue”, said Ruby.

The violent clashes between protesters and police TV footage. “There was a lot of violent activity perpetrated by the police”, said Ruby. “The accusations of violence on behalf of the protesters have been disproved in court.”

In one day during the protest, demonstrators suffered from six broken bones, four broken noses and 30 hospital admissions. One protester has a permanently damaged eye, another a permanently damaged back.

In one police assault case hearing last week, the only injury sustained to an officer was a graze on the hand.

A national exhibition of what actually happened at Aidex 91 is currently on tour.

“The media coverage of Aidex 91 was tainted by a certain bias. That's what we're trying to iron out in the public mind with this exhibition”, explained Ruby.

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