By Damian Coen
Why CEFTA continues
After the euphoria and champagne which flowed from Tim Anderson's acquittal on June 6, CEFTA members asked themselves and each other: "What Now?" After considerable deliberations, it was unanimously decided that CEFTA should continue.
To quote one observer: "CEFTA had become a high-energy, socially and politically cohesive machine with great strategic prowess. But what would the new unifying goal be?"
In its two-year history, the Campaign Exposing the Frame-up of Tim Anderson had achieved quite a significant profile. From the day of Tim's arrest in May 1989, the campaign conducted a continuous string of activities aimed at highlighting the injustice of the arrest and conviction. Most notable among these activities were its sponsorship of the Paul Hill (Guildford Four) visit and its lodging of a bail application which included names and pledges of bail surety from more than 30 prominent Australians.
CEFTA had been determined to place Tim's innocence clearly in the public's eye. Slogans like "Tim is innocent" or "Free Tim" soon adorned the walls of Sydney. These messages were fleshed out by press releases, newsletters and the like, which pointed to the more intricate elements of the case.
In short, this was a very intense, well-funded campaign characterised by its broadly based expertise, clarity of focus and its activism, especially in the months following Tim's conviction.
Tim's release was a major success. Quite clearly, however, the frame-up has not yet been fully exposed in the public arena. So at the same time as CEFTA is broadening its focus to consider other cases of injustice and also the injustices which pervade the criminal justice system itself, it would be remiss to squander the gains already achieved with Tim's case. If further results can be achieved in this case, the ramifications for the criminal justice system could be far reaching.
The group's aims also address the fact that Tim's experience of injustice — whilst severe and spectacular — is not unique. That is, CEFTA recognises the value in stepping back to analyse the criminal justice system itself and in working to change it.
The Campaign Exposing the Frame-Up of Tim Anderson is now the Campaign Exposing Frame-Ups and Targeting Abuses of Authority (CEFTAA).
The slightly changed acronym reflects our broadened aims and objectives. These are to expose and work against injustices in and abuses of the criminal justice system and to expose and work against the way in which the criminal justice system enforces the interests of powerful social groups against the powerless. Objectives range from using the Tim Anderson case and others to expose the corrupt use of prison informants, to exposing the systematic oppression of Aboriginal ystem, to educating the broader community about the way in which particular injustices are perpetrated.
Direct action and strategic ingenuity were always the hallmark of the campaign, so CEFTAA is swinging into action. The campaign — by virtue of the fact that its "radical" claims have been proven correct — has earned public credibility. This affords CEFTAA opportunities to have significant impact on criminal justice issues.