Respecting the Flag

Race riot flag burner jailed

From: AAP

By Sonya Neufeld

January 12, 2006

A MAN has been jailed for three months for burning the Australian flag, despite apologising to the court for his actions during Sydney's recent spate of racial unrest.

Hadi Khawaja, 24, who has been an Australian citizen since 1986, pleaded guilty to participating in the damaging of an Australian flag at the Brighton-le-Sands RSL, in Sydney's south, on the evening of December 11.

Earlier that day, more than 5000 people had been involved in a race riot at the southern Sydney beach of North Cronulla, during which people of Middle Eastern appearance were chased and attacked.

Khawaja and a 17-year-old boy were alleged to have burnt the flag during the retaliatory violence that spread to other Sydney beaches and suburbs and eventually led to the introduction of anti-riot laws at an emergency sitting of the NSW Parliament.

The teenager, who cannot be named, is alleged to have climbed the flagpole and thrown the flag down to Khawaja, who set it alight amid a crowd of about 150 people.

Khawaja, of Peakhurst, appeared in Sutherland Local Court today on charges of malicious damage and entering enclosed lands with intent to commit an indictable offence during public unrest.

news.com.au

Maybe you think burning our flag is a terrible thing, maybe you think he deserves his sentence and more, just one thing though. If he gets a three month sentence for burning a flag what do we do to people who do this while wearing it?