Fake Canadian Motorcade Research Paper

In 2007, the city of Sydney hosted the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit. With many world leaders such as then US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the meeting, New South Wales police force launched their largest security operation ever. APEC 2007 was a show of power and authority. At a staggering cost of AUD 150 million, the 2007 APEC Forum was the largest security operation Australian had ever seen. The police emptied the entire business district, sent in nearly five thousand police officers and erected a 5 kilometre long steel and concrete barrier to cordon off the entire area. It sounds impregnable and formidable. Yet it failed to prevent a fake Canadian motorcade with a fake Osama

bin Laden inside from entering the restricted area.

On the 6th of September 2007, the producers of satirical show The Chasers War on Everything sent in a fake Canadian motorcade of eleven actors to test the security apparatus of the APEC forum.

One of the producer, Chas Licciardello even dressed up as notorious jihadist leader Osama bin Laden while hiding inside the car. The motorcade expected to be stopped before even reaching the restricted area. However the motorcade were forced to improvise after the police did not stop them and waved them through. One of the police even said to them "The road is yours." . They were waved through two police checkpoints before Licciardello decided that the motorcade is going too far and decided to expose the entire sham by walking out of the car as Osama bin Laden. The police arrested all of them and lock them up (BBC, 2007). The police commissioner Andrew Scipione responded by calling the stunt "dangerous" as the entire motorcade might be shot by police snipers stationed around Sydney at that time (BBC 2007). The authorities then attempted to charge the eleven actors in the court, arguing that they entered a restricted area without permission. Eventually, all charges against The Chasers were dropped after it was determined that the motorcade posed no ill

intention.

With parody, quick thinking and pure humour, the APEC motorcade stunt demonstrated that even a 150 million dollar security effort can be easily fooled. The motorcade stunt also exposed the incompetence of the police force. Other than that, the stunt also made headlines around the world. Although the authorities attempted to charge The Chasers in court in an attempt to show the power of the state, the law seems to fail. The Director of the NSW Public Prosecutions defended the decision to drop the charges, arguing that it was impossible to "to negate, beyond reasonable doubt, the existence of an honest and reasonable belief that the actors would not enter or taken into the restricted area" (Rogers 2010, 293). In contrast to normal criminal trials, courtroom does not have the conviction when the law seeks to punish the use of satire and parody. The ordered, structured and rule-bound character of the legal system is the exact opposite of the playfulness of satire to traditional authorities and courtroom. When confronted with playful satire and parody, the traditional authorities had a hard time to be in control of the situation. They also find it hard to discipline the offenders without causing further ridicule.

Similar to violence, playfulness can also de-legitimise authorities in the eyes of the public effectively. Some might argue that it is more effective than violence. While the law can curb and suppress violence, the same thing does not apply to playfulness. For example, after the tragic Port Arthur shooting then Prime Minister John Howard swiftly imposed strict gun control laws to curb and prevent further gun violence. Since then gun related death dropped significantly. However at the same time, it will be absurd for John Howard to ban the use of satire or role playing as Osama bin Laden in response to the 2007 APEC motorcade stunt. Cultural anthropologist Victor Turner observed that playfulness and satire is protected by its "lightness and fleetingness" (Rogers 2010, 291). Playfulness de-legitimise authorities effectively. Furthermore, the APEC motorcade stunt also managed to symbolically penetrate the boundaries the government put up to separate leaders from normal people (Rogers 2010, 299).

The APEC 2007 motorcade stunt also exposed the incompetence of the police on duty. The police on duty were so focused on guarding the APEC forum from external threats but remained oblivious to the fact that a fake Osama bin Laden just breached the formidable defences. Despite the huge concentration of the NSW police force and the assumption of ultimate authority, the police failed to perform any basic check on the fake Canadian motorcade. All the members of the motorcade wore fake security passes that proclaimed that they belonged to The Chasers War on Everything (Rogers 2010, 297). At the same time, the police force also failed to notice and pick up some important signs that indicated that it is a fake motorcade. For example, one of the "bodyguard" wore a pair of blue denim jeans, which is inappropriate for an international conference like APEC. Some of fake bodyguards even carried a handheld video recorder while escorting the motorcade. The police on duty were easily duped by The Chasers even with a weak disguise. The Chasers also exposed the police force as incompetent bulwark against serious threats such as terrorism (Rogers 2010, 297).

Chas Licciardello's impersonation as Osama bin Laden walking down the street not far from George Bush's hotel is the centrepiece of the entire motorcade stunt. By demonstrating that an elusive jihadist that the West feared the most can easily gain access to one of the most well guarded man on Earth, Licciardello managed to send a strong message to the authorities. Furthermore, the APEC stunt also deconstructed the myth surrounding the global War on Terror (Rogers 2010, 297). After the tragic September 11 terrorist attack, security presence around the world escalated. Surveillance and intelligence agencies also curtailed civil liberties in the name of security and order to combat terrorism. The fact that a fake Osama bin Laden passed the supposedly impregnable security checkpoint with police escort is a huge slap to the War on Terror and security effort in general. By humanising Osama bin Laden as a gatecrasher to the APEC forum, The Chasers crew mocked the world leaders attending the conference and the security effort protecting them with the use of satire.

In conclusion, The Chasers APEC stunt showed us the incompetence of the police and the vulnerability of the law when confronting playfulness and satire in general. The stunt also managed to symbolically penetrate the barrier that the government put up to separate leaders from normal people. Most important of all, the stunt deconstructed the myth surrounding the global War of Terror. Sacrificing personal freedom and privacy in the name of security is not a viable and effective way to combat terrorism.