Sydney's other bikie war - not the bloody battle between rival gangs, but the one between motorcycle clubs and the State Government over anti-association gang laws - moves up a gear today when the United Motorcycle Council releases a YouTube video arguing the bikies' case. It is titled "Defend your right to associate" and opens with a quote attributed to the former US attorney-general Ramsey Clark, who, it probably should be noted, helped defend Saddam Hussein.

The video features a parade of big men in leather comparing their treatment with German Jews under the Nuremburg association laws passed in 1935, and similar restrictions imposed under apartheid in South Africa. It ends with the clever tag line: "I thought I lived in a country where I wasn't discriminated against for the colour of my skin", spoken by a bikie from the Phoenix Motorcycle Club who slowly crossed his arms, revealing his tattooed "sleeves".

"Historically it has been shown that there are major flaws in these kinds of laws and governments haven't learned from that," said Margaret Lawson, a director of Cole Lawson Communications, which does public relations for the council. Just how the reference to Jews and the Nuremburg laws squares with the liberal use of Nazi symbols by bikie gang members - including the Nomads, whose patch features a swastika - is unclear.

You can also see the video at the United Motorcycle Council of NSW's website, www.umcnsw.org.

 

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