Photo-fit published in search for Australian arsonist

Australian government officials have released a photo-fit, an approximation of what the suspect looks like.

The most amazing thing to me is they call him a "Traitor."

They're are, of course, absolutely right. But when is the last any of us heard our governments actually recognize that loyalty to one's country is a required virtue?

The Aussies sure do think differently from Americans and Europeans. Or, should I say, the Aussies actually think, whereas our leaders just kind of undergo a series of brain farts and feel like they're thinking.

From the London Times (with thanks to Just Cause):

A photo-fit image was released today of a suspected arsonist who is thought to have started a fire in Ivanhoe, northeast of Melbourne. The picture was distributed as police confirmed that they are searching for another, who they believe started one of the deadliest fires to sweep through southeast Australia this week. The fire at Churchill, in the Gippsland area, killed 21 people and destroyed more than 100 homes.

Simon Overland, Deputy Commissioner of Victoria Police, said: "There has been a serial arsonist in this area for some period of time and we have been working on that. It's too early to say whether that person was responsible for the fire that happened on Saturday, but that's obviously something we will follow through."

Darren Chester, the MP for Gippsland, said there was “seething anger” among the local community that one of their own may be responsible for the devastation.

“We have a traitor in our midst,'' Mr Chester said. “As much as we pray for those who have perished, we hope their killer is brought to justice. Too many good people have lost their lives already. The heroes didn't deserve this.”

Scores of fires killed 181 people and destroyed more than 500 homes when they tore through 1,160 sq miles (3,000 sq kilometres) of Victoria at the weekend. A 150-strong task-force was set up on Tuesday to investigate the deaths.

Christine Nixon, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, said today that arsonists may have also been responsible for the fire that virtually wiped out the town of Marysville.

John Brumby, the Premier of Victoria, added a fire at Mansfield to the list of those being blamed on arsonists.

"There would seem to be no doubt at all that that fire's been deliberately lit. It's devastating," Mr Brumby said. “I think words escape us all when it comes to describing that deliberate arson.”
Chief Commissioner Nixon said that police had already spoken to some suspects.

As police continue to sift through the ashes of razed properties in search of the scores of people still missing after the fires, local communities are on high alert for looters and new arson attacks and the threat of more fires.

Two men were taken into custody today after reports of suspicious behaviour near Yea. They were released without charge.

Yea is about 12 miles north of Marysville, where up to 100 people may have died.

Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, who today announced a national day of mourning, accused people who deliberately light fires of “mass murder”.

“What do you say about anyone like that? There are no words to describe it other than mass murder,” Mr Rudd said. “This is of a level of horror that few of us anticipated.”

The federal Attorney General, Robert McClelland, said that those who lit the bushfires could be charged with murder if caught.