All reports and proposals referred to are available on-line,
full-text.
UK ANTI-TERRORISM PROPOSALS INCLUDE INTERNMENT FOR TERRORIST
"SUSPECTS" AND DATA RETENTION BY COMMUNICATIONS
PROVIDERS
In the UK House of Commons on Monday 15 October the David Blunkett,
the Home Secretary, announced in outline three emergency measures to be
passed through parliament by "affirmative" procedure (ie. only
debate(s) in parliament no detailed consideration by committees).
The measures include two pieces of legislation at this stage: i)
an Emergency Anti-Terrorist Bill and ii) an Extradition Bill. The
Extradition Bill will, the Home Secretary says, mean the UK derogating
from Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This would
allow for the indefinite detention of foreign nationals
"suspected" on the basis of security and police reports of
being "a threat to national security" where there was no
extradition agreement with a third country or where the return of the
person meant they could face torture or death if returned. To these Bills are added a number of other non-legislative
measures:agreeing a "code of practice" with the
communications industry to retain communications data(eg:
e-mails, faxes and internet usage);requiring carriers to give law
enforcement agencies access to details of passengers and freight(air and sea); allowing customs officials and tax revenue officials
to pass information the law enforcementagencies;extending
the role and jurisdiction for British Transport Police, Ministry of
Defence Police andthe Atomic Energy Authority; giving the police
and customs officials the power to demand the removal of "facial
covering orgloves". It is not clear whether these powers
will solely relate to terrorism or crime in general.
EU DEFINITION OF TERRORISM
The Council of the European Union (representing the 15 EU
governments) has examined the Commission’s proposed Framework Decision on
Terrorism and has come up with a wider definition, extending it to those
who aim to "seriously.. affect.. an international
organisation".
The most significant change is to change the word
"altering" to "affecting" which would broaden it
scope. So, for example, where the Commission's definition reads that a
"terrorist offence" would include actions seeking to:
"seriously altering or destroying the political, economic or social
structures of a country", the Council's definition would include
actions:
"with the aim of seriously... affecting or destroying the
political, economic or social structures of a country or of an
international organisation"
The Council's version thus not only widens the definition of
"terrorism" to action which might "affect" political,
economic and social structures but, ominously adds actions seeking to
seriously "affect" an "international organisation".
Such a broad definition would clearly embrace protests such as those in
Gothenburg and Genoa. There are other significant differences between the
drafts.
PROPOSAL TO CREATE EU PARA-MILITARY POLICE UNITS TO COUNTER
PROTESTS
The German government has sent a proposal for the creation of
"Special Units" to the EU "Heads of central bodies for
public order and security" to counter protests at EU Council
meetings and other international meetings.
On 6 August the German Minister of the Interior, Mr Otto Schilly,
backed by Italian Interior Minister, Claudio Scajola, called for the
creation of an EU anti-riot police in reaction to events in Gothenburg
and Genoa. Now, in a report dated 20 September, the German government has
proposed to other EU states that, in response to "events in
Gothenburg and Genoa", each should form and make available
"special units" to implement "joint and harmonised
measures against travelling offenders committing violent
acts".
Instead of creating a formal EU para-military public order police
force, the proposal would mean that there would be a system in place for
the movement and deployment of existing specially trained national units
to police public order situations (eg protests) in the host country.
These units would have "weapons" and "special
devices".
"SNATCH SQUADS" BEING SET UP IN LONDON TO DEPORT
"FAILED ASYLUM SEEKERS"
The UK Immigration Service have announced plans to dramatically
increase the number of "failed asylum-seekers" detained and/or
deported from 10 a day to 80-100 a day. In the past such raids have
required the presence of Metropolitan Police to effect detention, now the
Immigration Service are going to undertake this role alone with
appropriately trained officials. Asylum-seekers will either be taken to
an airport for immediate removal or to a central detention centre in an
empty police building in North West London.
Three reports on the initiation of "snatch squads" have
been discussed by to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA, part of the
Greater London Authority) in September. The MPA's own report says that
such raids are: "likely to generate community tension and possibly a
requirement for public order maintenance". The report further
observes that: "In the event of a death or serious injury occurring
while a person is detained it is highly likely that there will arise a
public perception that the fault lies with the Metropolitan Police
Service".
EU REGULATION FORBIDDING FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS WITH CERTAIN PERSONS
AND ENTITIES - EU, US & UK LISTS OF TERRORIST OR PROSCRIBED
GROUPS
On Tuesday 2 October the European Commission put forward a draft
Regulation forbidding financial transactions for, or on behalf of, 27
listed organisations and groups. The proposal was sent to the European
Parliament on 3 October and was adopted - with amendments - under a
special procedure (Procedure without report, Rule 158) by the plenary
session of the parliament in Strasbourg on 4 October.
Statewatch analysis includes the legislative procedure, the
provisions of the regulation and the “proscribed lists” of the EU, UK and
US.
RACE THINK-TANK PUBLISHES DAMNING INDICTMENT OF GOVERNMENT'S
RECORD
The Institute of Race Relations has published a wide-ranging report
exposing racism in government policy, institutions and popular culture.
The report, entitled 'The three faces of British racism', shows how
racism has worsened under a government which claims to be leading the
fight against it. The report focuses on asylum policy and reform of the
criminal justice system as the main areas in which the promise held out
by the Macpherson Report has been squandered. Rather than tackle
institutional racism, government asylum policy has fuelled a new variant
of racism directed at the world's displaced and dispossessed, while
Labour's new crime plan will tend to reinforce existing patterns of
racial discrimination. The report also highlights the ways in which black
over-representation in the criminal justice system will be exacerbated by
current 'reforms' of the right to trial by jury and stop and search
powers, and examines ongoing problems in the legal provisions to tackle
racial violence.
More information at
<http://www.irr.org.uk>
EU GOVERNMENTS WANT THE RETENTION OF ALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DATA FOR
GENERAL USE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES UNDER TERRORISM
PLAN
EU governments want to use new terrorism measures to put all
communications under surveillance
and are demanding that EU data protection and privacy laws be
"revised" to allow for the retention of data. Statewatch report
on "Data protection and data retention in the EU?"
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WARNS OF BACKLASH
Amnesty International have issued two reports in the aftermath of 11
September. The first, issued on 4 October warns of "a backlash
against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern or Asian origin or
appearance in at least 10 countries. The report also highlights the first
worrying indications that the "fight against terrorism" may be
opportunistically used to clamp down on civil liberties and human
rights.
ACLU "BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED" IN HOUSE-SENATE JOINT PASSAGE
OF ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION
The American Civil Liberties Union says it is "bitterly
disappointed with the passage of anti-terrorism legislation, which
mirrored closely the highly controversial original legislative proposals
the Administration submitted to the House of Representatives and the
Senate."
"This bill has simply missed the mark of maximizing security
and, at the same time, minimizing any adverse effects on America's
freedoms," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington
National Office. "Most Americans do not recognize that Congress has
just passed a bill that would give the government expanded power to
invade our privacy, imprison people without due process and punish
dissent."
News in brief
* Identity cards: Information and documentation from Privacy
International
* Council of Europe: Cybercrime Convention to be formally adopted
on 8 November
STATEWATCH OBSERVATORY ON EU FREEDOM OF INFORMATION - CASE
LAW
The Statewatch Observatory on case law in the CFI and ECJ contains all
the cases concerning access to documents taken to the Court of First
Instance and European Court of Justice. Fully updated 12 October 2001,
now includes all pending cases.
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