[iwar] [fc:Who.EU.Calling.a.Terrorist?]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-12-04 11:06:12


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Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 11:06:12 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [iwar] [fc:Who.EU.Calling.a.Terrorist?]
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Who EU Calling a Terrorist?
By Jeffrey Benner 

3:30 p.m. Dec. 3, 2001 PST
European lawyers have denounced a European Union proposal to establish a
definition of terrorism so broad that it could include workers' strikes or
protests against globalization.

More than 200 lawyers from nearly every country in the European Union (EU)
have signed an appeal urging European Parliament and EU governments to
reject a broad definition of terrorism.

"This antiterrorist legislation once imposed will become a real war machine
against fundamental democratic rights," the appeal warned, "and against
those who come up against a political and social system with its basis in
economics, a system increasingly global and unjust."

Supporters held a press conference on the issue in Brussels on Monday in an
effort to raise awareness of the issue.

The European legislation in question is a proposal on combating terrorism
that the EU Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs is scheduled to
discuss later this week.

The proposal defines terrorism as, "offenses intentionally committed by an
individual or a group against one or more countries, their institutions or
people, with the aim of intimidating them and seriously altering or
destroying the political, economic, or social structures of a country."

If endorsed, EU member states will be obligated to incorporate the
definition into their own laws. Six member countries already have special
anti-terror laws, and critics fear the EU proposal could dramatically expand
their application under the proposed definition.

Jan Fermon, a lawyer from Brussels who helped draft the appeal, is concerned
that the EU is using the Sept. 11 attack as an excuse to pass proposals
designed to quash political dissent under the guise of counter-terrorism.

"Most of these proposals have no relation to terrorism," Fermon said, "but
the EU is now using 9-11 to get them passed without criticism.

"The main concern is that the definition is so broad that it includes all
kinds of lawful protest. Trade union activity, anti-globalization protest,
all of it can be criminalized under the legislation."

As a matter that relates to domestic security, the proposal -- called a
"framework decision" -- does not require approval from the European
Parliament. 

The concern in Europe mirrors developments in the U.S., where civil
liberties groups are worried about an expansion in the definition of
terrorism, an increase in surveillance power for law enforcement, and the
prospect of military trials for accused terrorists.

While the debates on terror and civil liberties in Europe have been similar
to those in the U.S., the situation is not exactly parallel, according to
Sarah Andrews, a researcher at the Electronic Privacy and Information Center
in Washington D.C. 

"In some respects, they're going further than the U.S.," Andrews said. "The
data retention proposals, and things like keeping data on those suspected of
public disturbance" have not been proposed in the United States, she said.

Regarding keeping data on public rabble rousers, Andrews was referring to a
report released Monday by the London-based civil rights group Statewatch.

It warned the EU might expand its Schengen Information System (SIS) -- an
existing system for sharing law enforcement information among EU states --
to include "suspected protesters."

"Targeted suspects would be tagged with an "alert" on the SIS and barred
from entry (to) the country where the protest or event was taking place,"
the report warned. The matter is being discussed by the EU but has not yet
been approved, according to Statewatch.

Following violence this summer at anti-globalization protests in Genoa,
Italy, and Goteborg, Sweden, the European Union began considering proposals
to give police additional power to stop the protests. Since Sept. 11, those
efforts appear to have merged with a push to combat terrorism.

Fermon doesn't believe EU governments intend to use terror laws against
domestic protesters. But he fears unintended consequences once laws are on
the books. As an example, he cites the decision earlier this year to
prosecute protesters at Goteborg under anti-mafia laws.

"We fear that once you get into this kind of logic, you inevitably end up
having all kinds of special rules incompatible with fair trial," he said.

Fermon believes existing laws are adequate to prosecute terror.

In addition to the proposal to establish a broad definition of terrorism,
civil libertarians in Europe are also concerned about another proposal to
create an EU-wide arrest warrant. If approved, it would eliminate the need
for extradition procedures when transferring suspects from one member
country to another.

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