13 February 2002

TERRORIZING DISSENT: OUR RESPONSE

he 'War on Terrorism' is also a war against dissent -- against our capacity to resist injustice and oppression. Before 11th September, the anti-globalization movement was mobilizing large numbers of people worldwide against rulers who attempt to impose privatization, trade liberalization, poverty and war. Those rulers moved quickly to exploit the 11th September attacks, in order to fragment and marginalize us. They have sought to polarize the population into 'us' supporting them against 'the terrorists'.

Long beforehand, the UK government's Terrorism Act 2000 had already broadened the definition of terrorism -- to include simply 'the threat' of 'serious damage to property', in ways 'designed to influence the government' for a 'political cause'. In effect, that law created new crimes of association, suspicion and anticipation. It potentially stigmatizes a wide range of legitimate political activity as 'terrorism', which then becomes subject to attacks on civil liberties, such as detention without adequate legal representation; anyone can be held without charge for up to 7 days.

Now the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA) 2001 has gone much further. It authorizes greater police powers and even imposes duties on us. The Act means:
* Non-UK citizens can be interned for an indefinite period without trial or adequate judicial scrutiny.
* Communications providers must store users' data (e.g. webpages visited), so that it can be retrospectively handed over to the police anytime in the future.
* Confidential information (e.g. tax and health details) held by government departments may be pooled and given to the police, even to other authorities anywhere in the world.
* Everyone has the duty to inform the police about anyone 'suspected' of committing or planning 'terrorist' activity (as broadly defined by the 2000 Act).
* Protestors may be required to remove masks in any area where a crime may be committed.

This new law serves to terrorize dissent and to promote paranoia. Overall its measures establish a permanent state of emergency -- in our minds, as well as in law. Already fearful of follow-up attacks after 11th September, we are encouraged to fear foreigners as mortally dangerous. As well as non-UK citizens, a much wider range of people can be arrested and intimidated, merely on grounds of suspected or anticipated activities.

Such powers could deter protest, regardless of how few people are prosecuted in the courts. Even when people could be arrested under the ordinary criminal law, the police may use the Terrorism Acts in order to justify their new powers as necessary to protect us. Before these new laws were enacted, the authorities already had adequate legal powers to protect the public from organized violence, but instead they have imposed indefinite detention as a substitute for evidence.

Going beyond police powers, moreover, the Terrorism Acts lead us to internalize our own handcuffs, muzzles and blindfolds. We are meant to fear any involvement in political protest, lest the police later challenge us for not having given them information -- or lest others give the police information on us. We may be pressed to become compulsory grasses, even to inform on activities which haven't happened.

The UK laws go much further than the draft EU directive, which defines terrorism as 'unduly compelling a government or international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act'. Under its 'anti-terrorist roadmap', the EU is planning to set up databases on protestors and foreigners. Similar measures are being developed on a global scale.

This 'anti-terrorism' is a political strategy to fragment and infantilize us, so that we distrust other people, while treating the state as a benign protector. Unsurprisingly, the law exempts UK officials for prosecution regarding chemical and biological weapons. It also exempts the terrorist activities of the UK government, e.g. in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as its complicity with state terrorism in places such as Turkey and Israel's occupation of Palestine.

To resist the war on dissent, here are some actions we can take:
* Explain to others how 'terrorism' is being redefined in broader, anti-democratic ways.
* Oppose renewal or extension of the Terrorism Acts, especially when Parliament reviews some provisions in mid-2002.
* Inform our campaign of any harassment related to these laws.
* Protest against detentions under these laws, on grounds that any arrests must be based on evidence under the ordinary criminal law.
* Refuse police requests for information about normal political activity.
* Maintain professional ethics about confidentiality of information about political activities.

* Build support for these demands:
1. We reject the definition of terrorism in the Terrorism Act 2000.
2. We demand the repeal of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the ATCSA 2001.
3. Everyone must be treated as innocent until proven guilty. No detention without charge. Restore the right of habeas corpus.
4. We defend the democratic freedom to dissent and to organize ourselves against injustice without being criminalized.
5. We oppose crimes against humanity, regardless of who (or what government) commits them.

Stop the War on Dissent!

Name

Organisation





CACC (Campaign Against Criminalising Communities, part of the Coalition Against the Terrorism Acts) c/o Haldane Society, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1R 4RL
For information contact Estella 020 7586 5892,  knklondon@gn.apc.org, www.cacc.org.uk

Please sign the above five demands by replying to CACC as below:

For more information on UK and EU legislation, look at

 http://www.statewatch.org/observatory2.htm