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Amnesty International holds September 11 forum on human rights

BY LISA MACKIE

On the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Amnesty International held a forum, called "Human Rights after 9/11," in the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, co-sponsored by the Takoma Park Peace and Justice Committee. Speakers covered such topics as the Patriot Act, the state of immigration under the Department of Homeland Security, racial profiling, and the response of the Takoma Park city council to these issues.

Stephanie Farrior, former legal directory of Amnesty International in London currently at Penn. State Law School, began by reminding everyone that September 11 is also the anniversary of the military coup in Chile that replaced President Salvador Allende with General Augusto Pinochet. She followed with a long list of human rights abuses which have occurred around the world in the name of the "War on Terror." She said, "a number of governments use [the campaign against terrorism] to crack down on opponents."

She cited examples such as officials in the United Kingdom invoking anti-terrorism legislation, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, against peaceful protestors and Malaysia's use of its Internal Security Act against political dissidents.

David Rocah from the ACLU spoke on issues related to the Patriot Act, explaining that it expands the powers of the executive branch of government while stripping "the ability of the judiciary to act as a check." He called it a "fundamental restructuring of the executive branch vis a vis the judicial branch and vis a vis the American people."

Specifically, section 213 of the act expands the government's ability to engage in "sneak and peak" searches which do not require prior notice or traditional warrants. Section 216 expands federal wire-tapping laws, giving greater access to email and web address information if the information is "relevant to an ongoing case." Section 412 permits the attorney general to detain non-citizens without due process. And, section 215 permits the Department of Justice to obtain "any tangible thing" without a warrant if it is relevant to an ongoing investigation .to "protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."

Montgomery County has a bill pending urging the repeal of the Patriot Act.

An attorney with CASA, Flavia Jimenez, commented that the Latino Community has "felt significant pressure from changes since September 11–the whole immigration system has been revamped." She explained that since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security which has "a huge budget," they are "going after many more people." She said many people who are "out of status" have been detained and put through deportation proceedings.

On the issue of racial profiling, Niaz Kaszavi, from Amnesty International's domestic program, said that prior to September 11, President Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft were "outraged at profiling," but that in the past two years "60 percent of the general public said [racial profiling] was OK for Arab men and possible terrorists, and that it is a valid use of resources to counter terrorism."

Kaszavi explained that racial profiling is the use of "race, color, ethnicity, or national origin" by law enforcement officials to identify crime suspects. The controversy over racial profiling became especially heated during the 1990's "War on Drugs" when disproportionate numbers of African-American and Latino men were stopped and searched. She said that in 1996 in Maryland, 70 percent of cars stopped had African-American drivers, while African Americans only accounted for 17 percent of registered drivers in Maryland.

Since September 11, even though evidence shows that racial profiling is not effective–in 1999 U.S. Customs stopped using race as a factor in searches for drugs and contraband thereby increasing success rates by 300 percent with fewer searches–Iraqi nationals and others from Arab countries have been asked to register themselves or undergo voluntary questioning. In consequence, many of those who came forward have been deported. Kaszavi said that racial profiling "encourages hate and a climate of discrimination." In her opinion, "the only effective way to stop terrorism is to focus on suspicious behavior."

Takoma Park City Council member Marc Elrich said that he sponsored the resolution in opposition to the Patriot Act and is planning to propose new resolutions asking for a repeal and in opposition to Patriot Act 2.

"The war on terror is a mistake. It's wrong to pretend that there is an ‘ism' out there–to think it's an ideology. It's a mistake to refuse to deal with the reasons [for terrorist activities]," Erlich said in explanation of the resolution.

Implying that the federal government's attempt to eliminate terrorism is hypocritical, Erlich said, "I can't think of anything more terrorist than the U.S. bombing in Vietnam....We are one of the primary practitioners of terror."

He noted that the people who are now considered terrorists were once supported by the U.S. government. "President Reagan said Saddam Hussein was a bastion of democracy in the Middle East....Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban were armed by the U.S. [to fight] the Soviet Union."

The solution to the problem lies in dealing "with the underlying causes or else terrorism will stay with us." Erlich said, "we need to confront the realities of the world, we cannot fight to the death."