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July 27, 2005
An inevitable consequence?
On Monday I made the comment
How long before we hear calls for the introduction of capital punishment for terrorists? How long before the first demands for internment camps are heard?
Today the Guardian makes a chilling point:
The Guardian - The 5 per cent solution The most important of these is Mr Blair's persistent and reflexive support for draconian legal powers against terrorists for which a case has not yet been made and which may cause as many problems as they solve. The best current example of this is his support for the police call for the power of 14-days detention for questioning of terrorist suspects to be extended to three months - temporary internment by any other name. But Mr Blair also made clear yesterday that he wants to revisit the issue of indefinite detention of foreign suspects - on which the law lords ruled against the government last year.
Yup, once again indefinite internment for terrorist suspects is back on the agenda. Only this time, the definition of terrorist is much wider. Where previously it applied to people directly supporting proscribed organisations (albeit through aid supplies to refugees), in future the net will be cast wider.
The Independent - New anti-terror laws will target 'indirect incitement'
Legislation outlawing "acts preparatory to terrorism" will make it a crime to plan or prepare for a terror act, including accessing terrorist websites. The offence would also cover people with intent to acquire chemicals or with instructions on how to produce a bomb.
Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said an offence of acts preparatory to terrorism would help police intervene early to protect the public. He said, "This may mean the precise details of the planned terrorist act are not known, indeed the terrorists themselves may not have decided exactly how they will act."
If the government has its way, not only can you be shot dead simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time wearing the wrong clothes, but soon you could be indefinitely detained without trial for viewing the wrong websites, buying the wrong things from the chemist or committing acts of what can only be called Thoughtcrime.
While you're fretting about that, remember that these policies are being introduced by a government most of you didn't vote for, as a consequence of a war most of you didn't want, the relevance of which Tony Blair remains in a fickle mind about.
The terror acts will continue, perpetrated by both sides (state and terrorist) until such time as our leaders are prepared to accept responsibility for their actions and the consequences thereof. Only then will there be an opportunity to break the vicious cycle of death and destruction, not through appeasement or atonement, but through realisation that constructive foreign policy doesn't bomb the shit out of innocent civilians, doesn't supply weapons to oppressive and dictatorial regimes. Above all, doesn't view other countries as simply providing resources and markets, but instead treats indigenous populations as human beings of equal worth.
Related comment can be found at Bloggerheads and Perfect.co.uk
Posted by Clive on July 27, 2005 10:22 AM in the category Terror