Terrorism and Our Rights

jensonj

New Member
Jan 29, 2005
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CENTRAL CANADA
Terrorism and Our Rights
By James Jenson

In our time the word "terrorism" is ubiquitous, used on a daily basis. It is looked upon as a new idea and situation, as if it did not exist before now.

The public is being asked to be aware of what is going on around them. That Canadians should be on guard 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We now have the Security and Prosperity Partnership. Perceptions of Canadian anti-terrorism law in the wake of the London attacks are now being viewed as being weak, lacking and to some non–existant.

My problem with this terrorist situation is that it is not new; and what about our individual rights? It seems to me that they are benign trampled on and overlooked as fast as the lawmakers can write and pass them.


Terrorism:

The potential use of terror and intimidation (American Heritage Dictionary)
Unlawful use of force or violence, committed by a group(s) of two or more individuals, against persons or property, to intimidate or coerce the Government, Civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objective. (FBI)

Potential Outcomes for Terrorists Events

• Mass casualties
• Overwhelms response resources
• Disrupts normal business and personal processes
• Panic and confusion
• Mass suspicion / oppression of ethnic, cultural and racial groups
• Loss of faith in government agencies
• Loss of faith in Emergency Response System (ERS)

Terrorists: what do they look like? What race, culture, religion are they? Who do we consider a terrorist? Is your niece, nephew, neighbor one; or maybe your employer? It depends on their thinking, opinions and political beliefs. Or does it?

HOW DO YOU KNOW?! It’s a possibility!

Do we get rid of all human rights and civil rights laws to prevent the next attack? Do we have cameras in every room at work, home, street and business? Maybe the government through businesses monitors telephone, verbal and electronic conversations?

What’s the problem?

If you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about!!

I personally like this one. It implies that we don’t need rules, guidelines or laws to prevent abuse by government agencies. It is always the first thing that is thrown in your face when you question their actions.

It protects everyone from attack! It is in defence of your country! You love and are loyal to your country are you not and its flag. Right? Well?

Yes, the world sure is different isn't it? I mean since 9/11. It is amazing the number of experts that come out of their holes when it, terrorism, finds them in their backyards or bites them in the proverbial ass. It didn't interfere in their lives before so it didn't matter if it happened to someone else or else where for that matter. It is a new age, is it not?

We now have legal scholars trying to justify torture. Civil Liberties Lawyer Alan Dershowitz says torture by US law enforcement is "inevitable," and might as well be legalized.

Under this justification, torture is appropriate not because of what people have done but because of what they will, might, or can do. Certain citizens may be seen as internal threats, putting at risk the safety and stability of the state. One of the most common rationales for engaging in torture is to obtain information that supposedly could not be gathered by other means. One of the bluntest ways that people can accommodate torture in their midst is to deny that it exists, usually by dismissing any signs, reports, or evidence of torture as lies, exaggerations, or mistakes.

Canadian officials said the Americans, who claimed Arar was a member of Al Qaeda, didn't tell them he had been sent to Syria. Arar says he was tortured and held for a year without charges.

The Monterey Protocol falls short of guaranteeing Canadian citizens won't be deported again as part of the U.S.'s controversial rendition program, whereby suspects are sent to countries that use torture during interrogation.

Drawing parallels to the charges brought against CIA operatives by a Milan magistrate last week, attorney Marlys Edwardh said Canadian law defined torture as illegal wherever it occurs. Arar, 34, was seized by U.S. agents while he was changing planes in New York, questioned for 12 days and then transported in shackles to Syria.

"Torture is a crime that is triable by Canadian courts if the victim is a Canadian citizen. The Americans definitely aided and abetted this crime," Edwardh said, standing outside the site of a judicial inquiry into Arar's treatment.

An analysis of the U.S. Justice Department's list of terrorism prosecutions by The Washington Post shows that 39 people — not 200 — have been convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security.

Most of the others were convicted of relatively minor crimes such as making false statements and violating immigration law — and had nothing to do with terrorism, the analysis shows. Overall, the median sentence was 11 months.

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

It begins with:

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.

All the Nations that made up the United Nations at the time, December 10, 1948, and those that latter joined have agreed to these fundamental human rights.

The time is of importance not only because it is right after the Second World War but in fact, it acquires special meaning at the present time when tendencies of so-called "historical revisionism" have become rife in many countries, with their denial of the very occurrence, or at least the extent, of the catastrophe which the National Socialist regime in Germany brought upon the Jewish people. National Socialist regime putting into practice the laws known as "The Nuremberg Laws" for the purpose of depriving millions of Jews in all those countries occupied by them of their human rights. Also, it is the first time that humanity had such a meticulously kept record of un-thinkable and hideous atrocities that had ever occurred in recent human history. It is also the time in which the charge "crime against humanity" is first used.

A crime against humanity is a term in international law that refers to acts of murderous persecution against a body of people, as being the criminal offence above all others. The term was first used in the preamble of the Hague Convention of 1907, and subsequently used during the Nuremberg trials as a charge for actions such as the Holocaust which did not violate a specific treaty but were deemed to require severe punishment.

The term has been criticized for being extremely vague and for being politically defined. For example, Nazi attempts to eliminate certain ethnic groups are widely recognized as having been crimes against humanity, yet Soviet and American persecutions of certain groups are not. The systematic persecution of African people by the South African apartheid government was recognized as a crime against humanity by the United Nations in 1966. Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan.

We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good and a more contentious society where private interest and political groups selfishly protect their own interests, wants and desires. We must find a balance between the "ethics of individual rights" with an "ethic of the common good" for society as a whole.

I believe that Canadians should receive fair and equitable treatment under law whether you are in Canada, the United States of America or any other Country that we have Diplomatic ties with. That what is expected in one Country is received equally in the other, no exceptions.

That both Countries Canada and the United States of America have a level playing field and protection of basic rights in Business, Travel and basic Human rights as citizens of our perspective countries.

It is fine to protect one’s self, one’s people and one’s Country but let’s not forget the need and reason that we have Human Rights Laws. Let’s not be too hasty to throw those rights away without careful consideration of the possible consequences as a result of those types of actions.

Points to consider;

Chemical and Biological Terrorist Incidents since 1970;
1972 Typhoid, 1984 Botulinum, 1984 Salmonella (751 injured), 1985 Cyande, 1992 Cyanide, June 1994 Sarin (7 Dead, 200 Injured), March 1995 Ricin, March 1995 Sarin (12 Dead, 5500 Affected), April 1995 Sarin, May 1995 Plague, April-June 1995 Cyanide, Phosgene, Pepper Spray, November 1995 Radioactive Cesium, December 1995 Ricin, February 1997 Clorine (14 Injured, 500 Evacuated), April 1997 U235.

Saddam Hussein was to be condemned as a criminal for crimes against Humanity by the UN in the late 1980’s for using chemical warfare against Iran but the U.S. vetoed the UN resolution because he was an ally to the United States of America besides giving him the biological weapons and the ability to make them and use them against Iran. The United States didn't recognize the IRA as a terrorist body when they bombed London and Irish Americans held fund raisers in New York City every fall for them until 1990 which the British Government said was used to buy weapons for them.

Let’s also consider Groups or considered Terrorist Groups such as the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and others, a list of them are found below, most formed in the 1960’s and 1970’s;

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) , Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Aleph
see Aum Shinrikyo (Aum)
al-Aqsa Martyrs Battalion
see Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
Ansar al-Sunnah Partisans of Islam
see Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
Arab Revolutionary Brigades
see Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Armed Islamic Group
Army of Mohammed
see Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Army of the Pure
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
Army of the Pure and Righteous
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
Army of the Righteous
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo (Aum)
Aum Supreme Truth (Aum)
see Aum Shinrikyo (Aum)
Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
see Al-Qaida
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Batasuna
see Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Black September
see Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Communist Party of Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
Continuity Army Council
see Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Dev Sol
see Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Devrimci Sol
see Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Egyptian Islamic Jihad
see Al-Jihad
EIJ
see Al-Jihad
ELA
see Revolutionary Nuclei
Ellalan Force
see The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Epanastatiki Organosi 17 Noemvri
see 17 November
Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna
see Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Fatah Revolutionary Council
see Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Freedom and Democracy Congress of Kurdistan
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Gama'a al-Islamiyya
al-Gama’at
see Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Le Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat
see Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
HAMAS
Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
Harakat ul-Ansar
see Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM)
Helpers of Islam
see Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
Hizballah
Islamic Group
see Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Islamic Jihad
see Al-Jihad
Islamic Jihad
see Hizballah
Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine
see Hizballah
Islamic Jihad of Palestine
see Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Islamic Resistance Movement
see HAMAS
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Jaish Ansar Al-Islam
see Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
Jama’at al-Tawhid wa’al-Jihad
see Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR)
Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI)
Al-Jihad (AJ)
Jihad Group
see Al-Jihad
Jund Al-Islam
see Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
KADEK
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Kahane Chai (Kach)
Khuddam-ul-Islam
see Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Kurdish Taliban
see Ansar Al-Islam (AI)
Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Kurdistan People’s Congress
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Kurdistan Workers’ Party
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar-e-Toiba
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
al-Mansoorian
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
al Monsooreen
see Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT)
The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
Muslim Iranian Students Society
see The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Council of Resistance
see The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
see The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Liberation Army (ELN)
The National Liberation Army of Iran
see The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
New People's Army (NPA)
see Communist Party of Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Palestine Liberation Front-Abu Abbas Faction
see Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Shalla Faction
see Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi Faction
see Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Party of God
see Hizballah
The People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI)
see The Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
PKK
see Kongra-Gel (KGK)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)
Al-Qaida
Al-Qa’ida in Iraq
see Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR)
Al-Qa’ida of Jihad Organization in the Land of The Two Rivers
see Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR)
Al-Quds Brigades
see Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Real IRA (RIRA)
Republican Sinn Fein
see Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
Revolutionary Left
see Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Revolutionary Nuclei
Revolutionary Cells
see Revolutionary Nuclei
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
see 17 November
Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims
see Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C)
Revolutionary Popular Struggle
see Revolutionary Nuclei
Sangillan Force
see The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
see Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
Sendero Luminoso People's Liberation Army
see Shining Path (SL)
Shining Path (SL)
Talaa'al-Fateh
see Al-Jihad
Tamil Tigers
see The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR)
Tehrik ul-Furqaan
see Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
United Self-Defense Forces/Group of Colombia (AUC)
Usama Bin Ladin Organization
see Al-Qaida
Al-Zarqawi Network
see Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR)

Groups Listed in Prior Editions of Patterns of Global Terrorism

3rd October Organization
see Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)
15 May Organization
Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB)
Algerian Terrorism
Anti-Imperialist International Brigade (AIIB)
see Japanese Red Army
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)
Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR)
Al-'Asifa
see Al-Fatah
Al-Fatah
Chukaku-Ha (Nucleus or Middle Core Faction)
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)
Ellalan Force
see The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT)
see The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO)
Force 17
Former Armed Forces (ex-FAR)
see Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR)
Interahamwe
see Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALIR)
Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Jamaat ul-Fuqra
Japanese Red Army (JRA)
Khmer Rouge
Lautaro Popular Rebel Forces (FRPL)
see Lautaro Youth Movement (MJL)
Lautaro Youth Movement (MJL)
Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)
Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR)
Morazanist Patriotic Front (FPM)
National Liberation Army (ELN)--Columbia
Orange Volunteers (OV)
The Orly Group
see Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA)
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Party of Democratic Kampuchea
see Khmer Rouge
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Command (PFLP-SC)
Popular Struggle Front (PSF)
Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)
see Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Provos
see Irish Republican Army (IRA)
Puka Inti (Sol Rojo, Red Sun)
Red Army Faction (RAF)
Red Brigades (BR)
Red Hand Defenders (RHD)
Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA)
Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
Sikh Terrorism
Sol Rojo
see Puka Inti (Sol Rojo, Red Sun)
Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)
Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army (EGTK)
Al Ummah
United Popular Action Movement (MAPU/L)
see Lautaro Youth Movement (MJL)
Zviadists

Yes, the world sure is different isn't it?
 

hairball

New Member
Jul 25, 2005
36
0
6
Vancouver
In the wake of London Bombs, al queda and fanatic muslim groups strike terrors in all of us esp when we are so close to the US. With China threatening to nuke US and Taiwan recently, it is easy to fool the world by saying that Chinese General's threat is not that of China. China in 1960s supported corpdetat in Indonesia that killed several Indonesian Generals and later placed Sukarno in prison. You cant be too careful that China has planted their insurgents in Vancouver and Toronto if they finally carry out their nukes on US.