«A
new Inquisition»
To start off, we want to underline
that this press conference is not
meant to question the anti-terrorist
policies in general.
No, we only want to question a certain application of it.
An anti-terrorist policy that finds its origin in the Administration of George
Bush, and that is not only accepted, but even partly supported and adopted by
the European governments.
The actual form of the US anti-terrorist policy and thus, also the EU's, is a
new version of the Inquisition.
In the name of this anti-terrorist
policy, wars are lead that are against
international law, secret prisons are
authorised, the use of torture is legitimated,
people are alleged and arrested for
racist and religious motivations.
The case of Bahar shows how easy it
has become for the state to intimidate
citizens that are not welcome in a
political sense, to incarcerate them,
and finally, to re-educate them.
To disappear in prison for several
years, it is enough that a Court decides
that one is a member or sympathiser
of an illegal organisation.
It is not necessary anymore to have
committed a crime; the allegation of
conspiracy is enough.
In the Middle Ages it was also enough
that one's way of thinking was in opposition
to the clerical and secular morals
to be burned on the pyre.
On a political level,
we call for the creation of an independent
institution, a kind of "anti-terrorist commission".
It is not sustainable that the European
Council secretly issues a blacklist.
The Council must make it public at
this independent institution.
Organisations and persons that figure
on that list must be informed about
it, and they also have to be informed
on the legal consequences and possibilities
of that fact.
The Council acts without control and
thus puts its citizens into an arbitrary
situation.
It can not be possible for instance,
that activists of the Iranian Peoples
Mojahedin come and go into the EP,
hold press conferences with Members
of the Parliament, whereas activists
of the Turkish movement DHKC are sentenced
to several years of prison for the
same lobbyist activities.
Both organisations are on the blacklist.
The first are authorised to carry out
heir political lobbying in Europe at
the moment, as the Council is more
afraid of the actual Iranian leadership
then of the resistance movement.
The others are accused and alleged
of conspiracy because the Erdogan government
is flirting with Europe and supported
by the US and the EU in its fight against
the radical opposition in its country.
What happens with Hamas for instance?
Are people terrorists if they support
this organisation? What would for
example happen to a Belgian citizen
that administrates the Hamas' information
office in Brussels if this person
translates press statements for the
organisation?
Would he or she also be liable of four
years of prison? And would he or she
also be extradited to Israel by another
European country in case Israel would
issues an international warrant of
arrest against this person?
An independent anti-terrorist commission
must check all this cases, must give
information on who is and who is not
on this list, which organisation one
can legally support within these laws,
and under which circumstances the moral
support of such an organisation is
punishable.
The petition for Bahar's case that
we sent out on the Internet only a
few days ago has meanwhile been signed
by several thousand people all over
the world, without that the media would
have reported a lot about the case.
For me, this is the prove that time
is high to start a Europe-wide citizens
initiative against this new kind of
inquisition.
Those that want to defend fundamental
democratic rights have to sign this
petition.
Unfortunately, the European Constitution
does not exist yet. Otherwise we could
very officially launch such a citizens
initiative.
Our next step will be to examine what
usefully possibilities are left for
the citizens of the European Union
to defend themselves against this anti-terrorist
policy. |
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