The Dilution Of Democracy

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Saturday August 13, 2005 10:38

by Peter McCrossan

petermccrossan at gmail dot com

Democracy is the only feasilbe wepon in the fight against terror.

Moves by several nations recently, most notably America and Great Britain, but not excluding our own little nation, to combat the threat of International terrorism have sought to protect our democracy and freedom by removing and altering some of the most basic things which define it. The underlying logic is that to curb abuses of freedom by those elements which would seek to harm us, removing some of that freedom will eventually lead to the removal of the problem itself. Most recently the British Governement have adopted a shoot-to-kill policy for suspected suicide bombers which led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes an innocent Brazilian man.He was set upon by police officers and shot several times in the head after attempting to flee from them as his visa had expired.This was not as a result of unsure or over enthuasiastic police officers but as a result of the policy in place. A similiar policy exists in the United States where the rough guidelines identify people in unseasonal clothing or walking unnaturally as potential bombers. Remind you of any homeless people in Dublin?
Another step taken by Britain involves the deportation of those suspected of being involved in or encouraging terrorism. Prime Minister Tony Blair is prepared to amend the country's human rights laws to bring this into effect. As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, Britain is not allowed to deport people to a country where they may face torture or death. The British government has been seeking assurances from several countries, including Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt , for suspects to be protected against inhumane treatment if deported. The reputation of the governments of these countries is far from reputable.
In Ireland Minister McDowell has signed an agreement which alledgedly gives American operatives including the FBI and CIA the right to come to Ireland and interrogate people in secret. It also gives the former the right to conduct searches,discover documents and investigate bank accounts. Mr. Mc Dowell has refuted these claims, insisting that such powers remain only in the hands of the Gardai.
What we are moving towards are authouritarian regimes and our basic freedoms are being slowly eroded away. Past experience and common sense should show us that censoring freedom does not counter terrorsim but embraces it. Russia is a recent example. President Vladimir Putin undertook a blanket crackdown on freedom in Chechnya and rather than win a victory over terrorism he inspired a new generation of more embittered and disillusioned youth and drove them into the arms of terrorists. Incidents such as the Beslan school siege in which over 300 people died are evidence of how successful the choice of policy that was.
The only way we can positively advance the war on terror is by deepening the democratic system not diluting it. Everybody, including non-extremist Islamic groups must have security and their freedom of speech must be maintained. People must be able to speak out at what they view as injust, including the situations in Palestine, Iraq and Chechnya.
The current approch serves only to demote and devalue nations in the eyes of terrorists and especially potential terrorists. Democracy is the only feasible weapon in the war against terror.