Blunderov
Archon
Gender: 
Posts: 3160
Reputation: 8.91
Rate Blunderov
"We think in generalities, we live in details"
  
|
 |
RE: virus: Ad Populem
« on: 2005-11-21 07:58:31 » |
 |
[Blunderov] Blair seems to have assimilated American style politics but
thankfully the House of Lords is still English.
I'm impressed with the Police for once. The senior officers appear to have
applied their minds to the problem with some care. A refreshing change from
the usual psychosis so favoured by the warmongers Bush and Blair (May their
tribes decrease).
Best Regards.
http://www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle14117.html
"Lords threaten rough ride for anti-terror bill
Senior police oppose four key clauses
Vikram Dodd, Richard Norton-Taylor and Michael White
Monday November 21, 2005
The Guardian
(An armed police officer outside the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Dan
Chung/Guardian)
Tony Blair warned the House of Lords last night not to defy public opinion
by moving to wreck the government's terror bill today as further objections
to the measures emerged from chief police officers and the civil liberty
lobby.
On the eve of the second reading in the Lords, leaders of the Conservative
and Liberal Democrat parties gave Downing Street notice that they would give
the bill "a thorough going-over" and scrutinise its provisions line-by-line
before sending it back to the Commons.
After a revolt by 49 Labour backbenchers, MPs have already modified a
central clause of the bill. It would now permit the police to hold terrorist
suspects for 28 days without charge pending further investigation - instead
of the current 14 and the 90 days initially proposed.
But the much-trumpeted support senior police officers gave that clause does
not extend to the entire bill, the Guardian has learned. The Association of
Chief Police Officers (Acpo) privately opposed four of the government's 14
main proposals announced after the July 7 London bombings. Other proposals
could damage community relations, Acpo believes.
The confidential Acpo assessment of the 14 or so measures concludes that all
risk alienating Muslims. Senior officers believe they must increase the
levels of confidence British Muslims have in the police. According to a
document seen by the Guardian, the four measures from which Acpo withheld
support were:
. Amending human rights laws to get round obstacles to new deportation
rules.
. Making the justification or glorification of terrorism anywhere an
offence.
. Automatically refusing asylum to anyone linked to terrorism anywhere.
. Banning the alleged extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and successor groups to
al-Muhajiroun. Acpo says it knows of no intelligence to justify a Hizb
ut-Tahrir ban.
The four measures are still in the bill and Acpo does support 10 of the 14
proposals announced by Mr Blair in August.
At the same time the Human Rights Watch lobbying group is warning that the
proposed offence of "encouraging terrorism" is likely to have a chilling
effect on free expression in classrooms, media newsrooms and mosques.
In a released briefing paper Human Rights Watch says the offence is "overly
broad" and does no more than duplicate existing criminal offences. It is
also highly critical of the glorification clause.
Despite such doubts, No 10 is sticking by Mr Blair's claim that it is better
to be right and defeated than back down.
"If the House of Lords in any way harries the bill before the peers tonight
it will be particularly out of touch with public opinion," a senior Blair
adviser warned after Lord Strathclyde, Tory leader in the Lords, appealed
again for cross-party consensus.
Both he and Lord McNally, the Lib Dem leader, said peers would probably be
satisfied with the 28-day compromise. But Lord Strathclyde warned ministers
that their failure to create a consensus means that "in the House of Lords
inevitably the parties of opposition and Labour rebels tend to come together
to defeat the government".
The Acpo document - written before the police were accused of being
politicised by the issue - assesses the likely impact on different
communities of the proposals. It confirms Acpo support for many of the
measures, including extending the time terrorism suspects can be held. But
its support on this point comes with a warning. "This measure is likely to
be perceived as a non-judicial way of incarcerating Muslims," it says."
---
To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
|
Author
Logged
