Arte zeigt am Dienstag um 20:15 „Freiheit oder Sicherheit. Der Antiterrorkampf und seine Folgen“ von Marita Neher und Nils Bökamp.

Die Dokumentation beschäftigt sich mit den Anti-Terror-Gesetzen und ihren Folgen und rekonstruiert dabei auch einige prominente Fälle, bei denen Menschen durch Verfehlungen in das Netz des Antiterrorkampfes gerieten.

Geneigte LeserInnen dieses Blog werden viele Bekannte sehen: Rizwan Sabir und Hich Yezza von der Uni Nottingham, Julian Coupat und die „Tarnac 9“, und auch uns. Dazu noch andere Betroffene des europäischen Anti-Terror-Kampfes.

Der Film diskutiert diese Fälle in Hinblick auf die Anti-Terror-Gesetze und deren Auswirkungen für Freiheit, Sicherheit, Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit in Europa. Zu Wort kommen die Betroffenen selbst und ihrer Anwälte, aber auch der Leiter des Bundeskriminalamtes Jörg Ziercke, der Direktor von EUROPOL Rob Wainwright, der Pariser Generalstaatsanwalt Francois Falletti, der Risikoforscher und Terrorismusexperte Prof. Dr. Friedrich Steinhäusler, der Politikwissenschaftler Prof. Dr. Thomas König, der Soziologe Jean Ziegler, die Human Rights Watch Anti-Terrorbeauftragte Judith Sunderland sowie Philippe Texier, Vertreter der „International Commission of Jurists“.

Ich bin gespannt.

Passend zur Terrorismus-Woche vor dem 11. September plus Freiheit-statt-Angst-Demo gab es im Funkstreifzug im Bayrischen Rundfunk am Sonntag Unter Verdacht: Wie der Staat seine Bürger überwacht.

Die Geschichte des Kampfes gegen den Terror ist auch eine Geschichte des Kampfes gegen die Aushöhlung von Bürgerrechten. Die Überwachung der privaten Kommunikation über Telefon, Fax und E-Mail, bekannt als Vorratsdatenspeicherung, ist so ein Beispiel. In Kraft gesetzt vom Staat, gestoppt vom Bundesverfassungsgericht und diesen Herbst wieder auf der politischen Tagesordnung. Unter Verdacht steht: Der Bürger.

Hendrik Loven hat für den Funkstreifzug einen besonders krassen Fall verfolgt. Der Soziologe Andrej Holm von der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin ist ins Visier der Ermittler geraten, weil sich militante Gruppen soziologischer Fachbegriffe bedient hatten, wie sie bei Holms wissenschaftlicher Arbeit üblich sind. …

mp3 (12,4mb)

Mehr Formate bei archive.org oder der Congress-Dokumentation.

Dieser Text von Giorgio Agamben erschien am 19.11. in Libération. Update: jetzt auch auf deutsch.

„In Italy, trains are often late, but so far no one has dreamed of accusing the national railway of terrorism.“

Mehr u.a. bei Indymedia New York City Anarchist arrest sweep in France (viele  weiterführende Links) und im Cargo Blog Palling Around With Terrorists:

Das klingt fast wie aus Ulrich Peltzers Roman „Teil der Lösung“: Die junge Schauspielerin Aria Thomas wurde am 11. November wegen  Terrorismusverdachts inhaftiert (und inzwischen wieder entlassen).

Es gibt, vorläufig nur französisch(?) einen „Offenen Brief der Eltern der neun am 11. November Festgenommenen„.

An was erinnert mich das alles? Jetzt wirklich Agamben:

TERRORISM OR TRAGICOMEDY?

On the morning of November 11, 150 police officers, most of which belonged to the anti-terrorist brigades, surrounded a village of 350 inhabitants on the Millevaches plateau, before raiding a farm in order to arrest nine young people (who ran the local grocery store and tried to revive the cultural life of the village). Four days later, these nine people were sent before an anti-terrorist judge and “accused of criminal conspiracy with terrorist intentions.” The newspapers reported that the Ministry of the Interior and the Secretary of State “had congratulated local and state police for their diligence.” Everything is in order, or so it would appear. But let’s try to examine the facts a little more closely and grasp the reasons and the results of this “diligence.”

First the reasons: the young people under investigation “were tracked by the police because they belonged to the ultra-left and the anarcho autonomous milieu.” As the entourage of the Ministry of the Interior specifies, “their discourse is very radical and they have links with foreign groups.” But there is more: certain of the suspects “participate regularly in political demonstrations,” and, for example, “in protests against the Fichier Edvige (Exploitation Documentaire et Valorisation de l’Information Générale) and against the intensification of laws restricting immigration.” So political activism (this is the only possible meaning of linguistic monstrosities such as “anarcho autonomous milieu”) or the active exercise of political freedoms, and employing a radical discourse are therefore sufficient reasons to call in the anti-terrorist division of the police (SDAT) and the central intelligence office of the Interior (DCRI). But anyone possessing a minimum of political conscience could not help sharing the concerns of these young people when faced with the degradations of democracy entailed by the Fichier Edvige, biometrical technologies and the hardening of immigration laws.

As for the results, one might expect that investigators found weapons, explosives and Molotov cocktails on the farm in Millevaches. Far from it. SDAT officers discovered “documents containing detailed information on railway transportation, including exact arrival and departure times of trains.” In plain French: an SNCF train schedule. But they also confiscated “climbing gear.” In simple French: a ladder, such as one might find in any country house.

Now let’s turn our attention to the suspects and, above all, to the presumed head of this terrorist gang, “a 33 year old leader from a well-off Parisian background, living off an allowance from his parents.” This is Julien Coupat, a young philosopher who (with some friends) formerly published Tiqqun, a journal whose political analyses – while no doubt debatable – count among the most intelligent of our time. I knew Julien Coupat during that period and, from an intellectual point of view, I continue to hold him in high esteem.

Let’s move on and examine the only concrete fact in this whole story. The suspects’ activities are supposedly connected with criminal acts against the SNCF that on November 8 caused delays of certain TGV trains on the Paris-Lille line. The devices in question, if we are to believe the declarations of the police and the SNCF agents themselves, can in no way cause harm to people: they can, in the worst case, hinder communications between trains causing delays. In Italy, trains are often late, but so far no one has dreamed of accusing the national railway of terrorism. It’s a case of minor offences, even if we don’t condone them. On November 13, a police report prudently affirmed that there are perhaps “perpetrators among those in custody, but it is not possible to attribute a criminal act to any one of them.”

The only possible conclusion to this shadowy affair is that those engaged in activism against the (in any case debatable) way social and economic problems are managed today are considered ipso facto as potential terrorists, when not even one act can justify this accusation. We must have the courage to say with clarity that today, numerous European countries (in particular France and Italy), have introduced laws and police measures that we would previously have judged barbaric and anti-democratic, and that these are no less extreme than those put into effect in Italy under fascism. One such measure authorizes the detention for ninety-six hours of a group of young – perhaps careless – people, to whom “it is not possible to attribute a criminal act.” Another, equally serious, is the adoption of laws that criminalize association, the formulations of which are left intentionally vague and that allow the classification of political acts as having terrorist
“intentions” or “inclinations,” acts that until now were never in themselves considered terrorist.

— Giorgio Agamben
Libération, November 19, 2008

Die US-amerikanische Bürgerrechtsorganisation ACLU hat heute gemeldet, dass inzwischen eine Million Namen auf der Terrorist Watch List der Vereinigten Staaten stehen und ruft Menschen, die davon ausgehen, dass sie auf der Terror-Liste stehen und etwa Probleme beim Fliegen hatten, dazu auf, sich über das Watchlistformular zu melden.

Mehr dazu in Drop the Pilot und bei der ACLU: ACLU Backgrounder on Aviation Watch Lists. Auf der Liste stehen z.B. bereits Tote (Saddam Hussein), Robert Johnson (und es gibt mind. 12 Männer mit dem Namen, die über Schwierigkeiten berichten), Evo Morales (Präsident von Bolivien), diverse US-Senatoren etc. Viele tatsächlich als Terroristen gesuchte Personen stehen nicht drauf, angeblich um die Fahndung nicht zu gefährden.

Die ganze Meldung

Terrorist Watch List Hits One Million Names (7/14/2008)

ACLU launches online watch list complaint form

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: (202) 675-2312 or media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON, DC – The nation’s terrorist watch list has hit one
million names, according to a tally maintained by the American Civil
Liberties Union based upon the government’s own reported numbers for
the size of the list.

"Members of Congress, nuns, war heroes and other ’suspicious
characters,‘ with names like Robert Johnson and Gary Smith, have become
trapped in the Kafkaesque clutches of this list, with little hope of
escape," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington
Legislative Office. "Congress needs to fix it, the Terrorist Screening
Center needs to fix it, or the next president needs to fix it, but it
has to be done soon."

Fredrickson and Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU’s Technology
and Liberty Program, spoke today along with two victims of the watch
list: Jim Robinson, former assistant attorney general for the Civil
Division who flies frequently and is often delayed for hours despite
possessing a governmental security clearance and Akif Rahman, an
American citizen who has been detained and interrogated extensively at
the U.S.-Canada border when traveling for business.

"America’s new million record watch list is a perfect symbol for
what’s wrong with this administration’s approach to security: it’s
unfair, out-of-control, a waste of resources, treats the rights of the
innocent as an afterthought, and is a very real impediment in the lives
of millions of travelers in this country," said Barry Steinhardt,
director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. "It must be fixed
without delay."

"Putting a million names on a watch list is a guarantee that the
list will do more harm than good by interfering with the travel of
innocent people and wasting huge amounts of our limited security
resources on bureaucratic wheel-spinning," said Steinhardt. "I doubt
this thing would even be effective at catching a real terrorist."

Controls on the watch lists called for by the ACLU included:

• due process
• a right to access and challenge data upon which listing is based
• tight criteria for adding names to the lists
• rigorous procedures for updating and cleansing names from the lists.

The ACLU also called for the president – if not this one then the
next – to issue an executive order requiring the lists to be reviewed
and limited to only those for whom there is credible evidence of
terrorist ties or activities. The review should be concluded within 3
months.

In February, the ACLU unveiled an online "watch list counter," which
has tracked the size of the watch list based on a September 2007 report
by the inspector general of the Justice Department, which reported that
it was growing by 20,000 names per month.

The ACLU is also announcing today the creation of an online form
where victims of the watch list can tell us their stories. We will
collect those stories and use them (with permission) in various ways to
advance our advocacy. A link to the form is available online at www.aclu.org/watchlist or directly at www.aclu.org/watchlistform.

The watch list counter and other materials are available at: www.aclu.org/watchlist

Zum Beispiel das hier – was ist das?

Das ist das U.S. Patent 6844817 für die Anti-Terroristen-Flugzeugfalltür! Ein völlig ernstgemeintes Patent, gefunden von Bruce Schneier bei Neatorama. Da gibt’s auch den Anti-Terror-Truck (und noch viel mehr):

Problem: Terrorists can pop up at any time, leaving
local authorities totally defenseless against their raging attacks.

Ok, das stammt nicht aus dem Original-Patent, aber erklärt präzise die Ausgangsfragestellung.

Die ACLU beschäftigt sich ernsthafter, aber auch sehr plakativ mit Terror-Hysterie:

Gefunden bei und Bild von ravenhorst.

Das Land ist offensichtlich voller TerroristInnen. Der oder die 100.000ste wird am 14. Juli bekannt gegeben, allerdings ist es gerade wieder einer weniger geworden, weil Nelson Mandela endlich gestrichen wurde. Andere Beispiele finden sich auch auf der Seite zum Zähler. Zusammengestellt wird die Liste vom Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) des FBI.

Von da kommt man schnell zum MIPT,
dem Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. Während das TSC
nicht besonders aktuell ist, abgesehen von der ‚Most Wanted‘-Liste, hat
das MIPT Country Reports on Terrorism 2007
(1,7mb pdf) und darin auch einen Länderbericht zu Deutschland. Ich
hätte ja mindestens mal eine kurze Erwähnung von mg- oder gar
G8-Verfahren erwartet, aber die kommen nicht vor. Offenbar nehmen die
wirklichen VerteidigerInnen der Demokratie unsere Bundesanwaltschaft
nicht recht ernst?

Der G8 taucht nicht etwa als Anschlagsziel auf, sondern so:

During its G8 Presidency, Germany placed a particular
emphasis on supporting UN counterterrorism activities and topics such
as terrorist use of the Internet, protecting critical energy
infrastructure, and countering radicalization and recruitment to
terrorism. These priorities were reflected in the G8 Heiligendamm
Summit Statement on Counterterrorism and the Report on the G8 Support
to the UN Counterterrorism Efforts. Germany’s chairmanship of the G8
Roma-Lyon Anti-Crime and Counterterrorism Subgroup saw a record number
of project proposals being addressed and new initiatives being agreed
upon to tackle issues such as bulk cash smuggling used to finance
terrorism.

Brav.

Nochmal zurück zu Schneier: In Random Stupidity in the Name of Terrorism listet er ein paar ziemlich bizarre Resultat von Terrorismus-Hysterie:

An air traveller in Canada is first told
by an airline employee that it is "illegal" to say certain words, and
then that if she raised a fuss she would be falsely accused:

When we boarded a little later, I asked for the ninny’s
name. He refused and hissed, "If you make a scene, I’ll call the pilot
and you won’t be flying tonight."

Und was war nochmal Terrorismus? Hier die Antwort des MIPT, die ich vollkommen unterschreiben würde, mit Heribert Prantl im Hinterkopf ("Der Terrorist als Gesetzgeber")

Terrorism is violence, or the threat of violence, calculated to create
an atmosphere of fear and alarm. These acts are designed to coerce
others into actions they would not otherwise undertake, or refrain from
actions they desired to take. All acts of terrorism are crimes. Many
would also be a violation of the rules of war if a state of war
existed. This violence or threat of violence is generally directed
against civilian targets. The motives of all terrorists are political,
and terrorist actions are generally carried out in a way that will
achieve maximum publicity. Unlike other criminal acts, terrorists often
claim responsibility for their acts. Finally, terrorist acts are
intended to produce effects beyond the immediate, having long-term
psychological repercussions on a particular victim audience. The fear
created by terrorists may be intended to cause people to exaggerate the
strengths of the terrorist and the importance of the cause, to provoke
governmental overreaction, to discourage dissent, or simply to
intimidate and thereby enforce compliance with their demands.

* Der Titel "Drop the pilop" stammt übrigens von Joan Armatrading, die auch viel Sinn für Humor hat:

Über solche Fundstücke freue ich mich immer.

In den Kontext passt, dass ich keine begnadete Grafikerin/Designerin bin, aber gern ein paar Banner beim Bannertausch von Bannervista unterbringen würde. Wenn also jemand da draussen Lust hätte, mich mit Banner-Entwürfen in diesen Formaten zu unterstützen, würde ich mich freuen. Ein möglicher Text: "Über Terrorismus im Allgemeinen und Besonderen", aber auch da bin ich für Vorschläge offen. Die schönsten werden auf jeden Fall hier vorgestellt.

Und noch ein bisschen was zum Thema:

Terrorismus als legitime Strategie

Geheimdienste haben zusammen mit der Nato in Europa terroristische
Anschläge verübt, belegt Daniele Ganser in seinem Buch
"Nato-Geheimarmeen in Europa". Im Freitag erläutert er, dass es
dabei unter anderem darum gegangen sei, Angst in der Bevölkerung zu
verbreiten. Denn der Tod von Unschuldigen führe dazu, so Ganser, dass
die Bevölkerung eines Staates nach mehr Sicherheit rufe. Gleichzeitig
seien solche Anschläge dazu genutzt worden, den politischen Feind zu
diskreditieren, indem man sie ihm in die Schuhe geschoben habe.

Daniele Ganser forscht an der Eidgenössischen Technischen Hochschule
(ETH) Zürich seit einigen Jahren zu diesen so genannten
Stay-Behind-Armeen der Nato in Europa. Ende 2004 erschienen in der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
erste Ergebnisse seiner Arbeit. Sein Augenmerk lag dabei zuerst auf
Italien, da es dort 1990 eine offizielle Untersuchung gab. Sie
offenbarte, dass Terroranschläge durch Geheimdienste gegen die
italienische Bevölkerung als legitimes Mittel galten, die italienische
Linke zu bekämpfen.

weiter mit Interview und Texten von Ganser bei pickings.de.

Police, Firefighters, Utility Workers Among Hundreds Trained as “Terrorism Liaison Officers”

Colorado is one among of handful of states where
hundreds of firefighters, paramedics, police, and even corporate
employees are being trained to hunt down and report a broadly defined
range of “suspicious activities.” They’re called Terrorism Liaison
Officers. The federally supported initiative trains them to look out
for “observed behavior that may be indicative of intelligence-gathering
or pre-operational planning related to terrorism.” The list of suspicious behaviors includes taking photographs or videos
of no apparent aesthetic value; making measurements, drawings, or
taking notes; and conversing in code.

Vorgeworfen wird ihr, bei einem Brandanschlag auf ein Gentechnik-Institut Schmiere gestanden zu haben. Ich bin keine Expertin, was dieses Verfahren angeht, aber es kommt mir sehr seltsam vor, dass in den USA in solchen Verfahren Deals möglich sind, die sich darum drehen, zu weniger oder gar keinen Strafen verurteilt zu werden, wenn man gegen die Mitbeschuldigten aussagt und sich selbst als schuldig bekennt. Im Umkehrschluss bedeutet das, dass die, die darauf bestehen, unschuldig zu sein, die höchsten Strafen bekommen. Und dass Terrorismus-Bekämpfung in den USA eher grobschlächtig betrieben wird, wundert wahrscheinlich auch niemanden.

Nochmal aus dem eben erschienenen Bericht das gesamte Zitat plus:

„Terrorism is the antithesis of America,“ Bartlett told the court. „It is the polar opposite of how democracy works in a free and open society. Terrorists attempt to impose their elitist views …. As a result, terrorists are treated more harshly by the law, and they should be.“

But Waters‘ attorney, Neil Fox, questioned the government’s use of the term „terrorist.“ And he asked the court to sentence his client to no more than 18 months behind bars.

„The court should be cognizant of the misuse of the term ‚terrorism.‘ The term clearly has been manipulated by those seeking to advance their own political agendas,“ Fox said in a filing with the court. „It is the scare word of the day, and the consequences of the expansion of the use of the term to brand defendants can lead to grave injustice.“

(Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Waters gets 6 years for UW firebombing)

Wer’s genauer wissen will: Seattle Weekly, 6. Feb. More Details Emerge in UW’s Eco-Arson Case oder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Scare.

"What is terror?"
A collection of opinions on terror and its derivatives,
the real voice of random passengers.

Question to the viewers:
Can you identify the three key-words missing in the video?

The 12min ogg file is best viewed with VLC player (for Linux/Firefox there is this nice vlc plugin).

If you still want to participate: don’t waste time, send your contributions now: upload isn’t closed yet.

EU states show an increasing willingness to categorize as terrorism actions only remotely connected to the planning and commission of violent attacks, with damaging consequences for expression, privacy, and in some cases liberty.

Germany

The arrest of two academics in July raised questions about academic freedom and free speech in the context of counterterrorism. The federal police arrested Andrej Holm, a professor from the University of Humboldt, and another academic identified only as “Mattias B.,” citing their academic writings and accusing them of being intellectual supporters of a militant left-wing faction allegedly responsible for a series of arson attacks since 2001. Neither of the men is a suspect in the arson investigation, but Holm is accused of meeting with one of the suspected arsonists earlier in 2007. Holm was detained and placed in solitary confinement until bail was granted in August. Charges of membership in a terrorist organization are pending against both men.

And elsewhere?

In Denmark an activist who unexpectedly returned home interrupted a secret house search by the police recently. Now who believes this is a singular event that would take place only in Denmark?

In the UK, if you’re of muslim origin, admittely anarchist and e.g. have taken part in protests against the G8 summit in Germany, be ready to expect to regularly be questioned by the Special Branch at the airport. At least. Regular surveillance measures included.

Our conversation touched questions such as who or what the ‚war on terror‘ is really aiming at (in Germany) and how it is used to create more fear in order to create public acceptance of more control. We talked about the history of anti-terror legislation in Germany, whether control actually makes sense from the point of view of those who exercise it – can all the data be evaluated or does full-scale surveillance rather create chaos? What sense does it make?

What possible strategies are there against being controlled by fear and what can blogging do for you? We also talked about some details of the case against Andrej – why was he made a terrorist by the police and what role did ‚conspiratorial behaviour‘ play in the investigations. Rather than panicking and thinking that now anyone will be made a terrorist – at random, so to say – it’s important to realise who is being targeted to understand what is going on. And finally we touched privacy and why it should be protected, precisely because some people are subjected to police action because of it.

Download 9 min ogg | mp3