----- Original Message -----
From: "HJ Springer" <centrexnews@yahoo.com>
To: <sterlingda@remnantsaints.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2001 8:49 PM
Subject: Britain placed under state of emergency
Sterling,
truly disturbing developments in the UK. Please note the term 'suspected'
terrorists.
_______________________________________________________
· Rights law scrapped for internment
· Terrified Taliban flee allied onslaught
Kamal Ahmed, Antony Barnett and Martin Bright
Sunday November 11, 2001
The Observer
Britain is to be placed under a state of 'public
emergency' as part of an unprecedented government move to allow internment
without trial of suspected terrorists.
In a historic initiative that will incense civil
liberties groups, David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, will lay the order before
the House of Commons in the next 48 hours, to be followed by anti-terrorist
legislation which will be rushed through in the next four weeks.
The order, which says the events of 11 September are 'threatening the life of
the nation', will allow
Britain to opt out of Article 5 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, which bans detention without trial.
It will pave the way for indefinite imprisonment of
foreign nationals who the Government suspects are
terrorists, and comes less than 24 hours after
warnings from America that Britain is a top target for Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
terrorist network.
The move reveals the seriousness the Government places on the threat to Britain.
Such orders can be used only in times of war or when there has been an event
that puts the security of the nation at risk. Whitehall sources said the order
would not be reviewed 'for at least a year'.
Internment was last used during the Gulf war against Iraqis suspected of links
to Saddam Hussein's army. It has also been used against terrorist suspects in
Northern Ireland and Germans during the Second World War. It is the first time
the Government has sought such a major opt-out of the Convention, which is the
cornerstone of human rights laws in the country.
John Wadham, director of Liberty, said it would seek to challenge the order in
the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. 'This is a fundamental violation of the
rule of law, our rights and traditional British values,' he said. 'There is no
evidence of direct plans to commit atrocities against Britain.'
Government officials insisted this was a 'formal
procedure' and did not signal a change in the level of risk to the country, but
said the police needed more powers to detain suspected terrorists.
'Britain is closed to terrorism, and we will take
whatever action we can,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said. 'People
will object to it, but we are absolutely determined to get the balance right
between human rights, which are important, and society's right to live free from
terror.'
Downing Street believes that the public will back the moves, which it says are
necessary to maintain
national security. Intelligence reports suggest a
number of terrorists linked to extremist Middle
Eastern organizations have attempted to enter the
country using the cloak of asylum laws.
The official spokesman said a handful of people would be targeted by the new
laws and they would be offered the opportunity to travel to a third country if
it could be arranged.
Even suspects who attempt to travel through British airports can be detained if
the new terrorism laws are passed.
The Government plans to rush the legislation through both Houses of Parliament
by Christmas and is hoping for cross-party support.
The public emergency order will be the first of a
series of controversial measures closing what the
Government says are loopholes in the law. As well as internment, the terrorism
Bill will contain new laws to tackle religious hatred and harsh sentences for
people behind 'non-bomb' hoaxes, such as anthrax scares.
It will also contain new measures against money-
laundering and a crackdown on bureaux de change, which are often used to move
terrorists' assets, and will order banks to scrutinize and report on any
suspicious transactions.
New bills on fast-track extradition laws and asylum
reform are not now expected until the new year.
*The Home Office is also planning to seize passports from British Muslims who
are planning to travel abroad to fight for the Taliban or Osama bin Laden.
Home Office Minister Angela Eagle has confirmed she will give 'serious
consideration' to powers at present used against football hooligans trying to
travel abroad.
The law allows action against 'a person whose past or proposed activities are so
demonstrably undesirable that the grant or continued enjoyment of passport
facilities would be contrary to the public interest'.
Andrew Dismore, Labour MP for Hendon, said he would now pass a list of names to
Eagle of people who had expressed a desire to travel abroad to fight for the
Taliban. 'It is clear that if any British Muslim says he wants to travel to
Afghanistan to try to kill British or US soldiers, then that is clearly against
the public interest and his passport should be removed,' Dismore said.
