1 - 7 November 2001
Issue No.558
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 1 - 7 November 2001 Issue No.558 |
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Democracy under siege
Canada is putting the finishing touches on anti-terrorism measures widely seen as compromising civil liberties, reports Mohamed Khaled in Toronto
Fear of warfare has become one of the realities in North America in the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks. This sense of fear has been further aggravated through the media and politicking, both of which have thrived at this time of unrest. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, taking a leaf from the US and British leadership's book, has taken the opportunity to tighten the screws on civil liberties.
Having sent Canadian troops to take part in the US-led war against the Taliban, Chrétien stressed that the 11 September attacks "have placed a high premium on taking effective action at home." John Manley, minister of foreign affairs and head of the new cabinet security committee, announced a government allocation of $280 million in funding for new security measures and new jobs in border and airports security, immigration, screening and general policing.
Rachel Giese, a columnist at the daily Toronto Star, has highlighted the fears of many political analysts that new security measures will pose a serious threat to citizens' personal freedoms. "And as they undermine individual privacy, they are increasingly operating under a cloak of secrecy, protected from the public scrutiny," Giese commented in the Star. Like in the US, a reverence for the notion of "homeland defence" is gaining momentum. The term, according to candidate for Montreal mayor Al Cappe, means more police, more stringent measures on immigrants and workers' rights and increased war spending.
Sunera Thobani, a professor of Women's Studies at the University of British Columbia and former head of the (Canadian) National Action Committee on the Status of Women, is one of the first victims of new security measures. A Canadian police source says that Thobani has been accused of "publicly inciting hatred against Americans" after giving a speech at the Women's Resistance Conference in Ottawa earlier this month. Since her speech, in which she stated that the United States is the most dangerous and powerful global force unleashing horrific levels of violence, Thobani has been subjected to frequent threats. "I basically try not to answer the telephone, but this is much larger than my personal safety," she said.
The new security package also includes issuing new high-tech identity cards to Canada's immigrants. Although it is not a new idea, the proposed ID system has been seen by civil liberties advocates as legitimising racial profiling under the guise of ensuring security. A statement by the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) indicated that it is important not to make refugees another victim of terrorist measures. However, in a radio interview, retired General Lewis MacKenzie, a recently appointed provincial security adviser in Ontario, defended "ethnic profiling" as an important tool. "Look, I'm terribly sorry. The odds are that you are not involved, but you are going to receive a more thorough interrogation."
Following the start of the US strikes, Chrétien quickly announced substantial military support to the American-led campaign in Afghanistan. Defence Minister Art Eggleton gave details of Canada's contribution, pledging six warships -- twice the country's contribution during the Gulf War -- along with air support and members of a covert tactical ground force trained in anti-terrorist activities. According to some military analysts, this initial contribution is more than what was earlier anticipated since the naval commitment represents one third of the total Canadian naval contingent. Eggleton noted that further contributions could be on the horizon, as "I have told Washington that all Canadian capabilities were up for discussion." Confirming that the Canadian role will be vital in the anti-terrorism campaign, Eggleton said that Canadian forces will become an integral part of the overall international campaign.
The immediate reaction following the announcement revealed a good deal of grumbling about the bypassing of democratic institutions. Prime Minister Chrétien even refused to recall MPs from a week-long Thanksgiving hiatus to discuss the development of Canadian troops involvement in the war effort. According to political analyst James Travers, since 11 September, Canadians have learned more about the campaign and their country's role from US President George W Bush and a British government Web site than from their own leaders. "Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Defence Minister Art Eggleton prolonged that pattern when they spent less than an hour explaining Canada's support for weekend strikes against Afghanistan," he added.
But the right-wing opposition has not joined in the criticism. In his article in the daily Globe And Mail, opposition leader Stockwell Day, who heads the Canadian Alliance Party, extended unconditional support to Chrétien's move. "This is evil. And evil must not be negotiated with or accommodated, but resisted and destroyed." He referred to terrorism as drawing on the same motifs and discarded ideologies used to scapegoat Jews and capitalism for the poverty of others. "The Prime Minister was right to commit Canadian troops to this action," added Day.
Yet military participation and domestic security measures undertaken by the Canadian government are receiving increasing opposition from civil society and grassroots movements. A wide range of meetings, public rallies and demonstrations have voiced the concerns of a broad sector of Canadian citizens who believe that justice can take another course, as expressed in the words of one demonstration speaker. "If the International Court for War Crimes proved to be good enough to bring the criminals of the Rwandan war to justice, while the US never intervened, despite the mass killings, it should also be good enough to bring the terrorists responsible for the 11 September attack to justice."
The anti-war movement came into public view with the declaration of the Anti-War Coalition in Toronto and other cities, culminating earlier this month in the launching of a nationwide anti-war coalition, the September Eleventh Peace Coalition, in Ottawa. "We are part of an international movement against US aggression," Don Toye, a leading figure in the coalition told Al-Ahram Weekly. According to Toye, the coalition includes 33 organisations, including peace, labour and environmental activists, students and women's groups, as well as cultural and community groups. The Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Council and the Canadian Federation of Students are all members. "We condemn both terrorism and US aggression. First, the US has to stop bombing Afghanistan. Second, the sanctions on Iraq should be dropped. Third, recognition of the rights of Palestinian people. And fourth, the Third World debt should be dropped. Without these four steps, we cannot talk either about peace or ending terrorism," said Toye.
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