The law needs to be tightened to prevent the abuse of free
speech by those who would praise terrorist actions, the Lord
Chancellor has said.
The government wants new powers to ban organisations which
glorify terrorism and to prosecute "extremist" bookshops which
sell terrorist propaganda or handbooks.
"The line has got to be drawn in relation to things that might
cause acts of terrorism; it's not necessarily a proven link -
if the risk is high enough," Lord Falconer told programme The
World This Weekend.
If someone exhorts his audience to blow up subways, then I
don't mind his printing press being shut down - and I bet
there's long been an enforceable law enabling that in Britain.
If the law hasn't been prosecuted, as alleged in the case of
certain mosques, we can only assume the government wanted to
create a problem that they could then 'solve', as we are now
seeing.
What this unnecessary 'solution' brings us is the
abandonment of burden of proof, which is always part
of 'anti-terrorist' legislation, and the vagueness
that always accompany the definition of 'terrorism'
in such legislation.
Is praise for the courage of those who risk police beatings
at protest demonstrations to be defined as 'glorification
of terrorism'? Is the government even obliged to disclose
what basis of definition it is using in a given case?
Such legislation typically emphasizes secrecy
in all parts of the 'proceedings', always in the
interest of 'national security'.
Mosques and bookshops get closed down, websites disappear, and
queries are met by 'cannot comment'. Thank you BBC for
warning us, and we hope your pieces of silver make you happy.
He who would give up essential liberty to gain a little
temporary safety deserves neither liberty or safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
rkm
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4280614.stm
Terror 'glorification' ban backed
The law needs to be tightened to prevent the abuse of free
speech by those who would praise terrorist actions, the Lord
Chancellor has said.
He said proposed new laws to outlaw the glorification of
terrorism would reduce the "fertilised ground" for extremists.
Human rights campaigners fear the plans may result in
liberties being lost and those silenced becoming "martyrs".
But Lord Falconer told Radio 4: "A free society has got to
properly defend itself against terrorism."
He added: "It has got to preserve free speech as much as it
possibly can."
'Line needs drawing'
The government wants new powers to ban organisations which
glorify terrorism and to prosecute "extremist" bookshops which
sell terrorist propaganda or handbooks.
"The line has got to be drawn in relation to things that might
cause acts of terrorism; it's not necessarily a proven link -
if the risk is high enough," Lord Falconer told programme The
World This Weekend.
He said that current incitement laws were not definite enough
in what they covered and that new legislation was needed.
However, playwright David Edgar said it was possible any new
laws may also cover the actions of violent stage characters in
their scope.
And Labour MP Joan Ruddock also criticised the plans, saying
that while "moral condemnation" was understandable, she did
not believed criminalising those who glorified terrorists
would work.
She said it would create "enormous problems" for the courts
and could also create "martyrs" in the eyes of those they were
trying to turn away from violence.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk_politics/4280614.stm
Published: 2005/09/25 14:54:54 GMT
© BBC MMV
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"Apocalypse Now and the Brave New World"
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