The Green Party representative in the House of Lords, Lord Beaumont, is
supporting cross-party attempts to restrict anti-terrorism legislation to
measures that genuinely address terrorism. Greens are seeking to change
the actual definition of terrorism so that involves a risk of injury to
people as well as damage to property.
Lord Beaumont is also seeking to change the requirement that obliges
people to provide information about possible environmental protest, and
has argued that the legislation could be used against lawful protestors.
He has objected to other clauses in the Bill, such as clause 92. He told
the House of Lords "It deals with photography and involves the power to
pass on photographs of people who are not guilty of any crime to
practically anyone, including foreign governments. Consider the purposes
for which photographs of Kurdish protests in this country might be used if
they were passed on to the Turkish Government."
Meanwhile, the European Parliament is also discussing anti terrorism
measures this week. Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP, says that the UK
Government's Bill is the harshest in Europe. "Labour's so-called
anti-terrorist measures gives Britain the most repressive legislation in
the European Union."
Jean is satisfied with the definition of terrorism proposed by the
European Parliament, to be voted on tomorrow (Thursday). It incorporates
amendments made at committee stage by the Green Group. "It is much more
limited than the broad definition put forward by the Commission and the UK
Government, and therefore excludes the possibility of misuse by the
authorities. Anti-Terrorist legislation should not restrict democratic
rights. The best answer to terrorism is to uphold human rights such as
freedom of expression, assembly and association, the very democratic
principles that terrorists do not recognise."
Greens in the European Parliament, like Lord Beaumont, will vote against
the introduction of common European arrest warrants.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Steve Rackett 020 7407 6280 or 0776
997 0691 or Hugo Charlton, 020 7223 5461 / 07990 580 600
Note: Definition in draft European report includes:
- wheras a terrorist act means any act committed by individuals or groups
resorting to violence or threatening to use violence against a country,
its institutions, its population in general or specific individuals which,
for reasons of separatist aspirations, extremist ideological beliefs,
religious fanaticism or desire for profit, is intended to create a climate
of terror among official authorities, specific individuals or groups in
society or the general public,
and;
- whereas terrorist acts in the European Union should be considered as
criminal acts whose aim is to alter political, economic, social and
environmental structures in States governed by the rule of law by actually
threatening to use violence or resorting to violence, as distinct from
acts of resistance in third countries against state structures which
themselves employ terrorist methods,