Western European News Digest
Blair Suffers Double Defeat on Anti-Terror Law
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Britain's Law Lords, who ruled on Dec. 16 that detaining foreigners without trial under emergency anti-terror laws violates European Human Rights Convention.
Lord Hoffmann, who supported the 8-to-1 majority opposing detention, stressed the importance of the case. He wrote: "It calls into question the very existence of an ancient liberty of which this country has until now been very proud: freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention.... The real threat to the life of the nation ... comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these. That is the true measure of what terrorism may achieve. It is for Parliament to decide whether to give the terrorists such a victory."
While the latter decision is not binding on the government, it is a political bombshell, it will have to be reviewed, and it will likely even lead to repeal of the section of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime, and Security Act 2001, sponsored by Home Secretary David Blunkett, which allows indefinite detention of foreigners.
Topping off Blair's predicament, within 24 hours of the Law Lords ruling, Blunkett was forced to resign over an alleged "nanny scandal."
Both setbacks come as Blair is trying to put together his national campaign before elections scheduled for spring 2005, where "security" will be a prime issue.
New Home Secretary Warns Detainees May Remain Behind Bars
The 8-1 decision of the British Law Lords on anti-terror measures (see above) does not necessarily mean release of detainees. Usually only five Law Lords form such a panel, but this case is so important, that nine were included. One key issue is that only foreigners, not Britons, can be detained if there are "reasonable grounds to suspect" terrorist links.
Despite the Law Lords' finding, brand-new Home Secretary Charles Clark has said that the detainees would remain in prison, and the policy will "remain in force" until the law is reviewed by Parliament in 2005. Clark added that the government would study the judgment, "to see whether it is possible to modify our legislation to address the concerns raised by the House of Lords."
Nine of the 11 foreign detainees held in British prisons have initiated an appeal. Most have been held for up to three years, and are in Belmarsh prison in London, called by some "Britain's Guantanamo Bay."
Lord Gingham of Cornhill, the most senior lord of appeals court, has called the powers under which the men were held, incompatible with European human rights laws, because they "discriminate on the ground of nationality or immigration status." He has ordered the Blair government to pay their legal costs.
Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead ruled: "Indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law. It deprives the detained person of the protection a criminal trial is intended to afford."
Zapatero: Why Were All March 11-14 Files Erased?
Why were all Spanish government files on the crucial period of March 11-14, 2004the days immediately following the murderous train bombing in Madriderased by then-outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar? This question was raised by his successor, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, before the special parliamentary investigation committee in Madrid, on Dec. 13. Zapatero said he found it strange and shocking that his predecessor, the Popular Party's Aznar, had ordered all files erased, for the crucial period from the day of the Madrid train bombings on March 11 to March 14.
Zapatero added that, in addition, all sensitive government files from 1996 to 2004, for eight years of Aznar's government had been erased.
Zapatero also reiterated the need for political parties to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. He told members of Parliament he would triple the number of security forces available to combat terrorism.
The Spanish daily El Pais reported that the Zapatero government is proposing a new anti-terrorism pact for cooperation between Western and Islamic countries. Among the points of cooperation are efforts to dismantle al-Qaeda.
Madrid makes clear that it distinguishes between al-Qaeda terrorism and Islam.
Spanish Neo-Nazis Arrested in Arson Attacks
Police arrested a gang of seven neo-nazis in northeast Spain, operating in the region around the city of Gerona. They are held responsible for a series of arson and other attacks on mosques, Islamic schools, and stores owned by Muslim citizens: an orchestrated "clash of religions."
They are also charged with preparing a major arson attack on the regional headquarters of Basque organizations like the Herri Batasuna party, with the idea of provoking a new round of ETA-authored violence. Rumors have it that more of these neo-nazi groups are operating underground.
German Ambassador to U.S. Urges Bush To Engage Iran
In a rather unusual step that reflects deep concern in Berlin over the next U.S. steps on ties to Iran, German ambassador to the United States Wolfgang Ischinger, in an exclusive article for the Atlantic Times monthly, urged the U.S. to change policy toward that nation. Twenty-five years after the hostage affair in Tehran, he wrote, it is high time for the U.S. to end sanctions against Iran and enter a constructive dialogue with Iranian leaders. The nuclear issue can be settled in the way the European Union chose, namely, by constructive diplomacy that also contains a substantial economic cooperation component.
A similar argument, which took note of the enormous difficulties the U.S. is running into in Iraq, was made by Gernot Erler, chief foreign policy spokesman of the German Social Democrats, at a public panel event in Berlin. Erler strongly urged that the U.S. should not think of opening any new military front against Iran.
Danish Meat-Packers Strike Over Wage Cuts
Over 3,000 workers in the meat-packing industry went on strike at 13 Danish Crown factories Dec. 14, to protest the fact that 300 workers at the Tulip factory in Ringsted, Denmark agreed to a 15% wage reduction, after they were given the choice between that, or the plant closing, and moving the production to Germany. This expanded the strike from the 1,700 workers who walked out the previous day.
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