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05/21/2003 Archived Entry: "Demonstrators, terrorists - what's the difference?"
Demonstrators, terrorists - what's the difference?
This story points up, more than anything I've read lately, the attitude of much of law enforcement towards those in this country who opposed the occupation of Iraq:
Days before firing wooden slugs at anti-war protesters, Oakland police were warned of potential violence at the Port of Oakland by California's anti-terrorism intelligence center, which admits blurring the line between terrorism and political dissent.The April 2 bulletin from the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC) arguably offered more innuendo than actual evidence of protesters' intent to "shut down" the port and possibly act violently.
CATIC spokesman Mike Van Winkle said such evidence wasn't needed to issue warnings on war protesters.
"You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that (protest)," said Van Winkle, of the state Justice Department. "You can almost argue that a protest against that is a terrorist act."
In fact, CATIC -- touted as a national model for intelligence sharing and a centerpiece of Gov. Gray Davis and Attorney General Bill Lockyer's 2002 re-election bids -- has quietly gathered and analyzed information on activists of various stripes almost since its creation.
"They've done it since Day One," said a Bay Area counterterrorism official.
Mark Schlosberg, director of police policy practices for the ACLU-Northern California, called Van Winkle's remarks "just shocking.
"First of all, it's disturbing that protest information is being gathered and distributed out of a counterterrorism center," he said.
"But to equate protesting against a war with terrorist activity, if in fact that's what's being done, is contrary to American values. And I would hope there are guidelines in place to prevent that being done."
Replies: 2 people speak up
I wonder how many of these lists I'm on...
Posted by Spade Hammer @ 05/21/2003 01:41 AM NY
That's an excellent point, Spade. I really do wonder how many 'lists' are out there that we don't even know about or suspect.
Too bad the Freedom of Information Act is being gutted.
Posted by Jason @ 05/21/2003 10:24 AM NY
