"Civil Liberties for All"

Ethan Flad, Editor

Here is the U.S., today, February 20th, is the third annual National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab and South Asian Immigrants. Throughout this weekend, people who care about civil and human rights will raise their voices to support communities that have been the targets of mass roundups, indefinite detentions, secret hearings, and more. Thousands have been deported through the selective enforcement of immigration laws.

In today's New York Times, a short article indicated that the U.S. is preparing to release a handful of British prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay prison to the United Kingdom. The U.S. is also considering requests by a few other nations to release other prisoners to their home countries for prosecution and detention there. Amazingly, many of these prisoners have languished in Guantanamo for more than two years, without trial or access to legal counsel. The Bush administration has dismissed all protests on behalf of these accused combatants, including federal court decisions acknowledging their right to counsel. Unfortunately, several Supreme Court judges have publicly stated that in times of "war" the executive branch has the ability to curtail civil liberties. In a country that constantly challenges others around the world to "build democracy," this reeks of the actions of a military junta.

It may feel as if there is little that we as ordinary citizens can do to combat these autocratic policies. But we CAN make a difference, and taking part in this solidarity action (not only today, but over the next several days) organized by the Blue Triangle (www.bluetriangle.org) is one effective way to speak out. We can create change at the federal level by persuading more people in the U.S. to join with us in this moral effort and drawing media attention to our call. The name of the initiative draws from the era of Nazi Germany, when that fascist government used different colored triangles to categorize and divide people held in concentration camps. Members of "Blue Triangle" are dedicated to opposing that same kind of profiling to happen in our own time and nation. They wear blue triangles to demonstrate solidarity with those who are now being targeted.

The reason for observing this solidarity action taking place this specific week is because it commemorates the anniversary of the United States' Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. That infamous legislation authorized the roundup and imprisonment of Japanese Americans. Six decades later, this said piece of history is being relived. The U.S. has instituted a process called "Special Registration," directing males from Muslim, Arab, and South Asian countries to be put on a special government list. 82,000 men and boys have willfully complied with this law - yet their faithfulness is not enough. 13,000 of them are now in the process of being deported, often for minor visa violations, tearing apart families and communities. Tens of thousands of other immigrants have fled the United States in fear of being persecuted. Not one of these men have been charged with any connection to the events of 9/11, but they are being arrested, humiliated and deported precisely on that very pretext.

Just last month, the Bush administration launched "US-VISIT," an initiative to fingerprint and photograph millions of visitors to the U.S. 27 countries are exempt from the program, and 25 them are European nations. Could our nation's efforts at "racial profiling" be any more obvious?

Let us come together to support Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians at this critical time. With the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq less than a month away, this is a critical way for us to speak out with these brothers and sisters who are under attack.

Peace, Ethan Flad

 
Reprinted with permission from The Witness.