Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 7 February 2002 — Page 27

The Muncie Times, February 7, 2002, page 27

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WITNESS FOR JUSTICE

Some frightening twists and turns

In the past couple of weeks there was a political cartoon done by Jack Ohman with a drawing of John Ashcroft standing at attention on a chair behind a table at a Congressional hearing in full military regalia, whip under his arm and name plate which says General Attorney. One congressman whispers to another, “Didn’t he used, to be Attorney General?” That’s a question which is beginning to surface for many Americans who are becoming concerned as the Bush administration has announced its policies on civil liberties during these days after the terrorist attacks of September 11. First, there was the meeting held with news media asking them not to play videotapes done by Osama bin Laden because they might contain coded messages to terrorists already in the U.S. and, some have said, to downplay pictures of casualties of the war. Disturbing to those who value the First Amendment. Then there was the new anti-terrorism bill, passed after minimal debate in Congress, which breaks down some of the barriers between foreign intelligepce and domestic law enforcement. Now some might say that is a good thing, that the lack of sharing information contributed to the September 11 attacks. Disturbing to those who

remember the wire tapping of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which intensified after his denouncement of the Vietnam War. Even disturbing to members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, who put a sunset provision in the law so that it will expire in four years. Perhaps most frightening is the announcement by the Bush administration that terrorists or anyone whom the President deemed might have aided a terrorist would not be tried in civilian courts, but by military tribunals. Now, military lawyers have pointed out that these are not merely wartime versions of American court-martials, which include significant protections for those accused. No, these military tribunals are quite different. According to noted attorney Alan Dershowitz, in a worstcase scenario this might mean that any long-term resident of the U.S. whom the President believes may have aided a terrorist can be tried in secret by a military commission and sentenced to death on the basis of hearsay and rumor with no appeal to any civilian court, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In other words, not only would Osama bin Laden and prisoners of war be tried in military courts, but so could anyone else. Ordinary rules of

evidence would not apply; hearsay, coerced confessions and illegal searchers would be allowed and the whole procedure might be done in secret. Extremely disturbing to those who believe that the right to a fair and open trial is one of the hallmarks of this nation, where the bombers of the World Trade Center in 1993, the bombers of tfie American embassies in Africa and Timothy McVeigh were all convicted in our normal justice system. Then, there was the move by the administration to question more than 5.000 Arab and Muslim men in the U.S., many of whom are students. They have “asked” these men to come in to answer such questions as whether they sympathized with the September 11 attacks and whether they have scientific training. Ironically Mr. Ashcroft has insisted that their right to own a gun will not be challenged. Questions developed by administration lawyers also included asking for a list of names and phone numbers of family members and associates. Disturbing to some local police chiefs, who have refused to cooperate with federal officials, and those who remember the McCarthy era. Then, there is the news that more than 1.000 Arab and Muslims have been imprisoned

Bernice Powell Jackson

over the past three months, many of whom committed no crime or knew no terrorists. While one now has been charged with terrorism, it appears that criminal charges have been filed against about one-tenth of those detained, and about half remain in custody because of immigration charges such as overstaying their visas or entering the country without permits. Disturbing because it took weeks for attorneys and family members of these people to even learn that they were in custody or where and because many of them were held without legal representation. Finally, there is the move to relax a fundamental restriction on federal agents which has prohibited them from spying on houses of worship, including churches and mosques, without probable cause. Some investigators argue that Islamic militants are now meeting in mosques, knowing of this guideline. Disturbing even to some F.B.I.

agents, who fear a return to operations which proved extremely troublesome in the past and to those of us who remember how central the African American church was to the civil rights movement a generation ago. All of this is frightening to those of us who fear that while terrorism calls for special tactics, we chance becoming the very thing which we abhor. Our Constitution is strong only because men and women have died to protect it, to protect it from others and to protect it from ourselves. Protection and security are not only issues from the outside, but they are equally issues from within. Bernice Powell Jackson is executive minister of the United Church of Christ’s Justice and Witness Ministries. She can be reached at Witness for Justice, 700 Prospect Avc., Cleveland, OH 44115-1110. Phone: (216) 736-3700.