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European Parliament Greens Go After Europe's CIA Collaborators
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Wednesday, Apr 26 2006, 9:02AM
(European Parliament Member Cem Oezdemir)
Cem Oezdemir, a former German Bundestag Member and now a Member of the European Parliament, will be coming to Washington soon to press the matter of the CIA's kidnappings, rendition program, and secret prisons in Europe -- which may still be operating there.
A European Union report has been released that states that "European governments condoned the abduction, transport and detention of terrorist suspects by the United States on European territory."
Regrettably, the European Parliament's Temporary Committee on the Alleged Use of European Countries by the CIA for the Secret Transport and Illegal Detention of Prisoners has not posted the report on its website.
(The Committee's IT guy must have the day off -- but seriously, this is a marketing mistake. . .UPDATE: here is the report in French; not translated yet.)
I am hoping to have Cem Oezdemir lead a discussion about these issues at the New America Foundation but that's not a done deal. I'll be sure to post details if he agrees to speak.
Here is what Oezdemir and fellow Green European Parliament Member Kathalijne Buitenweg had to say when the Parliament report was released today:
We welcome the strong line taken by the interim report in denouncing the violations of fundamental rights that have occurred on EU territory as a result of furtive and illegal CIA activities. It is a major shortcoming, however, that the report goes soft on Member States, which were either actively or tacitly complicit in these abuses.It is important to openly condemn those Member States, which were unwilling or failed to exert control over the illegal activities of the CIA in their jurisdiction. It is unacceptable that certain Member States are resisting calls to investigate the legitimate allegations of illegal flights on their territory.
The refusal of some Member States to cooperate with the EP inquiry is repugnant and highlights the limits of the temporary status of the committee. If the Parliament is to ensure that the violations are properly investigated and complicit authorities are outed, the temporary committee must be transformed into a genuine Committee of Inquiry.
I'm glad that while many in America are distracted by the fact that Fox News has just merged the White House more closely into its media empire, that someone is thinking about the fact that America is running a global network of secret prisons.
-- Steve Clemons
Update: This is in from a staff member in the European Parliament who did a quick and dirty review of the European Parliament report:
Summary of the ReportApart from the fact that it is odd to present the draft report to the press before discussing it in the committee, the report itself is very good and very strong.
In the "whereas", it refers to art 6 of the EC Treaty (fundamental rights), to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to the interdiction of torture, non-refoulement principle.
More concretely it fully supports the work of the Council of Europe and it also refers to the conclusions of the Swedish ombudsman as well as to the judicial and parliamentary inquiries in some member States.
It states that the work made so far by the temporary committee confirms the 'bien-fonde' of the decision to set it up, it asks for continuing the work.
The report states that a member state is responsible even in case of passive cooperation (see conclusion of the Venice Commission) or if it fails to prevent secret arrest and/or detention.
It asks for a better control on activities of foreign secret services in EU.
It states that the information gathered by the temporary committee is already sufficient to establish that "serious and inadmissible violation of fundamental rights" have been taken place in the EU.
The CIA is clearly responsible for abduction, detention and extraordinary rendition (in some cases of EU citizens). The behaviour of some member States is not appropriate.
It states that some EU governments were unlikely unaware of extraordinary rendition In Sweden, there are evidences that renditions were made by Swedish officials, the same in Bosnia.
The report considers that the Chicago convention has been violated: no sufficient checks and legislation in Member States to prevent such use of EU airspace and airports for illegal actions.
In conclusion, we can say that the report is very good in denouncing the facts that have been taken place in the EU territory, it provides for evidences. It states that there is clearly a violation of National, EU and international law.
More later.
-- Steve Clemons
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Can someone ask Mr. Sharansky how he reconciles his belief in democracy and human rights with his unconditional support for Mr. Karimov of Uzbekistan who has boils people to death and machine guns down women, children and dissidents?
Excellent starting point, and very detailed despite its slender size. It recommends the continutation of the temporary commission's work for the full duration of 12 months in accordance with its mandate, to be prolonged as necessary. I hope Committee Vice-Chairman Oezdemir will succeed in turning it into a genuine Committee of Inquiry.
Let's hope the Member States remember the weakening of national and international legal precedents that preceded the last World War and work to make sure that there are strong cases made against those that thrive on violating the integrity of individuals for political gain and jollies. Amorality isn't just some fancy term for Real Politick, it is a lack of any moral boundries. Without these boundries, the world is going to go to a hotter place in a rather short period of time.
I, for one, hope that we don't go there but as long as stupid stupids keep trying to go there, well, We might just end there.
I agree with Parrot. Enough is enough.
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Ditto parrot and DRMPro.
But nothing would give me greater pleasure in this decade than to see Bush, Cheney, Feith, Wolfie and the whole neo roster in the dock at some international criminal court.
Whatever happens to the status of the Committee of Inquiry, its findings will be reported to the EP which will decide as to what to do. Given the recalcitrance of member states to cooperate fully to date, it is likely many EP delegates will be engaged in obfuscation. In any case, the decision that confronts and will confront EP is how to deal with member states found complicit in actions prohibited under EU human rights statutes. It is extremely unlikely that the EP will recommend any action concerning either the CIA or US administration officials, elected or selected. That will remain the responsibility of the US itself.
I hope Cem Oezdemir agrees to speak--just another reason your organization is worth every dime it spends. I just dont' understand why we don't hear more about this outrageous abuse of power. I really don't want my country to be the bad guys any more.
(Aside: Love your succinct take on the Fox Snow Job)
The EP Inquiry was covened under considerable public outcry in Europe once the story was broken by bloggers and amateur plane spotting photographers and obfuscations in member state parliaments. I do not sense such a sense of public outrage in USA despite widespread awareness that CIA engaged in inhumane and illegal practices. True, there is no effective opposition in USA today, however, the outrage across EU was not lead by opposition parties but by civic organisations galvanising cross partisan support. While many civic forums in USA have expressed disquiet, unlike in Europe they have failed to enlist support from the elected representatives with a very few notable exceptions. Even if USA gets across its current political conundrum, the danger of a recurrence remains. Just as Vietnam did not end aggressive military interventions abroad or the impeachment of Nixon did not put paid to fanciful notions of unitary executive authority and abuse of power.
Despite the reality that many EU states vest nominal executive authority in hereditary monarchies, there is not the same cult of personality worship as there is in USA. In the latter, authority and personal power exercised by the elected executive is considerable even without the pretensions of a unitary executive head of state commanding the citizenry in wars against phenomena, be it terror or drugs or godlessness. This cult of personality lies at the root of many current and past political crises in USA in that it acts as a disincentive to question authority and excercise of power.
Military deployment, however, requires battlegrounds where an 'enemy' can be engaged. The notions are thus idolatrously personalised: terror into OBL, Zawahiri and Zarqawi; drugs into addict; godlessness or immorality into gay, lesbian, atheist, etc as expediency dictates. The net results are long, disastrous and unwinnable war strategies peppered with thousands of tactical mistakes, reminiscent of Don Quixote de la Mancha's mule charge against windmills.
The question remains, what is the USA going to do in striking a balance between patriotism and nationalism? Orwell defined patriotism as a commitment to a way of life which he saw as passive. Nationalism, in Orwellian vision, is aggressive, hungry for power and fuelled by greed.
The EP cannot reform the CIA. Will USA?
Has anyone identified the locations of the secret prisons?
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