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The so called “war on terror” is a disaster. Yet nobody is questioning it for it has come handy to give political muscle to the racism no western government seriously wanted to tackle.
The military victory against nazism has not lead to an ideological war against racism to discredit it and keep under control. To the contrary, the intellectual mechanisms that have allowed the worst atrocities of the early twentieth century have been allowed to thrive to the point of leading to another genocide in Europe against Muslims in Srebrenica.
The twenty first century began with the so called war on terror which has legitimised state sponsored torture, extra judicial killing, mass surveillance, rendition programs, violations of human rights and civil liberties of all kinds, while feeding the narrative of the “enemy within”.
The thesis of the enemy within was first used in France against Jews to justify otherwise unacceptable laws. Today, we see the same pattern being applied against British, French and American Muslims. And as such communities are demonised, states have managed to sell a security agenda based on making the police state a reality.
The most dramatic illustrations of the unchecked extraordinary powers given to governments are the hundred of cases of police killings, drone strikes, violations of privacy which overwhelmingly affect Muslims, blacks and immigrants.
Read The DTRP Paper: What is the PREVENT Duty?
Terrorism has become the new normal for millions of citizens across the Atlantic and as our governments continue to dismantle the rule of law under the pretext that they are protecting us, nobody is raising the question of why terrorist attacks keep happening and why do governments fail? The answer lies in decades of failed western foreign policy, militarism and denying other peoples the right for self determination.
We, as members of civil society whom are unable to find a platform to have a say on policies that affect our daily lives, are taking our struggles to the international level and will work together to protect our human rights and civil liberties, the same way governments work together to violate them in the name of security.
If France can export islamophobia and inspire other countries to follow its lead, if the United States and the United Kingdom can export their know how on mass surveillance and if white supremacists or zealous zionists have managed to build well coordinated networks to influence public opinion and policies, then social justice activists can no longer wait to build transatlantic solidarity and find ways to strengthen they local struggles at home.
We are certain that policy makers are smart and informed, but if they lack courage to stand for human rights and the rule of law, then they can find strength and courage by truly engaging and partnering with civil society and accept to be challenged. Terrorist attacks happen even in dictatorships and taking the path to becoming police states will not make people any safer, unless we speak about those in power.
The Transatlantic Coordination Against Racism and Repression has held its first meeting in Warsaw during the 2017 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting which was organised by the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe).
It is currently composed of:
_The Justice & Liberties For All Committee (JLC), a France based transnational human rights and civil liberties organisation which focuses on racism and repression.
_CAGE, a United Kingdom based advocacy organisation working to empower communities impacted by the War on Terror.
_Defend The Right To Protest, a United Kingdom based national campaign involving a network of protester defendants and their families, activists, trade unionists, academics and lawyers.
_ The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington D.C based Islamic advocacy group that challenges stereotypes of Islam.
On September 19th, 2017, the coordination held its first roundtable on “Racism and Rise of the Police State in the West” during which speakers exposed and gave their recommendation in regards to the CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) program in the US, the PREVENT duty and the Muhammad Rabbani case in the UK, and the permanent state of emergency in France.
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