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Foragt for demokratiet - lidt om trussel vs. midler
Raapil følger op på mit indlæg fra i går om, hvorvidt den stort anlagte sikkerhedsstramning i britiske og amerikanske lufthavne i sidste uge virkelig var nødvendige, givet at der ifølge NBCs reportage ikke var tale om nogen konkret eller umiddelbart forestående trussel.
I dagens Guardian har Anas Altikriti et rammende indlæg om det samme, med udgangspunkt i sine egne oplevelser som passager i Heathrow den torsdag:
Travelling with my family, I witnessed the astonishing scene of travellers at Heathrow rendered almost helpless.Og ja, det var faktisk også nogle af de ting, der gik gennem mit hoved, da jeg hørte om anholdelserne og ikke mindst det drama og de sædvanlige sikkerhedsforanstaltninger, de gav anledning til.
Yet, given recent experience, it was hard to avoid some scepticism. I shared the feelings quietly expressed by the four businessmen and women ahead of me, hoping to get to Copenhagen, as to whether this operation, at a cost of billions to travellers, airports and business, was absolutely necessary. One woman wondered if there was really evidence that anything less sweeping would have resulted in the carnage described so enthusiastically by broadcasters.
As I went through one security check after another, I recalled the raid in Forest Gate that led to the shooting and wrongful arrest of two men; the brutal killing of Jean Charles de Menezes; Saddam's nonexistent weapons of mass destruction; and all the young men locked up on the basis of false evidence. It does not fill one with confidence about "intelligence" cited by the authorities.
Misforstå ikke: Det lader umiddelbart til, at de anholdte vitterlig har haft sådanne planer, og i den forstand mener jeg lige som alle andre, at det er godt, at britisk politi har været i stand til at forebygge et sådant angreb.
Men denne basale tillid undergraves dels af de fortilfælde, Altikriti også nævner (og flere til), dels af den tilsyneladende helt overdrevent dramatiske iscenesættelse af anholdelserne.
Eller, som Altikriti udtrykker det: It was difficult not to be somewhat cynical about the timing:
None of this means that the police invented the "terror plot". But it does mean we have to treat these claims with caution. Whichever way you look at it, we have hard, unquestionable evidence that fear, hatred and extreme tendencies of all sorts are on the rise. Five years on from 9/11 we are no closer to solving the problem of terrorism.Noget lignende kan siges om den danske regering, som førte os i krig i Irak imod et flertal i befolkningens ønsker, og som arrogant har tromlet over endog meget indtrængende sagkyndige advarsler mod dens forskellige retspolitiske stramninger: Er folk, der udviser en sådan foragt for demokratiet, virkelig de rette til at belære andre om et åbent samfunds vilkår og essens?
(...)
Anyone in the Muslim community attracted to violence as a way of changing those policies needs be persuaded of the necessity of engaging in democratic politics - as most British Muslims have been doing. But the prospects of bringing them on board are not helped by the contempt for democracy and for the people's views that the Blair government has demonstrated. In the interests of us all, the government must listen and change course now.