American Friends Service Committee: "Criminally extremist"

["Ken Hanly" <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
 NEWS RELEASE
National Office: 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1479
Media Relations: Phone: (215)-241-7060    Fax: (215)-241-7275
e-mail: jshields@xxxxxxxx    www.afsc.org
For Immediate Release
March 15, 2002 Contact: Contact: Janis D. Shields, (215) 241-7060
John W. Haigis, (215) 241-7056


AFSC UPHOLDS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH AND DISSENT
States Illegal Denver Police Files Symptomatic of a "New McCarthyism"
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Concerned by the recent disclosure that the Denver Police
Department kept secret and illegal files on hundreds of organizations, the
Philadelphia-based American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) urges a
complete and thorough review of the activity, calling it a "new
McCarthyism."

The existence of the files came to light during a press conference Monday,
held by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where it was disclosed
the Denver Police Department classified the 85-year old Nobel Peace
prize-winning organization as "criminally extremist."

McCarthyism refers back to a time when individuals faced hearings and were
unfairly blacklisted and labeled as communist supporters without supporting
evidence.

"First there were Salem witch trials. Next came the red scare of the 40s and
50s. Then it was targeting of Martin Luther King Jr. and members of the
civil rights movement. Today it's hundreds of groups and individuals who
exercise their First Amendment right to speak out and express their views
and opinions that are unfairly targeted and labeled," said AFSC general
secretary Mary Ellen McNish. "When will we learn from the mistakes of the
past?"

"Even the mayor of Denver has condemned this illegal spying on law-abiding
activists," said Larry Leaman-Miller, program coordinator of the AFSC
program in Colorado. "Clearly the constitutional right of people to
peaceably assemble and petition the Government for redress of grievances is
not a criminal offense."

Known for practicing the Quaker principle of speaking truth to power, AFSC
was founded in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity
to aid civilian victims during World War I. The organization is grounded in
Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person. In 1947,
the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council received the Nobel Peace
Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends, for humanitarian
service, work for reconciliation during two World Wars, and the spirit in
which these were carried out.

While public awareness of illegal intelligence has no doubt increased since
Watergate and subsequent revelations, such activities have burgeoned. Recent
legislation, passed under the guise of the new "war on terrorism," severely
challenges basic democratic founding principles - such as freedom of speech,
freedom of assembly and prohibitions against illegal search and seizure.

Under the freedom of information act, AFSC secured hundreds of federal files
detailing government surveillance projects and intelligence documents
targeting US peace groups in the early 70s. Public exposure of the Pentagon
papers, FBI files and other documents gave a glimpse of the vast extent of
surveillance, record keeping and disruptive (and sometimes lethal) activity
carried on by government intelligence agencies, from the CIA and FBI down to
local police against large numbers of American citizens.

"Unfortunately the current Administration seems to be stuck in the past,"
McNish commented. "We know from experience that trampling the Bill of Rights
is not the answer. We need to honor and uphold our constitution by not
eroding the very principles upon which our country was founded."

Historically, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) have been the
subject of suspicion and at times repression and violence because of their
refusal to condone or participate in war or preparations for war, and often
for having come to the aid of those suffering from hostilities, persecution
or injustice. Friends have worked to assist runaway slaves and in the modern
civil rights movement, have stood up for worker's rights and a host of
social and economic justice issues.

Since the September 11 tragedies, AFSC has actively supported a No More
Victims campaign, which supports justice, healing, and peaceful alternatives
to conflict - not war and retaliation. Events have included silent vigils
and demonstrations, government petitions that included past Nobel Peace
Prize Laureates and discussion forums that included family members of those
who perished in the World Trade Center attacks.


# # #

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace
and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of
every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and
injustice.


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