******** Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 23:38:11 +0200 From: lagaduat_private Organization: Les Virtualistes Subject: URGENT - FRENCH GOVERNEMENT WEIGHING INEFFICIENT SECURITY LAWS Hi Following this week-end message, here is an english version of an Open Letter that has been sent to french Parlementaries and press by e-mail on october 14th. With no real impact, as far as we know now. The amendments added to Daily Security Law (Loi Sécurité Quotidienne_ LSQ), discussed at the Senate today and tomorrow, have been re-enforced by the Right Group. There has been a consensus so that none of the political groups will discuss it (even if the PC and PS groups say they feel bad about it). None of them will weigh un-constitutionality in front of the Conseil Constitutionnel, though it is a fact. LSIJolie.net has been trying these two last weeks to gather as many informations as possible on the LSQ and similar law projects is US in other european countries. LSQ is dealing with serious restrictions on civil liberties (body -searches performed by private security guards, car and home searches for any motive, wiretapping of telephone and internet communications, defense experts decrypting suspect messages out of any judicial control etc ) and enforcing measures that all human rights and individual liberties defense organisations were fighting against for a long time Please have a look on www.lsijolie.net. Feel free to use, and distribute widely. Best Christine - lagaduat_private Collectif LSIJOlie _______________________________ Open letter to french parlementaries The war fever triggered by the tragedy of September 11, is leading to enforcement of hasty anti-terrorist laws denounced by defenders of human rights and liberties - in the United States, in Europe, England , Germany, France and other countries. In France, in order "to fight terrorism", the government is weighing a series of exceptional security amendements as part of the "Loi Securite Quotidienne" ("day-to-day security Law") in emergency and in total infringement of the Constitution. The signatories of this open letter are more concerned about " defending democracy in the face of terrorism ". They are worried by the useless, inefficient, and intrusive attacks on individual and collective liberties induced by the proposed amendements. They dread that the imperative of security could be the pretext seized by some to pass strong amendments, opposed for a long time by associations for the defense of human rights and individual liberties. Searches of vehicles and homes, allowed by a magistrate for any motive, private security guards allowed to perform bag and body-searches with no judicial review, cross-examinations and confrontations at a distance, surveillance and access to telephone and internet communication data, including encrypted data, loss of judicial control on decryption "defense" procedures, and denial of the right to anonymity and privacy of exchanges, would leave the field open to arbitrary and discriminatory practices rather than to the application of the law. Signatories especially want to drag the attention of representatives on the dangers of any amalgam between terrorism, immigration, civil protest movements, political opposition and petty crime, and on all abusive utilization of these measures for other ends than the fight against terrorism. The signatories therefore ask parlementaries to urgently : - oppose voting for inefficient emergency measures without a true parliamentary debate and without their implications to be clearly understood by public opinion . - oppose any measures or law extending the powers of investigatory and law enforcement authorities that would be adopted for an indeterminate period. - oppose procedures extending the powers of investigatory and law enforcement authorities that would have a retroactive effect. - insure that all measures susceptible of infringing individual and collective liberties such as individual physical and moral integrity , freedom of opinion, right to anonymity and to privacy of all postal, telephone and electronic communications, remain under the strictest control of magistrates. October 10th 2001 Signature on line : http://www.lsijolie.net/article.php3?id_article=68 Contact : adminat_private First Signatories CLIFTI Collectif LSIJolie Réseau Voltaire pour la Liberté d'expression Souriez Vous êtes filmés Samizdat Les Virtualistes BugBrother Minirézo Altern LDH-rezo Cedetim Le Maquis Calle Luna Federation Anarchiste First Signatories Altern BugBrother Calle Luna Cedetim CLIFTI Federation Anarchiste LDH-rezo Collectif LSIJolie Le Maquis Minirézo Réseau Voltaire pour la Liberté d'expression Samizdat Souriez Vous êtes filmés Syndicat de la Magistrature Les Virtualistes Signature on line : http://www.lsijolie.net/article.php3?id_article=68 Contact : adminat_private ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. 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