Peoples' security versus national security

Liz Fekete, 9 September 2002

Earlier this year, Liz Fekete, published the results of a six-month research project into the effects of national security legislation on the political culture of Europe (Racism: the hidden cost of September 11). Having attended a regional conference in Thailand on 'Democracy and Security of the People of the Asian Region', she now urges Europeans to extend their concern to include the Asian experience where national security laws in the post-September 11 climate are being massively widened. According to representatives of Asian NGOs, the War Against Terrorism is legitimising authoritarian regimes and seriously undermining the democratisation effort. Most disturbingly, the US is using the events of September 11 to remilitarise the region and to secure its own economic and strategic interests.

At a recent conference, hosted by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Forum Asia, the Transnational Institute and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), more than fifty representatives from NGOs from seventeen countries across Asia, and western Europe, and including Australia, met in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand, from 23-25 August 2002. They were there to discuss issues of democracy and peoples' security throughout Asia, in the context of the new world order that is emerging post-September 11.

For the people of Asia, anti-terrorism laws have traditionally been used by the state to suppress pro-democracy movements. Thus, in a part of the world where every dictator uses the term 'national security' to justify repression, the effect of the US 'War Against Terrorism' has been to set back the progress made over the last two decades in a democratising effort that has caused the downfall of authoritarian dictatorships, in the Philippines (1986), South Korea (1987), Thailand (1992) Indonesia (1996 and 1997), and, most recently, in East Timor (2001). Today, the formation of the 'International Coalition Against Terrorism', which embraces anti-democratic governments throughout the world, has served as a pretext for the governments of Asia to extend and intensify the use of national security laws to suppress movements for democracy and human rights. Hence, the vital importance of this regional conference in assessing the impact of September 11 on democracy movements and developing solidarity and cooperation among the people of Asia to fight back against mutually-reinforcing national security regimes.

Read the full report at: http://www.irr.org.uk/comment/apsn/index.html