"Getting a hold of European police and security forces..."
In a very interesting article (see below), EU terrorism "chief" Gijs de
Vries (who I suspect is gesturing to save his political skin), comments that
human rights violations on the part of European security forces in the CIA
scandal are to blame. Well, after the American-born and bread Dutchman has
also implicated in the CIA abduction-abuse scandal, de Vries is now in the
confessional booth.
It is perhaps time that Europe reevaluate its relationship with the United
States, starting with the security police relationship and cooperation.
Now - the solution to Europe's problems controlling its security and
police...This solution calls for the same solution as the one above. I think
that the main problem for European security and police forces is that they
try to follow what the US is doing in terms of police practices. I know that
the US's FBI training facility also trains foreign police, especially
European. I can tell you that after having been to a police academy myself,
there is NO concern for human rights (in fact there are no HRs in the US)
and the training is about how to "get around" the constitutional rights of
suspects and other "dirtbags." American policing these days, including the
FBI, has little respect for the rights of individuals.
Now - send European police here to the States to train in this type of
police paradigm - and you'll see all types of human rights violations when
they get back to Europe...Some MEPs in the past correctly identified that
the United States has lower human rights standards that the United States
and they are very right about that.
The only solution for Europe is to limit or forbid the training of European
police and security service personnel in the United States - and to create
more European-level police and security personnel training centers -IN-
Europe where training and police practices are to European human rights
standards... The most important start is for European nations and the Union
to get a democratic handle on their security services - and this starts
first with limiting the type and number of security contacts between the US
and Europe. Europol must be divorced from and overly intimate relationships
with the United States. Then, Europol along with the Council of Europe, and
the European Court of Human Rights and with input from the various other EU
institutions - develop police practices that are consistent with European
values and European human rights standards. European police should receive
training in the European Convention of Human rights, as well as practices
related to operating in and around the Schengen area.
There are other solutions to the much of Europe's woes over the CIA scandal,
illegal data transfers to the US, the abusive police practices. Now you have
heard this from this observer before...now I'm about to get on my
soapbox...American dominance of the hearts and minds of European leaders is
costing Europe dearly! We saw this past week on Wednesday that there are
still some European leaders in national capitals and in Europe's
center-right party that are willing to become MEPs for the Americans. There
are too many European leaders in national capitals that are working on
behalf or the United States. Europe's leaders on the national and EU level
must STOP defining American wants and wishes as they own wants and wishes!!!
Cited article: Europe's terror chief in human rights warning The Financial
Times Ltd 16 February 2007
Posted by ESLaPorte on 18 februari 2007 09:04 | Permalink
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