How Much Love We Could Show: Norway's response to terrorism was to call for more openness, more democracy and, yes, more love. When it comes to the power of government, Thomas Jefferson warned, "the people themselves are its only safe respositories".
THE UNITED STATES Department of Homeland Security,
dangerously overloaded with surveillance and interception powers, could not
save the Boston Marathon. But, then, no one could have saved the Boston
Marathon. Short of imposing a monitoring regime of Orwellian proportions – one
which would utterly obliterate all civil rights and democratic freedoms – no
state can promise its citizens absolute safety.
The world is a dangerous place.
Assailed by its dangers, the most important thing a
government can do is make sure that by its actions it does not contribute to
the world becoming a less free or a more oppressive place.
When New Zealand experienced its last terrorist attack – the
bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in
1985 – the first response of the David Lange-led Labour Government was not to
bring down a series of draconian “security” measures. His instinct was to allow
the NZ Police to get on with their job.
Note that: the NZ Police.
Not the NZ Security Intelligence Service, and certainly not the Government
Communications Security Bureau. Those agencies had proved completely worthless
as protectors of New Zealand’s national security.
In spite of our membership of the UKUSA Agreement, and after
years of loyal (some would say sycophantic) service to our Cold War “allies”,
not one of them saw fit to warn us that a French “Black Ops” team was about to
launch a deadly attack on a British registered vessel moored peacefully at an
Auckland wharf.
A Deadly Blow: Neither the SIS, the GCSB, nor any of New Zealand's so-called "allies", provided the New Zealand government with the slightest warning that the French were planning to attack the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior when it docked in Auckland. The culprits were identified by the NZ Police - aided by the New Zealand people.
And the NZ Police – magnificently assisted by a host of Kiwi
sticky-beaks – did a splendid job. Indeed, if our Aussie “mates” had held the
French “getaway boat” in Norfolk Island (as the New Zealand authorities had
requested) then we would have nabbed the whole gang.
Why were the Police so successful? Because New Zealanders
trusted them. When the Police asked for help in apprehending the people who had
done this (because, let’s not forget, French saboteurs’ bombs had taken the
life of Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira) everyone who harboured even
the slightest suspicion of “Swiss” newly-weds, or who’d noticed anything
remotely out of the ordinary on the night of 10 July 1985, did not hesitate to
call the cops.
No gang of terrorists can escape the surveillance of an
entire nation. “National Security” only has meaning if we are all,
collectively, determined to preserve it.
In 2011, the Norwegians gave the world additional proof. The
response of Norway’s government to the shocking slaying of 77 of its citizens –
many of them teenagers – by a right-wing racist terrorist, Anders Behring
Breivik, was very different from that of the United States Government in the
aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
At a memorial service in Oslo Cathedral, the Norwegian Prime
Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, declared: “We must not allow this attack to hurt Norwegian democracy: the proper
answer to such violence is more democracy, more openness … No one has said it
better than the [young woman] who was interviewed by CNN: ‘If one man can show
so much hate, think how much love we could show, standing together.’”
And stand
together they did. In Oslo, on 25 July 2011, more than 200,000 people gathered
to show their solidarity for the victims of Breivik’s savagery, and to
demonstrate their commitment to Norway’s proud traditions of social and
political democracy.
“Every government
degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone”, wrote the author
of the American Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. “The people
themselves are its only safe depositories.”
How depressing
that John Key, so strong an admirer of all things American in every other
respect, should place so little value on the words of America’s most
illustrious Founding Father.
How unfortunate
that the example of his own country’s, and Norway’s, democratic response to
terrorism has been lost on him.
How disappointing
to see our liberties sacrificed to the Prime Minister’s reactionary notions of
security.
And, how
extraordinarily insulting to hear Mr Key justify empowering the GCSB to spy on
his fellow citizens with some uncorroborated story about Weapons of Mass
Destruction. (As if that alarmist excuse had not failed its deceitful
fabricators’ once before!)
It was Benjamin
Franklin who wrote: “Those who would give up essential liberty to
purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Another American Founding Father we’d all do well to heed.
This essay was
originally published in The Waikato Times, The Taranaki Daily News, The
Timaru Herald, The Otago Daily Times and The Greymouth Star of Friday, 19 April 2013.
I think we give too much power to our prime ministers. And their inbuilt tendency is to take even more. I have written to the constitutional commission people and the Green party giving some practical suggestions to strengthen our freedoms. The speaker and governor general to be appointed by 75% majority.
ReplyDeleteI suggest other readers think upon this matter and come up with their own suggestions.
I so agree with you Chris - and also despair that no other political parties are essentially challenging John Key on this matter
ReplyDeleteNZ's lovely police are every bit as much as past of the capitalist state as the spy agencies. They framed Arthur Allen Thomas, routinely work over young Maori and PI workers, every now and agin they shoot one of them dead. They're all yours Chris.
ReplyDeleteWise man was Ben Franklin!
ReplyDeleteKey using WMD is behaving like he is cornered by the GCSB fiasco and his US cronies.
ReplyDeleteGood one Chris! Its all just more tory divide and rule. John Key is just a hapless sucker really, a pawn in their game you might say. Sadly a fair proportion of the electorate get suckered also.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your a Shearer supporter at last!
"We must not allow this attack to hurt Norwegian democracy: the proper answer to such violence is more democracy, more openness "
ReplyDeletebut you yourself pointed out how the political class crowded out Norways equivalent of NZ First which 1/5th supported.
......
The surveillance society is a response to need. The two recent terrorists were caught on CTV and in the U.K are a response to the IRA.
An excellent article and one which we'd all do well to heed. But a problem arises on the matter of the surrender of government to our rulers. Jefferson's statement forms part of the reasoning behind the right to bear arms, which led directly to the deaths of another eleven people across the US in the twenty-four hours the Boston hysteria gripped the nation.
ReplyDeleteI suspect, Peterkar, that if you'd just won your freedom and independence with the aid of "well regulated militias", the Continental Army and the French navy, then you'd been pretty keen to preserve "the people's right to bear arms" as well :-)
ReplyDeleteThe need for a surveillance society is partly created by societies like the US and NZ accepting that mass immigration is desirable and creates a more lively society. In fact NZ's much more homogeneous society of 1983 was probably much more interesting and intelligent than the one of today which for all the ethnic variety is neither a melting pot or exciting.
ReplyDeleteI don't accept the Mike Moore view that opening the gates is in our interests or highly non selective immigration improves the breed.
In terms of the 88 NZ citizens under surveillance by the GCSB , it would be interesting to know where they were born - even in four broad categories (1) Former Warsaw Pact nations (2) China (3) Islamic nations (4) the English speaking nations.
It is reassuring to see some elements of the Canadian services are competent because our defence relations in SIGNT and defence is with the lesser members of the fist Canada, NZ and Aus working together and and the US/UK being a higher level pair.
Also interesting is that unlike NZ the US and Canada see the promotion are redevelopment of passenger trains and trams as a priority for large government spending. 4 million passengers a year on long distance electric trains from Toronto to NY and a substantial rebuilding of passenger rail in California and in recent years remerging coridors up to 600km from Chicago in particular to St Louis and to the university corridor cities.