FC: French activists urge opposition to anti-privacy, anti-crypto laws

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

********

Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 23:38:11 +0200
From: lagadu () altern org
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 - lagadu () altern org
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 : admin () lsijolie net

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 : admin () lsijolie net




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