Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 10. Oktober 2005 / Time Line October 10, 2005
Version 3.59. Oktober 2005, 11. Oktober 2005
10/10/2005
Archive and Openness Advocates Urge Supreme Court: Tell Lower
Courts to Scrutinize Government Secrecy Claims
Amicus Brief Requests Review of Dismissal of Whistle Blower
Case
Washington D.C. October 10, 2005 - The National Security Archive,
along with other openness advocates, today filed a "friend of the
court" brief with the United States Supreme Court asking the Court
to review the summary dismissal, on secrecy grounds, of a lawsuit
filed by an FBI whistleblower.
The Archive's General Counsel Meredith Fuchs explained: "Potential
whistleblowers who work in military, intelligence and law
enforcement agencies will almost always come into contact with
classified information. The problem is that courts today simply are
accepting the government claims that the need for secrecy of such
information outweighs strong interests, including constitutional
interests, in addressing the claims in the lawsuits. We are asking
courts to take a harder look." In the case of Sibel Edmonds, the
contract linguist who sought to blow the whistle on improprieties
in the FBI's translation unit, there are facts that support her
claims of wrongdoing, including a Department of Justice Office of
Inspector General Report that concludes that Ms. Edmonds'
whistleblowing was "the most significant factor" in her
termination.
Amici argue that secrecy does not always serve the goal of
protecting national security, as the numerous investigations into
the September 11 attacks on the United States all concluded. Noting
that there has been an upsurge in secrecy over the last four years
-- and that military and intelligence officials ranging from
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to now-Director of the CIA
Porter Goss all admit that a significant amount of the secrecy is
unnecessary -- the brief argues that the judiciary must provide a
meaningful review of government claims for secrecy.
In addition to the Archive, the brief was filed on behalf of the
Project on Government Secrecy of the Federation of American
Scientists, the National Whistleblower Coalition, the Project on
Government Oversight, Public Citizen, Inc., The Government
Accountability Project, The National Freedom of Information
Coalition, American Library Association, the National Air Disaster
Alliance, and September 11th Advocates.
10/10/2005
Sagsanlæg mod Statsministeren for grundlovsbrud ved
Danmarks deltagelse i angrebskrigen mod Irak
I morgen tirsdag den 11. oktober 2005 kl. 14 indleverer en gruppe
danske borgere til Østre Landsret, Justitskontoret,
Fredericiagade 26, København, en stævning mod
statsminister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for brud på Grundloven
ved Danmarks deltagelse i angrebskrigen, der er baseret på 61
folketingsmedlemmers beslutning af 21. marts 2003, under amerikansk
kommando og uden FN-mandat.
Umiddelbart efter indleveringen af stævningen er der
arrangeret et pressemøde, der finder sted kl. 15 i
Restaurant Kongens Have, Kronprinsessegade 13, København
K.
Statsministerens beslutning anses for at være i strid med
grundlovens §19 som forudsætter at dansk militær
deltagelse i angrebskrige sker med FN-mandat og efter alment
accepteret international ret. Derudover anses beslutningen
også for at være i strid med Grundlovens § 20, da
den ikke respekterer kravet om 5/6-flertalsbeslutning ved
overgivelse af suverænitet, idet de udsendte danske soldater
kom under fremmed kommando. Om sagens indhold henvises i
øvrigt til vedhæftede resumé fra
stævningen side 71 – 75. Hele stævningen kan
læses på Grundlovskomitéens hjemmeside
(www.gk2003.dk) fra tirsdag den 11. oktober kl. 14:00.
Sagsøgerne repræsenteres af advokaterne Christian
Harlang og Bjørn Elmquist.
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