Announced by Queen, US counter-extremism bill scares activists
A new bill to counter extremism in the UK, announced by Queen Elizabeth II, could serve as a means to crack down on Britons’ civil rights, activists warn.
The queen introduced the bill Wednesday in a speech announcing the government’s legislative program, saying, it would “prevent radicalization, tackle extremism in all its forms and promote community integration.”
Prime Minister David Cameron also defended the bill in the speech’s foreword, saying, “This Queen’s speech stands up for our liberal values by taking on the extremists with new powers to disrupt their activities, while protecting young people in unregulated schools from those who preach a message of intolerance and separatism.”
Rights activists, however, believe that the Conservative government’s new Counter-Extremism Bill is Orwellian.
“For a Gov't hell-bent on enforcing “British values” the proposals read like a set of measures lifted from George Orwell’s 1984,” independent advocacy organization CAGE, said in a tweet.
According to Rachel Robinson, policy officer at civil rights charity Liberty, the bill would be misused by politicians to “paint” their rivals as extremists.
“All that’s left for these proposals to ban are people and views that the government disagrees with,” she said. “Powers to radically curb free speech will be placed in the hands of ministers who paint their political opponents as extremists and ‘threats to national security.’”
The Quilliam Foundation think-tank, also denounced the bill, saying in a tweet that “We can't let ourselves become totalitarian whilst trying to protect ourselves from the very same ideology #QueensSpeech.”
Earlier this month, the Guardian leaked details of a covert propaganda program by the government to bring about “attitudinal and behavioral change” among young British Muslims.
“A secretive Home Office unit has developed a discreet multimillion pound counter-messaging operation that it says privately is running at ‘industrial pace and scale’,” said the daily.
Britain, like other European countries, is increasingly concerned about residents travelling to Syria to fight or support the terrorists.
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