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news report
Wednesday December 18, 2002 17:45
by Fergus
The Irish Independent reports a new Criminal Justice Bill to be introduced in Ireland amid gardai fears of Al-Qaeda logistical cells operating in this country. The Bill also (the real reason ?) wants to introduce new offences for things like disrupting multi-government summits (as preparations for Ireland hosting the E.U. in 2004 ?)
'The idea of Democracy has never been fully internalised in any of our cultures and this perpetual ongoing war against terrorism is attractive to elements within the State that would prefer a kind of an authoritarian structure in a vaguely democratic garment' - Conor Guirty, Director of the London School of Economics talking to Fintan O' Toole on The Last Word radio programme.