In a sweeping presidential order introduced in July, President Bush took steps to undermine the democratic rights of his fellow citizens. It will affect people´s right to protest — and could have a profound impact on humanitarian aid, argues Index on Censorship, one of the member organisations of the Open Word House / the Human Rights House in London. (21-SEP-07)

Report by Nina Dearborn for Index on Censorship

On 17 July 2007, as America continued to purport its hopes of democracy in Iraq, President Bush yet again undermined the democratic rights of his fellow citizens. In a sweeping presidential order entitled, “Executive Order: Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq,” President Bush took a brazen legal step towards the continued incrimination of individuals who are not guilty of any crime. And while the mainstream international media failed to report on this issue at large, President Bush once again succeeded in cunningly eroding the basic civil rights of Americans.

Broad and vague
The executive order creates a mechanism through which to gag individual political protest and political action. It allows the United States Treasury Department to freeze and confiscate the assets of any individual or group determined “to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing” acts of violence “that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace and stability of Iraq or the government of Iraq,” or are found to have undermined “efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq”. So broad and vague is the order that any individual engaged in peaceful protest against the Iraq war could be found guilty of undermining political reform in the country. It clearly has severe implications for individuals that reach far beyond the Iraqi insurgents and terrorists that this order is aimed at targeting. One of the most disturbing elements, which the American Civil Liberties Union has acknowledged as a major concern, is that it also allows for the confiscation and freezing of assets of any individual who is found to have provided “material support” to any person or group who the government has found guilty of the above; regardless of the individual’s intent. This includes humanitarian aid, which is specifically referenced in Section 1(B), and further referenced in the express prohibition of the “contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services,” which the ACLU has also pointed out is broad enough to include such items as food, clothing and medicine. 

Humanitarian aid under threat?
A similar executive order, 13224, was issued in 2002, allowing for the freezing of assets of any organization that the US government rendered to be associated with terrorist groups. This order was utilized to its fullest extent, essentially halting the operations of several major Muslim charities in the United States, including the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Global Relief Foundation and Benevolence International. The precedence for this type of government action has clearly been delineated, leaving any individual or organization — not only those linked with terrorist groups — vulnerable to the far-reaching and vague phrasing of this new presidential order.

Guilty by association
The impediment to free speech via the obstruction of political action that this order creates is unmistakable. Individuals are no longer freely able to financially or materially support even the best intentioned humanitarian aid agencies working in Iraq if the United States government deems it so. The fear of financial incarceration will undoubtedly deter many organizations from continuing or beginning aid programs in the region. This order renders an individual guilty by association, a form of adjudication that holds no place within any democracy. Humanitarian aid organizations, as well as donors, are at great risk of finding themselves caught between the cross-fire of the American government and the people that they are trying to assist, which is an unfortunate consequence for a region that is so deeply in need.