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Tuesday, December 20, 2005

New Files Show FBI Watched Activists
Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest in monitoring political or social activities and that any investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in other settings.

After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, John Ashcroft, who was then attorney general, loosened restrictions on the F.B.I.'s investigative powers, giving the bureau greater ability to visit and monitor Web sites, mosques and other public entities in developing terrorism leads. The bureau has used that authority to investigate not only groups with suspected ties to foreign terrorists, but also protest groups suspected of having links to violent or disruptive activities.

But the documents, coming after the Bush administration's confirmation that President Bush had authorized some spying without warrants in fighting terrorism, prompted charges from civil rights advocates that the government had improperly blurred the line between terrorism and acts of civil disobedience and lawful protest.

Read the entire New York Times article.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 07:28:04 PM

Friday, December 09, 2005

Hyde Introduces Con Res Urging Russian Gov't to Modify Legislation
Rep. Henry Hyde introduced H Con Res 312, a concurrent resolution urging the government of the Russian Federation to withdraw or modify proposed legislation that would have the effect of severely restricting the establishment, operations, and activities of domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations in the Russian Federation.

Posted by Jennifer Lowe, 04:55:15 PM

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Russia Proposal Would Crack Down on NGOs
Both the Washington Post and New York Times reported today the Sec. State Rice criticized Russia for moving against NGOs.

A proposed law, which will be voted on Dec. 16, would ban foreign NGOs and limit what foreigh grants and foreign employees Russian NGOs could have. All NGOs would have to re-register and a state agency would decide if they can continue to operate. Officials are defending the bill, saying it is needed to crack down on graft and stop terrorist influence over NGOs.

Rice's comments are interesting- makes one wish the Bush administration felt the same way about American nonprofits. For instance, she said "We would certainly hope that the importance of nongovernmental organizations to a stable democratic environment would be understood by the Russian government," and "Democracy is "built on the ability of citizens to associate themselves freely and to work to bring their government into a particular direction," Rice said. Nongovernmental organizations in Russia "are simply trying to help citizens to organize themselves better, to petition their government to make changes in the policies that affect their very lives. That's the essence of democracy."

Posted by Kay Guinane, 03:48:14 PM

Monday, December 05, 2005

Treasury Seeks Comment on Updated Guidelines
(OMB Watch will publish a summary and analysis of the new guidelines soon.)

From Treasury:

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today issued revised Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines, Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities (Guidelines) to help the chartable sector protect itself from abuse by terrorist organizations. Treasury is releasing for public comment this revised version of the Guidelines to ensure the greatest benefit to the sector, as well as effective application.

"Charitable giving is an act ingrained in the culture of America, and the people of this country give selflessly to vast vital causes. Sadly, terrorist networks and their sympathizers have preyed upon this goodwill to raise and move money in support of their deadly agendas," said Patrick O'Brien, the Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime.

In November 2002, the Treasury issued the original Guidelines, and since then, the Treasury has worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. charitable and donor community, notably the Arab-American and Islamic-American community, to raise awareness of terrorist abuse and the steps charities can take to protect themselves. Strengthening and revising the Guidelines is an important part of this effort and will further benefit the sector.

While the Guidelines are voluntary and do not supersede or modify legal requirements, they promote the development of a risk-based, transparent approach to guard against the threat of diversion of charitable funds for use by terrorists and their supporters.

"Indeed, in the wake of natural disasters like the earthquake in Pakistan, the tsunami in southeast Asia, and the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast of the United States, we must ensure that charitable donations go to the legitimate causes they were intended for," said O'Brien.

The Guidelines issued today immediately replace the original Guidelines, although the Treasury will consider all comments received on or before February 1, 2006 in finalizing the revised version. Please submit comments through one of the following methods:

Mail:
Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime U.S. Department of the Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20220

Facsimile:
(202) 622-9747

Electronic Submission:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/charities-intro.shtml

A copy of the draft Guidelines may be accessed through this link:
http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/docs/guidelines_charities.pdf