P.O. Box 81, Swarthmore, PA, 19081-- brandywine@juno.com

On Wednesday, June 14 About 75 people attended the Phila. 'DON'T SPY ON ME' Campaign launch rally in front of the National Constitution Center and public filing of Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] requests by area anti- war, peace, and justice groups at the Phila. Federal Building where the initial FOIA requests were made to the regional office of the FBI.  Before leaving the National Constitution Center, statement below of the campaign was read.  So begins the  Phila. 'DON'T SPY ON ME' Campaign

Phila. DONT SPY ON ME Campaign Launch Statement, June 14, 2006

The Greek philospher, Aeschylus, observed that "In war, truth is the first casualty."  The casualties, in Iraq and Afghanistan, civilian and military, mount as do the domestic costs of the Bush Administration policy of war.  The Constitution is no less a casualty of the presidential presumption of war powers abroad and domestically.  The truths that were self- evident in the founding of the nation and in the constitution, honored here at the National Constitutional Center, are threatened by the U.S. policy of war around the world and here at home. 
 
The admitted practice of domestic spying, government secrecy, illegal detention and even torture, threatens us all.  Our constitution must protect all or eventually none will be protected from  the suppression of human rights and civil liberties,
and the governmental assault on freedom.

We know how the so-called  "war on terror" has been used to create legislation and made targets of  people of Arab descent and those considered ethnic, racial, or religious "outsiders". We know how the so-called"war on terror" has, in effect, become a war on dissent.  We know that  those who speak out for justice and peace have been in the sights of domestic spying and other practices that abrogate constitutional rights.   

We shall not live in fear nor allow our constitutional rights to be another casualty of war. 

Today, we, representatives of Phila. area peace and anti-war groups and organizations, utilize our right to know, our right to know whether various government - civilian and military - intelligence agencies have attempted to intimidate, harass, or intrude on the rights of people to stand up and speak out for peace.  Today, utilizing the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] we ask whether and how our government has spied on us.  Based on recent revelations concerning widespread domestic spying, we have reason to believe it likely and hence make these FOIA filings in the first step of our 'DON'T SPY ON ME' Campaign.

We act together, insisting on our rights to speak out and to act for justice and peace.  We believe along with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was the target of brutal harassment and spying by the FBI, that we must act "like a free people should in a free society."


                Phila. DONT SPY ON ME CAMPAIGN:

Brandywine Peace Community; Catholic Peace Fellowship; Darfur Alert Coalition; Defenestrator; Delaware County Wage
Peace and Justice; Delaware County Pledge of Resistance; Gold Star Families Speak Out; House of Grace Catholic
Worker; IWW [International Workers of the World]; Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU), Military Families
Speak Out [MFSO]; Northwest Greens; Peace Center of Delaware County; Poor People's Economic Human Rights
Campaign (PPEHRC); PRAWN (Phila. Regional Anti-War Network), SEAC (Student Environmental Action Coalition),
SOA Watch; Shalom Center; Veterans for Peace - Chapter 31, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Womens
International League for Peace & Freedom, U.S. Section; Womens International League for Peace & Freedom,
Philadelphia; Womens International League for Peace & Freedom, Delaware County.

*********************************************************************************************************

PHILADELPHIA AREA  PEACE AND JUSTICE FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] CAMPAIGN

The Brandywine Peace Community, Iraq Veterans Against The War, Veterans For Peace, Delaware County Wage Peace & Justice, The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, several other local groups, and Paul J. Hetznecker, Esq. are facilitating a Freedom of Information Act campaign for Philadelphia area peace and justice groups.  The purpose of the campaign is to expose the use of government agents and anti-terrorism resources and tactics to monitor and intimidate political activists.  We need to convey to the public that this will only get worse until Americans demand a halt to government surveillance designed to discourage free speech.  And we must uncover the tactics used by the government officials who have sworn to uphold the law and our rights so that we can hold the government accountable where it has broken that trust.

How?

Through the Freedom of Information Act.  In the last five years the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) has proven one of the most effective tools for exposing this Administrations culture of secrecy and suppression of dissent, as well as its illegal
actions.  Whether uncovering human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanimo Bay or the FBIs three-year (and counting) terrorism investigation of Pittsburghs Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice, FOIA is one of the few ways we have to break through the wall of secrecy and silence behind which this Administration operates.

What do we want you to do?   

Agree to file Freedom of Information Act requests on behalf of your organizations and yourselves, demanding that the FBI,
National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security turn over any files they have on you and your organizations. 

What will my participation involve? Each organizational representative will be interviewed by an ACLU volunteer to get
the information needed for the FOIA request and to fill out a Privacy Act waiver form.  These interviews take between 15
and 30 minutes.  You will be asked for background information on your organization - if and where it is
incorporated, what its mission is, and what sorts of activities the organization engages in that may have made it the subject of government surveillance.  You will also be asked questions about your own political activities, particularly any activities that you believe may have been the subject of government surveillance.  All of the information you provide is strictly
confidential, except what you authorize us to release to the government for the purpose of facilitating the search for records on you.  You do not have to answer any question that you are not comfortable answering.

                          
Will this cost money?

There is no initial cost for filing a FOIA request, and we may be able to avoid any fees by requesting a fee waiver through the ACLU.  If there is a lot of information on you or your organization, the government may demand reimbursement for responding to your request, in which case we will have an opportunity to decide whether and how much to agree to pay. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL YOU INCUR COSTS WITHOUT YOUR PRIOR AND EXPRESS CONSENT.  Throughout this process you will be provided free, confidential legal representation and advice from the ACLU and Paul Hetznecker, Esquire.

What happens after we submit the request?

If the FBI turns over documents about you, YOU will decide who sees them and what is done with those documents.  The
coordinating committee for this FOIA campaign will continue to meet to discuss the FOIA process and to provide
information and support to all FOIA requestors throughout this process.  It is our hope that the information we receive
through these requests will form the basis for public education, public actions, and possibly legal action to halt or curtail
government surveillance of political groups and activists.  

How Can You Get Involved ?

Call: Mary Catherine Roper, American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] of Pennsylvania Phone 215.592.1513 ext 116; fax 215.592.1343; email mroper@aclupa.org

More about this campaign and FOIA. FOIA, a Tool Against Government Secrecy