"While European leaders are busy expressing public indignation over reports of American espionage operations in the European Union, the European Parliament is quietly considering a proposal that calls for the direct surveillance of any EU citizen suspected of being 'intolerant.' Critics say the measure--which seeks to force the national governments of all 28 EU member states to establish 'special administrative units' to monitor any individual or group expressing views that the self-appointed guardians of European multiculturalism deem to be 'intolerant'--represents an unparalleled threat to free speech in a Europe where citizens are already regularly punished for expressing the 'wrong' opinions, especially about Islam. ... After five years of lobbying in Europe's halls of power, the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR) proposal appears to be making headway, as evidenced by the European Parliament's recent decision to give the group a prominent 45-minute time slot to present its proposal to the Civil Liberties committee on September 17. Also known as the 'Model Statute for Tolerance,' the ECTR's proposal was presented as part of the EU's ongoing work towards a new 'Equal Treatment Directive' (ETD) that would vastly expand the scope of discrimination to all sectors of life in both the public and private spheres. ... According to European Dignity Watch, a civil rights watchdog based in Brussels, 'The principles of freedom of contract and the freedom to live according to one's personal moral views are in danger of being superseded by a newly developed concept of "equality." ... It is about governmental control of social behavior of citizens. These tendencies begin to give the impression of long-passed totalitarian ideas and constitute an unprecedented attack on citizens' rights. ... Faith-based groups and schools, adherents of a particular religion or even just parents who want to teach their children certain moral values would all be put under general suspicion of being intolerant,' according to European Dignity Watch." ("EU Proposal," Gatestone Institute, Oct. 28, 2013) Comments are closed.
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