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Oregon Public Broadcasting (Portland, OR)
September 19, 2002
APPROVAL EXPECTED FOR TERRORISM
TASK FORCE
By Colin Fogarty
LISTEN
ONLINE
PORTLAND, OR 2003-01-10 (Oregon Considered)
- PORTLAND, OREGON 2002-09-19 (Oregon Considered) - The Portland
City Council is hearing testimony this afternoon on the Police
Bureau's participation in a Joint Terrorism Task Force. Nationally,
there are 56 such cooperative efforts between the F-B-I and
local police agencies. Portland is one of the only places
where the Task Force has been the source of heated controversy.
More than 100 people are scheduled to testify on the issue.
Sound: Shuffling of papers
Dave Fedenque: This first file was uncovered
back in the mid 70s.
ACLU director Dave Fadenque sifts through Portland Police
files on his group's local chapter. It shows an investigation
of the American Civil Liberties union during the 1970s and
80s. The files, uncovered by the Portland Tribune, were taken
home by a former Police officer, where they remained for two
decades. A 1981 state law prohibits police from keeping files
on religious or political groups unless they relate to a criminal
investigation. The ACLU file is mostly newspaper articles,
but it includes some intelligence reports and even a liquor
license request for one of the group's fundraisers. Fadenque
says his organization was told long ago that files on his
group were either handed over or shredded.
Dave Fedenque: We now know that that was
a lie. I mean, the Mayor and the Police Chief may have thought
so. But the intelligence division continued, held on to material
that was not turned over to us, and continued to compile material
on the ACLU and numerous other organizations active in Portland
and individuals throughout the 1970s, well into the 1980s,
even after a state law was passed that made this kind of activity
a violation of state statute.
Fadenque has renewed worry about intelligence reports by
the Portland Police Bureau because the City Council is considering
whether to renew the Bureau's participation in the FBI's Joint
Terrorism Task Force. It's a cooperative effort among various
police agencies to prevent political acts of violence. Seven
officers in Portland are members of the group, at a cost of
about a half million dollars. Fadanque says there is little
independent oversight of the task force. The city auditors
office oversees local files generated by the Portland Police
Bureau. But the more substancial files from the Task Force
are in the FBI's office, and only members of Congress have
access to those. Local oversight of federal investigations
doesn't exist. And the ACLU isn't the only organization worried
the Joint Terrorism Task Force might abuse its authority.
Sound: Crowd noise
In the hallway outside the City Council chambers, a group
of police critics prepares for a marathon of testimony. More
than a 100 people signed up. They include Musse Olol and Kayse
Jama who've been appointed spokesmen for Portland's growing
Somali community. Jama says Somalis, who fled their country
because of a brutal civil war, are especially alarmed the
task force arrested their religious leader, Sheik Mohamed
Abdirahman Kariye.
Kayse Jama: That fear of persecution by
the authority is coming back to us one more time. There's
no safe place for us. That's what this case is representing
for us. One more time the community that has run from civil
war and persecution of authority are being persecuted here
in this country. And that is where the fear lies.
Sound: City council meeting.
Vera Katz: Good afternoon everybody. The
Council will please come to order. Karla, please call the
role.
Inside at the packed City Council meeting, Police Chief Mark
Kroeker competed with jeers from an audience that included
hostile activists. He touted indictments and arrests of people
connected with the arson of a logging truck near Estecada
last year. The task force is also investigating a fire at
the Ross Island Sand and Gravel Company in Portland allegedly
lit by the Earth Liberation Front. And Kroeker noted this
week investigators won a conviction on weapons and fraud charges
against Khaled Steitiye
Mark Kroeker: The mission of the Join Terrorism
Task Force is very clear. We prevent, investigate, and prosecute
those responsible for criminal acts of terrorism.
Kroeker asked the city council to renew Portland's anti-terrorism
activities. Mayor Vera Katz left little doubt that would happen.
Vera Katz: In times like these, when we
are uncovering terrorist ties and activities and when the
safety of our citizens are at risk, I am recommending that
we continue our participation in the task force, because we
have the responsibility to protect our city and our citizens
by dedicating needed resources to the task of preventing terrorism
and prosecuting those responsible for acts of violence.
The City Council meeting on the Joint Terrorism Task Force
is expected to last well into the evening.
Copyright 2002 Oregon
Public Broadcasting
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