Attorney Isabel Garcia, cofounder of Derechos Humanos Coalition, chaired the panel of speakers, which included University of Arizona law professor Jean Braucher, president of Arizona Civil Liberties Union; Tom Berning, director of litigation for William E. Morris Institute for Justice in Tucson; Mohyeddin Abdulaziz, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; and Aaron Kappeler, University of Arizona student activist speaking for the Committee to Defend Free Speech and the Bill of Rights.

In opening the program Garcia noted that the previous day the Supreme Court had ruled that Immigration and Naturalization Service border patrol agents may use any possible circumstance to stop anyone in a car. Sandra Day O'Connor's justification was, "We live in perhaps a more dangerous age today."

Civil liberties are crucial in times of crisis emphasized Jean Braucher. Outlining five ways in which the U.S. Patriot Act violates constitutional rights, she said that passage of this act and the executive order creating military tribunals without political debate and public information strike at the core of civil liberties.

President Bush's executive order of November 13 creating military tribunals applies not only to the detainees held in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but to the 20 million noncitizen in the United States, noted Tom Berning. Noncitizens in the United States, however, are entitled to all constitutional protections and cannot be denied due process.

This executive order also defines "terrorism" as damage to government property during a demonstration if the action involves changing public policy.

Mohyeddin Abdulaziz told the audience that the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has documented over 600 violent incidents against Arab Americans since September 11, including assault, arson, and six murders. He said more than 47 people have been expelled from airports because a passenger or crew member didn't like the way they looked.

Michael Italie, who was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of Miami last year, was fired from his job as a sewing machine operator at Goodwill Industries for expressing his convictions and exercising his constitutional rights in a public debate, said Aaron Kappeler. "If I am going to vote for a candidate I want to know what he or she stands for," he added.

Anti-subversion and anti-terrorism acts have been used against workers and immigrants since World War II, as a means for Washington to advance its imperialist foreign policy.

Twenty-four people signed a petition protesting the firing of Italie by Goodwill. KUAT-FM, a local public broadcasting station, taped the forum and broadcast it the following Sunday.  
 
 
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