Statement – Tim Vining, Target of Illegal FBI Spying (3/14/2006)
The Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice was founded in 1972 to
bring people from diverse philosophies and faiths together to work, through
nonviolent efforts, for a more just and peaceful world. Through protests
and ongoing projects, members of TMC aim to instill in our society a consciousness
of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war,
poverty, racism and oppression.
I am the former Director of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice
and am currently a PhD candidate in Social Movements in the Sociology Department at the University
of Pittsburgh. I was at the protest on November 24, 2002 that we now know the
FBI was monitoring and I remember that event as pretty typical of what the
Thomas Merton Center does, we were handing out flyers.
It was the day after Thanksgiving and we figured that lots of people would
be shopping so we went out to leaflet. A small group of us met at the Pavilion
in Market Square with some anti-war, global justice and transit advocacy flyers.
I remember that day so clearly because the anti-abortion people were there
at Fifth and Smithfield so we had to move to another corner of the square.
All we were doing that day was handing out leaflets to people who were walking
by.
The FBI documents say that we are a pacifist organization. So why were they
investigating us? All we were doing was handing out leaflets, which is a perfectly
legal way to spend an afternoon. All we want to do is exercise our First Amendment
rights and hand out flyers in a peaceful and organized manner. Is handing out
flyers now considered a terrorist activity? What will be next?
TMC may have members who are pacifists, but the organization has never identified
itself as a ‘pacifist organization.' But I sure don't see how we could be a
threat to anyone. If the threat is violence or causing harm to people, then
there's no way we'd be dangerous, but if the threat is speaking out and shaking
the tree then maybe we are. Do we threaten the current administration's erosion
of civil liberties by exercising our democratic rights? I would hope so. Taking
action to defend human and civil rights is a time-honored tradition in this
country.
We've never had anything to hide from the authorities, in fact we often advise
them of what we're planning. When we have big events we work with the police
and over the years we've built solid relationships based on communication and
trust. If we plan an event and a lot more people show up than we expected,
we go to the police and work with them to make sure that the event stays peaceful
and safe for all the participants. Having a great relationship with the police
in exercising our rights to assemble is a priority for TMC.
It seems we were also targeted for building relationships of trust among members
of various religions including our Muslim sisters and brothers. Some of the
documents from that day specifically note that one of the people with us “appeared
to be Middle Eastern.” The Thomas Merton Center is proud to stand in solidarity
with all those who are targets of hatred and ignorance. And during a time when
religious differences often lead to so much violence and war, we feel it is
more important than ever to build relationships and solidarity across lines
of religion. In fact, for doing this, our government ought be encouraging us,
not spying on us. We will never allow the actions of our own government to
deter us from doing what is right, promoting peace in a world that so desperately
needs it.
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