PHILADELPHIA, PA -- December 6 -- The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), an international social justice organization, joined a nationwide series of Freedom of Information Act requests filed on Thursday. Citing evidence indicating that the FBI has targeted particular groups and individuals for surveillance — not because they have any connections to terrorism but solely because they have policy differences with government agencies — the Service Committee, including regional offices in Denver, Chicago and Portland, Oregon, joined the American Civil Liberties Union and a host of religious, environmental and civil rights organizations hoping to shed light on the scope of activities.

At a series of press conferences across the country, ACLU officials accused the FBI “Joint Terrorism Task Force” of collecting e-mails and license-plate numbers from peaceful activists. Officials also disclosed documents that show the terrorism task force is spying on people who are politically active in environmental, political and animal-rights issues.

“There is mounting evidence that groups and individuals who exercise their First Amendment rights are being unfairly targeted and scrutinized,” said Mary Ellen McNish, general secretary for the Service Committee, which along with its British counterpart, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 on behalf of Quakers worldwide.

Evidence cited includes:

News reports indicate that FBI agents in a number of states made a concerted effort to conduct surveillance on and interrogate activists who planned to stage peaceful demonstrations at the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

In Denver, local police unlawfully kept intelligence "spy files" on people and organizations involved in legal, peaceful protests
Service Committee staff, and in some cases volunteers, have been visited by the FBI, or followed and trailed by car and helicopter both at home and office

National organizations participating in the effort include the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Greenpeace, the American Indian Movement, and Catholic Peace Ministries.

Since September 11, a general atmosphere of fear has allowed many Americans to accept the gradual erosion of their constitutionally protected rights. Opinion polls show many now believe that the threat of terrorism requires a new way of living, arguably one that grants more and more power to local police and government groups such as the FBI or CIA. The consequences could be tragic.

In the seventies, public exposure of the Pentagon papers, FBI files and other documents gave a glimpse of the vast extent of illegal surveillance, record keeping and disruptive — and sometimes lethal — activity carried on by government intelligence agencies, from the CIA and FBI down to local police, against large numbers of American citizens. In fact, AFSC secured hundreds of federal files detailing government surveillance projects and intelligence documents targeting US peace groups under the freedom of information act during this period.

While public awareness of illegal or misused intelligence has no doubt increased since Watergate and subsequent revelations, a growing number of Americans do not remember the seventies. Today’s thirty-year olds were not even born when massive problems with FBI surveillance surfaced.

The American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization working for peace, justice and reconciliation in 22 countries of the world. With national headquarters in Philadelphia and regional offices in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Des Moines, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Pasadena, California; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, AFSC emphasizes people, not politics or ideology – upholding the dignity and promise of every person.

The Service Committee has a long history working for peace, civil rights and social justice issues. Historically, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) have been the subject of suspicion and at times repression and violence because of their refusal to condone or participate in war or preparations for war, and for having come to the aid of those suffering from hostilities, persecution or injustice. Friends worked to assist runaway slaves and in the modern civil rights movement, stood up for worker’s rights and a host of social and economic justice issues.

Since the September 11 tragedies, AFSC has actively supported a No More Victims campaign, which supports justice, healing, and peaceful alternatives to conflict – not war and retaliation. Events have included silent vigils and demonstrations, government petitions that included past Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and discussion forums that include military families and family members of those who perished in the World Trade Center attacks. Currently, its Eyes Wide Open exhibit of combat boots that represent soldiers who have died in the Iraq conflict is traveling across the United States — a stark reminder of the human costs of war.

“Clearly the constitutional right of people to express their views or peaceably assemble is not a criminal offense,” McNish commented. “Trampling upon the Bill of Rights is not the answer to stopping terrorism. As Americans, we need to honor and uphold our constitution by not eroding the very principles upon which our country was founded.”

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

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