In Hungary, the prime minister can now rule by decree. In Britain, ministers have what a critic called “eye-watering” power to detain people and close borders. Israel’s prime minister has shut down courts and begun an intrusive surveillance of citizens. Chile has sent the military to public squares once occupied by protesters. Bolivia has postponed elections.
As the coronavirus pandemic brings the world to a juddering halt
and anxious citizens demand action, leaders across the globe are
invoking executive powers and seizing virtually dictatorial authority
with scant resistance.
Governments and
rights groups agree that these extraordinary times call for
extraordinary measures. States need new powers to shut their borders,
enforce quarantines and track infected people. Many of these actions are
protected under international rules, constitutional lawyers say.
But critics say some governments are using the public health crisis as
cover to seize new powers that have little to do with the outbreak, with
few safeguards to ensure that their new authority will not be abused.
The laws are taking swift hold across a broad range of political systems
— in authoritarian states like Jordan, faltering democracies like
Hungary, and traditional democracies like Britain. And there are few
sunset provisions to ensure that the powers will be rescinded once the
threat passes.
“We could have a parallel epidemic of
authoritarian and repressive measures following close if not on the
heels of a health epidemic,” said Fionnuala Ni Aolain, the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights.
As
the new laws broaden state surveillance, allow governments to detain
people indefinitely and infringe on freedoms of assembly and expression,
they could also shape civic life, politics and economies for decades to
come.
The pandemic is already
redefining norms. Invasive surveillance systems in South Korea and
Singapore, which would have invited censure under normal circumstances, have been praised for
slowing infections. Governments that initially criticized China for
putting millions of its citizens under lockdown have since followed
suit.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has authorized his
country’s internal security agency to track citizens using a secret
trove of cellphone data developed for counterterrorism. By tracing
people’s movements, the government can punish those who defy isolation
orders with up to six months in prison.
And by ordering the closing of the nation’s courts, Mr. Netanyahu delayed his scheduled appearance to face corruption charges.
Even more *vital* information about the subject of "Martial Law" follows....
From Phil McCausland's 3-28-20 NBC News report entitled "Rhode Island Police, Troops Stopping Incoming New Yorkers to Force Quarantine":
Rhode Island's National Guard and state police are stopping motorists with New York license plates and going door-to-door to find people who may have traveled recently from the state.
The enforcement actions come after Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered that anyone who has moved from New York state to Rhode Island in the past two weeks must self-quarantine for 14 days, part of her state's effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Troops from the National Guard have been posted at train stations and bus depots to inform New Yorkers of the order, and on Saturday they began going door-to-door to tell any recent travelers from New York that they must follow the quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus. State police began stopping cars with New York plates on Friday.
“I know this is unusual. I know this is extreme. And I know some people don’t agree with it,” Raimondo said. “It’s absolutely not a decision I make lightly.”
Those who do not comply with the order face a fine of $500 and 90 days in prison.
To read McCausland's entire report, click HERE.
"Martial Law"
(Lou Reed Live at The Bottom Line in New York, 1983):
From Kelly Mena's 3-28-20 CNN report entitled "Cuomo on Possible New York Quarantine: 'I Don't Think It's Legal' and It Would Be a 'Federal Declaration of War'":
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday in an interview with CNN that he didn't believe a possible New York quarantine was legal and that it would be a "federal declaration of war" after President Donald Trump said he was considering such a tactic for the New York metro area as US coronavirus cases increase.
"It would be chaos and mayhem," Cuomo told CNN's Ana Cabrera. "It's totally opposite everything he's been saying. I don't think it is plausible. I don't think it is legal."
More than 52,000 of the nation's over 113,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in New York state alone. And officials are forecasting that the apex of the pandemic there is still 14 to 21 days away.
"This would be a federal declaration of war on states," Cuomo said, adding that he doesn't think the President is looking to start a war with states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory regarding the three states about an hour after Trump announced in a tweet that he had asked the agency to do so, saying that a quarantine would not be necessary.
Trump's announcement came just hours after he said earlier on Saturday that he was mulling a short-term quarantine of "hot spots" in parts of the tri-state area -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- where cases of coronavirus continue to rise.
"We're thinking about certain things. Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it's a hotspot. ... We might not have to do it, but there's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine, short-term, two weeks on New York. Probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut," he told reporters as he departed the White House for Norfolk Naval Station to send off a Navy hospital ship to New York.
"I'd rather not do it, but we may need it," said the President, who later tweeted that "decision will be made, one way or another, shortly."
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