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NEARinternational reports
In its letter to Habib, the US government upheld a previous ban on his entry into the US, citing a section of the US Immigration and Nationality Act which relates to terrorist activities, FXI have said.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The section of the Immigration and Nationality Act in question states that anyone who the US believes to be a terrorist threat or who has signalled an intention to engage in terrorist activity can be denied entry. The section also states that anyone who is a representative of a foreign terrorist organisation, or an organisation that endorses terrorist views, or who has used his position of prominence within any country to endorse terrorist activity, can also be excluded. The letter sent to Habib does not make it clear how he is supposed to have violated this section.
Habib was denied entry to the US last year, after having been invited to participate in a panel discussion on globalisation and South African social movements by the American Sociological Association (ASA). The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) also invited him to its 2008 Annual General Meeting, to discuss US travel bans on international scholars who are critical of US foreign policy.
The FXI believe that the banning of Habib is part of a continuing process by the US government to deny entry to prominent individuals and academics that have criticised US foreign policy. The practice of ‘ideological exclusion,’ ensures that critical debate amongst academics cannot take place. Habib’s wife and two children have also been banned from entering the US.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Please send appeals:
1. Urging the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take up the matter with the US Government and to seek a review of the ban.
APPEALS TO:
Postal Address:
Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria 0001
Republic of South Africa
Pretoria Address:
East Wing
Union Building
Government Avenue
Arcadia
Pretoria
Tel: (09 27) 12 351 1000
Fax: (09 27) 12 351 0165
Email: webmaster@foreign.gov.za
or info@foreign.gov.za
Cape Town Address:
120 Plein Street
Parliamentary Precinct
Cape Town
Tel: (09 27) +21 464 3700
PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:
Jonathan Travis
Programme Officer, Network for Education and Academic Rights
90 London Road,
SE1 9LN
London, UK
Fax: 0044(0) 207 021 0881
jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org
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