English fo MP student book

UNIT 10 – Dealing with Vehicle Crime

¾ Activity 4

Read the text carefully and make an imaginary dialogue between the Swedish officer and the car smuggler. Choose the moment when the officer is checking the passport and the visa.

Estonian Car Smugglers

On the Swedish visa officer's desk the visa applications pile up. Earlier the same morning he had found a false passport of a known car smuggler. Frowning, he compares the photograph in the passport with the ones in two visa applications, one old and one new. "This passport is false," he concludes and puts it away to give it to the Estonian police. The Swedish Embassy has information on about 60 people who have been known to be involved in car smuggling in Europe and therefore are not granted visas. Some of these are known by the staff after trying too often to get a visa.

Currently several north European governments are discussing abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians. "The consequence is that you completely lose control over who will come to your country," says the Swedish Embassy. Of course, there are competing interests. Business would benefit from an abolishment. Several people the reporter has spoken to at the Swedish Embassy stress that Estonia is on the right track compared to Lithuania, Latvia and Russia. They believe that Estonia is readier and more suitable for European Union membership than the other two Baltic states.

Corruption is on the decrease and the Soviet system is losing ground. Interpol and several other institutions get good marks. The institutions are new and the staff is young. Lack of experience is balanced by a strong will to rectify the problems. Also, the Embassy officials stress that car smuggling is mainly a problem for the countries from where the cars disappear. "You just can’t complain about the Estonians and say that it is their fault."

At the car market.

Under a pine tree in Kadaka car market in the outskirts of Tallinn a BMW 730 is parked. As we come closer a man appears from the van parked next to it. He wears a blue winter jacket which is tight around his fat belly and the man definitely needs a shave. "It is a nice car," he explains to us in Russian. "It was bought in Kiev only two weeks ago, and all the documents are in perfect order." His golden teeth glitter as he assures us that there are no problems whatsoever with the car. And it is a very nice car, and even better, the price is only $ 10,800. In Sweden, a similar car is twice as expensive.

# Exercise 7

Decide if the following sentences are true or false (T/F) or not stated (NOT STATED)

1.A Swedish officer has discovered a false passport carried by a known car smuggler.

_______

2.The car smuggler’s photograph was new on the passport and old on the driving licence. _______

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3.The Swedish Embassy has information about sixty Estonian car smugglers. ____

4.There is a discussion about abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians.

5.Estonia is likely to be invited to apply for European Union membership. ______

6.The car smuggler from the market has no teeth. _________

7.The car was nice but has no documents and was very expensive. _______

8.In Sweden the cars are twice expensive than in Estonia. _________

¾Activity 5 Theft of a Motor Vehicle

Comment on the definition of motor vehicle theft.

According to the standard definition, theft means depriving a person/organisation of property without force with the intent to keep it. Most countries include offences relating to motorboats and receiving/handling stolen vehicles but some countries have “loopholes” in their law relating to these aspects. How is this a disadvantage to European police activities?

According to Romanian law, decide on the legal liability of all parties concerned in this case study. Consider the implications.

A Romanian citizen is offered a 2001 BMW for 8000 US$ which is far below its real

value.

The seller states that the car was bought in Germany from a reliable dealer and that the papers are in order. The prospective buyer looks at the documents, sees that there seems to be no proof of purchase but is satisfied that the seller is the legal owner of the car as his name is on the (German) registration book. He pays the money and receives the car and its documents.

When the Romanian takes the car for registration, he is informed that the car is on a list of stolen vehicles that has been circulated by Europol. He is informed that he will be charged with a criminal offence.

¾ Activity 6

Make a dialogue (in English!) between the buyer and a police officer.

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¾ Activity 7

Homework Task or Just for Fun?

International vehicle registration

Read the names of some European countries and their capitals and then match the international identification letters with the right country.

e.g. CROATIA/ ZAGREB/ HR SWITZERLAND/ BERN/ CH International Identification Letters

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¾ Activity 8 Motorcycle Theft in the UK

Listen to the text and complete the table.

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UNIT 11

COUNTERING TERRORISM

INTRODUCTION

Discussion

•Which terrorist groups are you familiar with?

•What do you understand by the word “terrorism”?

•Who decides if an act is “terrorism”?

•If an act comes from the state, e.g. a planned assassination of an opponent who the state considers a threat, is the act not “terrorism”?

•If something is defined as “terrorism” at one time, for example, the acts of extremist groups in Northern Ireland, should these people ever be allowed to participate in political discussions subsequently?

•If the “terrorists” have political motives, e.g. independence for their group or minority, does this mean they are not criminals but political prisoners if caught?

•Can terrorist groups that act “for nationalistic principles”, e.g. the Basque movement, ETA, continue without the support of the people they claim to represent?

Who do you think the person depicted above is? A terrorist? Where do you think he comes from?

Do WANTED posters have any effect?

If you think he is a terrorist, with what event may he have been connected? Your teacher has information about this man.

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Before considering this topic it might be useful to start at the theoretical end.

These texts are derived from the U.S. Army, Field manual “Stability and Support Operations”, Combatting Terrorism, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

1.Weapons and financial support for “freedom fighters” in their struggle for independence.

2.People sabotaging important electric and communications installations during an invasion of their country by a stronger power.

3.Nationalist separatists blowing up the ruling group’s administration buildings to reinforce their demands for independence.

4.Supplying weapons to groups opposed to a democratically and legally-elected government because it conflicts with the supplier’s ideological position.

5.Supplying equipment and installations to a “dangerous” state knowing that it may use these offensively or threateningly.

Read the text carefully.

Is there a difference between terrorism and other criminal offences?

Terrorism is a special type of violence. It is a tactic used in peace, conflict and war. The threat from terrorism is ever present and an attack is likely to occur when least expected. A terrorist initiates the event that marks the transition from peace to conflict or war. Combatting terrorism is a factor to consider in all military plans and operations. Combatting terrorism requires a continuous state of awareness; it is a necessary practice rather than a type of military operation. Detailed guidelines, establishing an organisational programme to combat terrorism, including preventive and protection measures and incident response planning can be found in the Joint Publication 3-07-2 (1993). terrorism is a criminal offense under nearly every national or international legal code. With few exceptions, acts of terrorism are forbidden in war as they are in times of peace. The Hague Convention (1907) and the Geneva Convention of 1949 reinforce this idea.

# Exercise 1 Terrorism Defined

Complete the various parts of the definition.

Terrorism is the (1) …………………… use of violence or the threat of violence to

(2)……………fear; it is intended to (3)………………. or intimidate governments or societies in the (4)…………………….of goals which are generally political, (5) ………………..……. or

(6)……..………………. This definition is carefully formulated to (7) …………………. between terrorism and other forms of violence.

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B. The tendency to label as “terrorism” … 2. …in the name of a variety of causes.

# Exercise 3 Some Historical Perspactives

Use these words to complete the text

Throughout history, extremists have practised terrorism to generate fear and to (1)

__________________ a change in behaviour.

Frequently, terrorism was (2) _______________________ to other forms of violent actioninsurgency or war. Before the 19th Century, terrorists usually (3) _________________

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immunity from attack to certain categories of people. Like other warriors, terrorists recognized innocent people, not involved in the conflict. Terrorists usually excluded women, children and the elderly from their activities. For example, in late 19th Century Russia, radical planning the assassination of the Tsar, (4) __________________several attacks because they risked harming innocent people. “Old-school” terrorism was direct; it intended to produce a political effect through the injury or death of the victim. The development of bureaucratic states led to a (5) ________________ change in terrorism. Modern governments have a continuity that older, personalistic governments did not. Terrorists found that the death of a single individual, even a monarch, did not necessarily produce the policy changes they (6)

___________________. Terrorists reacted by turning to an indirect method of attack. By the early 20th Century, terrorists began to attack people previously considered innocents to generate political pressure. These attacks had the effect of creating a public atmosphere of anxiety and, as a result, were planned to (7)_________________ confidence in the government. The (8)

________________________ of the attacks, their apparent randomness made it (9)

____________________________ impossible for governments to protect potential victims. The public demands protection that the state cannot give. Frustrated and frightened people then demand that the government make (10) _____________________ to stop the attacks.

Terrorists are inspired by many different motives. They may be classified into three categories: RATIONAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL OR CULTURAL. A terrorist, of course, may be shaped by all three.

Decide into which category the statements may be placed.

a) The terrorist thinks through his goals and options, making a cost-benefit analysis.

b) “Splinter-groups” among terrorists are often more violent than their “parent” group.

c) Terrorists do not even consider they may be wrong although others’ views may be assessed on merit.

d) Terrorists tend to project their own anti-social motivation on others, creating a polarized “us” and “them” perspective.

e) Some political systems have no effective nonviolent means for changes in power structure or “succession”.

f) Terrorist groups ask a crucial question: Can our actions be successful in attaining our goals without causing a backlash that will destroy the cause and perhaps our own people?

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g)A terrorist group must terrorise. As a minimum it must commit violent acts to maintain group self-esteem and legitimacy.

h)Society generally rejects as unbelievable such actions as vendettas, self-destruction, ethnic cleansing, religious martyrdom, etc. when we observe it in others.

i)When a terrorist group approaches its stated goals, it is often inclined to re-define them.

j)A major determinate of terrorism is the perception of outsiders and anxiety about ethnic group survival. Fear of cultural extermination leads to violence.

Can you think of authentic examples of these? For example, from Northern Ireland, from Spain, from Chechnya, from the Middle East, from North Africa …?

Read the text. It is an immediate response by Noam Chomsky to the September 11 attacks.Chomsky is perhaps the most famous living linguistic scientist. He has been critical of American policy for over 30 years and is considered an extremely intelligent person, although frequently very opposed to American foreign policy.

What are your reactions to this?

Today's attacks were major atrocities. In terms of number of victims they do not reach the level of many others, for example, Clinton's bombing of the Sudan with no credible pretext, destroying half its pharmaceutical supplies and probably killing tens of thousands of people (no one knows, because the US blocked an inquiry at the UN and no one cares to pursue it). Not to speak of much worse cases, which easily come to mind. But that this was a horrendous crime is not in doubt. The primary victims, as usual, were working people: janitors, secretaries, firemen, etc. It is likely to prove to be a crushing blow to Palestinians and other poor and oppressed people. It is also likely to lead to harsh security controls, with many possible ramifications for undermining civil liberties and internal freedom.

The events reveal, dramatically, the foolishness of ideas about "missile defense." As has been obvious all along, and pointed out repeatedly by strategic analysts, if anyone wants to cause immense damage in the US, including weapons of mass destruction, they are highly unlikely tolaunch a missile attack, thus guaranteeing their immediate destruction.

There are innumerable easier ways that are basically unstoppable. But today's events will, nonetheless, be used to increase the pressure to develop these systems and put them into place. "Defense" is a thin cover for plans for militarization of space, and with good PR, even the flimsiest arguments will carry some weight among a frightened public.

In short, the crime is a gift to the hard jingoist right, those who hope to use force to control their domains. That is even putting aside the likely US actions, and what they will trigger - possibly more attacks like this one, or worse. The prospects ahead are even more ominous than they appeared to be before the latest atrocities.

Noam Chomsky

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These words may have caused some difficulty: janitor: caretaker of a building

flimsy-flimsier-flimsiest : weak, without any real weight or force ( a flimsy argument or excuse) “ ..hard jingoistic right”: the right in politics is always considered more conservative, traditional,

individual-country focused and more nationalistic; “jingoistic” is an expression which goes back to the days of the British Empire when national interests were always pursued very vigourously. Any threat to the Empire was rapidly responded tousually by force!

Which words or phrases mean …?

1.countless:_____________________________

2.repercussions: ________________________

3.set off/initiate a reaction or response: ______________________________

4.without any real justification: ____________________________________

Discuss the purpose and effect of the underlined sections.

Reading and Discussion

FORMER OFFICER ON TRIAL FOR JUSTIFYING TORTURE

IN THE ALGERIAN WAR

Adapted from an article by Franck Johann from “Le Monde” which appeared in “The Guardian Weekly” edition, 06 December 2001

For the first time since 1962, a high-ranking French army officer has been tried in a criminal court on charges of justifying the use of torture during the Algerian war for independence. General Paul Aussaresses, 83, whose memoirs caused a furore earlier this year, faces a jail sentence of up to five yearsfor his writing rather than for his actionseven though he has admitted the torture and killing of 24 suspected rebels in the eight-year conflict which ended in 1962.

A Second World War resistance hero, General Aussaresses is charged with “complicity in justifying war crimes”. The actual crimes are covered by an amnesty offered in the 1960s to all French soldiers who served in Algeria. Aussaresses regrets nothing, arguing that someone had to do the dirty work in Algeria. He did it, he says, without pleasure and without pity. And he dispassionately told the story in “Services Speciaux: Algerie: 1955-1977”, which was published in June 2001.

The General called his witnesses, most of them army men, many retired generals like himself –hoary, decorated, half-deaf, arthritic and full of war memories who came forward to defend their comrade. But the court also heard evidence from Henri Alleg, 80, who, during the conflict published Alger Republicain, a newspaper that was shut down by the French authorities. Alleg was arrested and tortured. During the three and a half years he spent in detention awaiting trial, he wrote The Question, a book that exposed the torture practised in French military jails during the Algerian war. His manuscript was smuggled out page by page. Alleg was tried in camera and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Giving evidence this time, he warned against a return to torture, “to barbarism in the name of civilisation, or

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