Plan afoot to tap phonelines?

No one would argue that preserving national security is a legitimate and indispensable function of a government. However, it is fair to ask what national security interest is served by listening in on private telephone calls. If there exists legitimate probable cause to believe that a certain phone line is being used for anti-national activities, a warrant to tap that particular phone can be obtained. The state does not need to retain the power to tap phone lines arbitrarily and indiscriminately.

Listening in on the phone calls of private individuals is a grievous denial of fundamental rights. The rights to expression and privacy are essential for a smooth functioning of democracy. There exist certain fundamental liberal values which form the foundation of open and democratic societies, and freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into our everyday lives is one of them.

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Already troubling has been the tendency of governments to politicise everything, and the danger that this kind of expansion of the state's power will be used in a partisan manner against political opponents of the government cannot be overlooked. Government routinely accuses the opposition of terrorism and acting against national interest, and there can be little doubt that the power to tap phone lines would be used, not to safeguard national security, but to harass those unpopular with the government.

It is commendable that BTRC appears to be resisting the efforts of the security agencies in this matter. It is imperative that we be more vigilant of our rights and more vocal in our opposition to plans to curtail them. The government must understand that the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people are its sacred trust that cannot be allowed to be compromised or undermined under any pretext. To do so is to run the risk of starting down the slippery slope to a totalitarian police state.