Document #1037448
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
No reports of members of the John Birch
Society being involved in the harassment/intimidation of communists
could be found among the sources consulted by the Research
Directorate.
A Senior Analyst with Political Research
Associates in Somerville, Maine which conducts research into the
"ideology and tactics of the political 'right' in the United
States," stated during a 10 June 1999 telephone interview that
while members of the John Birch Society hold opinions on conspiracy
theories involving the New World Order that are similar to American
"patriot" groups, members of the Society "are not really radical."
He described members as generally above average in education and
income and stated that there are several Congressmen who are
members. As such, he said the approach of Society members to their
concerns is one of "reformism" rather than the use of arms. In the
opinion of the Senior Analyst, members of the John Birch Society
would "absolutely not be likely to use harassment against
individuals."
During a 10 June 1999 telephone interview,
a Research Analyst with the Intelligence Project of the Southern
Poverty Law Centre - which "began as a small civil rights law firm
in 1971. ... created Klanwatch in 1981 in response to a resurgence
of Ku Klux Klan activity [and] today, ... tracks the activities of
more than 400 racist and neo-Nazi groups" (SPLC n.d.) - stated that
the John Birch Society shares with American militia groups a belief
in a conspiracy theory regarding the imposition of a new world
order. However, she said that while these groups do connect in
terms of beliefs, they do not with respect to action, with the
militias possessing more active tendencies. She acknowledged that
John Birch Society groups are listed as "patriot groups" in some
states in the SPLC's annual listing, but said they are not listed
in other states because the Intelligence Project of the SPLC had
not received any information from police, news reports, Websites,
or other sources, indicating that the John Birch Society is active
in that state.
During a 9 June 1999 telephone interview, a
Professor of Politics and History at Emory University, whose
research interest is American Communism and who has written several
books on the subject, stated that the John Birch Society does
"denounce" communists, but that he does not know of any "overt" or
"vigilante" actions against communists by members of the
Society.
A Senior Researcher at the Simon Wiesenthal
Center stated during a 10 June 1999 telephone interview that he has
not heard much of the John Birch Society lately and is not aware of
any actions its members may have taken against communists.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the
list of additional sources consulted in researching this
Information Request.
References
Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. 9
June 1999. Telephone interview with Professor of Politics and
History.
Political Research Associates,
Somerville, Maine. 10 June 1999. Telephone interview with a Senior
Analyst.
Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles. 10
June 1999. Telephone interview with a Senior Researcher.
Southern Poverty Law Centre, Montgomery,
Alabama. 11 June 1999. Telephone interview with a Research Analyst
with the Intelligence Project.
_____. n.d. Website. [Internet] http://www.splcenter.org/ [Accessed
15 June 1999]
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International Report 1998.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1998.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1999.
John Birch Society. Website. http://www.jbs.org/
Resource Centre. United States country
file. April 1997 - June 1999.
_____. United States: Amnesty
International country file. March 1998 - June 1999.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases,
LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD.