June 20, 2006
Reuters: Why Are Arab Nations Silent?
A June 20 Reuters article discusses the silence of most Arab governments regarding Guantanamo, noting that while the EU has lately been vehement in their demands that the base be closed, no Arab governments have come forward. Rather than seeking the answer for this in the power relations between US and Arab government, however, the article chooses to lay blame mainly on the Arab governments themselves, suggesting that they are at best no better than the US and might in fact be "complicit" in the war on terror to protect their own interests. It quotes Saad Djebbar, an Algerian international lawyer based in London, as saying that Arab governments have "their own Guantanamos" and are thus loath to make an official protest about conditions at the base.
February 17, 2006
U.N. Report: Close GITMO
In a statement posted to its website, the United Nations announced the release of a joint report on the treatment of foreign terror suspects held at the United States naval facility in Cuba, calling on the United States “to close immediately the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay and bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them.”
The result of an 18 month investigation, the report’s findings were based upon interviews with former detainees, public documents, media reports, attorney interviews and a government questionnaire, the Washington Post reports. The U.N.'s five member panel concluded that detainees are entitled to (1) challenge the legality of their detention before a judicial body, and (2) obtain release if detention is found to lack a proper legal basis. Finding some of the interrogation techniques employed "meet four of the five elements in the Convention definition of torture," the report calls for the closure of the prison facility "without further delay."
While U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan did not agree with everything contained within the report, he did nevertheless echo the report’s conclusion that detainees could not be held in perpetuity without charge or the opportunity to defend themselves, CNN reports.
Annan likewise agreed that the prison’s closure should occur as soon as possible.
The White House summarily rejected the U.N. report's claims as “largely without merit.” While the human rights experts who authored the 54-page report were invited to Guantanamo, they declined after U.S. authorities said they would not be permitted to interview the detainees.
Responding to inquiries about the report during his daily press briefing, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan offered, “I think that what we are seeing is a rehash of allegations that have been made by lawyers representing some of these detainees," maintaining "The military treats detainees humanely, as directed by the President of the United States.”
Also weighing in on the report, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said at the Council on Foreign Relations meeting, "There is no torture, there is no abuse...It’s being handled honorably.”
The U.N. report in its entirety may be viewed here.
December 13, 2005
Pentagon Invites Human Rights Specialist to Guantanamo
The Pentagon announced it has extended an invitation to a representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to visit the detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba.
As the DoD release explains, "Although department policy does not provide for such visits to military detention facilities, the department has determined on an exceptional basis to extend this invitation. The department strives for transparency in our operations to the extent possible in light of security and operational requirements and the need to ensure the safety of our forces."
According to the American Forces Press Service, Belgian politician and OSCE representative Anne-Marie Lizin accepted the DoD's invitation, and will be permitted to observe operations at the facilities at Guantanamo and ask questions of the command, staff and U.S. officials who would accompany her.
A DoD spokesman said he did not yet know when Lizin's visit would take place.
June 20, 2005
On Extended Detentions, Clinton Admits He Was "Not Blameless"
In a transcript of the interview Bill Clinton gave to the U.K.'s Financial Times, the former President argued against holding terror suspects in perpetuity and without due process, despite an admission that his administration was "not blameless" when it came to detaining terror suspects for an extended period of time and without trial.
"We had a law on the books when I was President, that was enforced from time to time, which permitted the Justice department to hold suspected terrorists beyond the normal length of time they could them without trial, if, bringing the indictment and the trial would require the presentation of evidence which would reveal the identity of the intelligence source, compromise the life of the intelligence source, maybe risk the life of the intelligence source, but more importantly dry up what we thought we were finding out about terror networks.
"It sounds so reasonable but if you're the guy who's in prison and you're not guilty, you could be held there three, four, five years and there has to be come limit to that.
"But the more important thing and I want to make some explicit statement here because I think people in the West who feel threatened by terror may be tempted to become more tolerant of the need to be tougher with suspected terrorists."
Later in the interview, President Clinton added,
"But I still don't think you can just hold these people forever. I think sooner or later you've got to move or let them go, you can't say, 'we know' because its all secret. It is just inimical to a free society."
Former President Clinton on GITMO: Close it or Clean it Up
As did former President Jimmy Carter last week, former President Bill Clinton added his voice to the debate mounting in the U.S. and abroad over the future of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, calling for the U.S.-run facility in Cuba to "be closed down or cleaned up."
During an interview with the U.K.'s Financial Times, in addition to ethical concerns President Clinton cited practical reasons for the irreproachable treatment of detainees opining,
�If we get a reputation for abusing people it puts our own soldiers much more at risk and second, if you rough up somebody bad enough, they'll eventually tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to stop doing it."
Amid the public relations nightmare fomented by alleged and confirmed instances of detainee abuse, the White House appears to be divided over the issue of Guantanamo's future, with President George Bush hinting at the facility's possible scale-down or closure. Nevertheless, senior officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretatary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld remain steadfast in their position that the prison facility is essential, no practical alternative to Guantanamo exists, and "enemy combatants" detained at the camp continue to provide valuable intelligence, crucial to winning the ;'War on Terror.'
June 08, 2005
President Carter Calls for GITMO Closure
In order to demonstrate its historic commitment to promoting freedom and democracy around the world, Jimmy Carter says the United States should close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, The New York Times reports.
At his Atlanta-based human rights center, the former president joined human rights defenders from 14 nations, and together with representatives from major U.S. human rights organizations participated in a conference entitled "Human Rights Defenders on the Frontlines of Freedom: Advancing Security and the Rule of Law." According to a press release posted to The Carter Center website, the two-day conference proposed several recommendations:
Close down Guantanamo and the two dozen secret detention facilities run by the United States as soon as practicable;
Reaffirm the United States' commitment to fundamental principles of due process and to international law and give unequivocal assurances that all provisions of the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners and the Convention Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment, including during interrogations, will be strictly enforced;
Assure that no detainees will be held incommunicado and that all will know the charges against them and be insured of international standards for fair trials;
Terminate the policy of "extraordinary rendition" (the transfer of detainees to foreign countries where torture has been reported);
Establish an independent, blue ribbon commission with authority to investigate places where terrorism suspects are held in U.S. custody and make a full report to the world, as called for by bipartisan congressional leaders, and
In its policies towards other nations, the United States should look to multilateral mechanisms when seeking to advance freedom and democracy, especially the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is a willing partner in this endeavor.
Despite his criticism of U.S.-run prison facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and allegations of prisoner mistreatment that have caused the U.S. to suffer a "terrible embarrassment and a blow to our reputation," President Carter was careful not to confine his critique to the United States, acknowledging the existence of serious human rights violations in other nations as well, CNN reports.
"All free nations should unite in condemnation of those countries guilty of such abuses, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the standard," he urged.
President Carter likewise denounced Amnesty International's recent portrayal of the prison facility at Guantanamo as "the gulag of our time," contending the alleged abuses at the U.S.-run prison in no way compare to the forced labor camps administered by the former Soviet Union.