|
|
Appropriately, the US base on Guantánamo Bay is itself viewed as illegitimate by the Cuban government, who have ‘ultimate sovereignty’ of the area. Cuba claims that the 1903 treaty which allowed the US its permanent lease, giving it “complete jurisdiction and control”, is void under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which states that a treaty cannot be procured by the threat of force, and therefore refuses to cash the annual cheque given as rent. Since January 2002 this base has been used to imprison “illegal combatants”, including children, suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. First the outdoor “Camp X-Ray” was used; in April 2002 it was replaced by the covered “Camp Delta”. Currently over 650 people from around 40 countries are held there without sentence, trial or even charge.
The technical sovereignty of Cuba is used as an excuse to deny these prisoners Constitutional rights. This is handy for the US government, as otherwise they would be in breach of the 4th Amendment (prohibits unreasonable search and seizure), 5th (prohibits indefinite incarceration without trial), 6th (states right to prompt and public trial) and 8th (protects against cruel and unusual punishment). This argument, based on the technicality that the land is not ‘American’, has been used by US Judge Kollar-Kotelly to reject claims from lawyers attempting to get some form of justice for detainees. She also said that the prisoners were not being deprived of due process because they had not been charged with any offence! When the Human Rights Chamber in Bosnia (which was set up by the US) expressly forbade the deportation of a suspect from Sarajevo, it was ignored. As also made evident by the war in Iraq, the US has just as little respect for international law as national law. It claims that by labelling its prisoners “illegal combatants” rather than “prisoners of war” it can deny them the rights guaranteed under the Geneva Convention. That they are being pre-judged is made absolutely clear by George Bush’s words: “The only thing I know for certain is that these are bad people.”
Detainees are interrogated repeatedly and denied the right to a lawyer, and there have been claims of torture threats, and bright lights kept on 24 hours a day. The US has reported 32 suicide attempts. Last November, Newsnight reported that the CIA believes many of those held in Guantánamo Bay shouldn’t be there at all. Sayed Abbasin, a taxi driver arrested by Afghanis and sent to Guantánamo Bay where he was kept for over a year before being released without compensation, his friend, Wazir Mohammed, who was arrested when he enquired after him, is still detained there described how he repeatedly asked for the implementation of international law, western law, American law, Afghan law – but was ignored. His passenger, Alif Khan was also arrested and when interviewed by the BBC he suggested that the reason for many arrests is the bounty payments offered by the US. (An article in the Los Angeles Times suggested that many Afghans now in Guantánamo Bay were forcibly conscripted into the Taliban because they could not afford the bribes demanded to avoid military service). Alif also claimed he was chained and taped up, then injected while being transported to Guantánamo, where he was put into the cages he describes as “like a zoo”. However, unlike in zoos, no one is allowed to video the prisoners. An explanation given for this is that it is forbidden to display captives in the media under the Geneva Convention! Interviews with detainees are not allowed either, and after the BBC Panorama reporter Vivian White talked to one he was excluded from seeing any more of the camp. The man called out in broken English: “After a long time we’re looking you here.” We have been waiting a long time for the world just to take notice.
In July 2003 George Bush named six foreign nationals to be tried by a military commission, including two British and one Australian national, for whom the US government has conceded that it will not pursue the death penalty. It has made no such promises for the other three. Amnesty International has expressed concern that the guidelines for such tribunals do not expressly exclude statements extracted under coercion, that they are not independent (the US President or Secretary of Defence chooses all the members), they are discriminatory (only foreign nationals will be tried), there is no right of appeal, and a limited right to effective defence (defendants don’t have the right to see all the evidence against them, and right to a counsel of choice is restricted). Amnesty has repeatedly called for the US government to rescind the Military Order which allows these tribunals. The possibility of constructing an execution chamber at the base has recently been discussed by the US. However, Baroness Symons, speaking for our Foreign Office, has refused to condemn outright the lack of rights in Guantánamo Bay or the threat of the death penalty. The media may have visited Camp Delta, but not enough is being said or done to challenge its illegality.
|
Tags
You must be logged in to add tags.
|
Writer Profile
Danny Sweeney
This user has not written anything in his panorama profile yet.
|
Comments
Daniel, ain't the news service grand Gene Winston Owens, Sr. | Mar 4th, 2005
You must be a TakingITGlobal member to post a comment. Sign up for free or login.
|
|
