The Peace PeopleAfter the grim revelations of last year regarding US Torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo, there is little doubt that the USA faces an extraordinary moral and legal crisis.
After the grim revelations of last year regarding US Torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo, there is little doubt that the USA faces an extraordinary moral and legal crisis. To address this a citizens mock- trial was held (at which Mairead Corrigan Maguire was asked to be a commentator,). The trial was based on actual laws and evidence, and they used real lawyers, as well as real testimonies given by Iraqi and Afghan survivors. The jury also heard testimonies from torture survivors from Latin America who suffered torture practices in their homelands, with a North American agent present in their cell. Mr. Rumsfeld, Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Tenet, were found guilty of violations of International and US laws prohibiting torture.
Commenting during the Trial, Mairead Corrigan Maguire called for the closing of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, saying detainees should be charged under US Law or released them immediately. She also called on those in USA Administration., responsible for violations of US torture laws to be held accountable.
Maguire went on to say:
'The Bush Administration wants to replace multi-lateral solutions to International problems with a World Order in which the USA does as it likes on a bilateral basis, but the rest of the World, will not accept the US's bilateralist role or agenda. When The Bush and Blair Administrations invaded and occupied Iraq, on lies, and against the wishes of the International community, they were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Part of this agenda is the current US new doctrine of war without end, i.e.., 'war on terrorism' which is itself creating a climate of fear and hatred. "War on terrorism is also a myth, as there is no such thing as a war without an enemy. Terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy; hence one must get to the root causes of terrorism, through dialogue, diplomatic activity and co-operative international law enforcement. This cannot be done by trampling on domestic and international laws, removing many basic civil liberties, and sanctioning torture. US Government sanctioned Torture, is immoral, illegal, and counter-productive. This policy endangers US citizens and troops in a world in which reciprocity in the decent treatment of prisoners might no longer be honoured, and it alienates allies, particularly the Muslims who do not want to work with an administration whose policies are built on torture and detention which predominantly effect Muslim communities. There are sound strategic, moral and constitutional grounds for opposing Torture, and rather than enhancing national security, such a policy endangers it.
Since the horror of 11th September, 2001, the world has grown increasingly unstable, and many feel this in part due to USA's/UK foreign policies, including its invasion and occupation of Iraq, War on Terrorism, etc., It is urgent and imperative that the American Administration have the humility to start listening to what is being said about many of its foreign policies, by the International community, but particularly by the Muslims and the Arab world, who are most affected, and who are the people with whom we need to build trust and friendship in order to build the human family together. Many agree there are strong links between USA's foreign policies and the growth of insurgency movements around the world - particularly in the Middle East i.e., Palestine, Iraq, etc., I believe the Palestinian insurgency is a reaction to Israeli Government policies of occupation and repression of the Palestinian people.
One of the most disturbing of American Foreign Policies is that of the Torture of detainees as part of the 'war on terror'. When the grotesque photographs emerged from Abu Ghraib prison containing images of US military personal torturing Iraqis, the International community was horrified. Abusive interrogation techniques violate not just international law, but also domestic criminal law. Torturing other human beings is cruel and barbaric, ad systematic torture is abhorrent and unacceptable to all civilized people. The American Government. decision, agreed by Sec. of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, to use torture as a weapon in its war on terror, laid the groundwork for abusive treatment, and Donald Rumsfeld should be held accountable as it was under his orders that these crimes against humanity were carried out.
We all have a responsibility to speak out against such Torture, as in failing to do so we allow more abuse to take place with impunity. I would encourage those security people who are ordered to carry out this cruel and inhuman Government sponsored policy of torture, rendition, etc., to follow their conscience, refuse to follow such orders which are systematic abuse of Human Rights, and speak out against this barbarity at the heart of the US Administration's cruel policy of sanctioning torture and rendition.
US invented Gulag
The International Community is rightly outraged at the US practices of indefinite detention, without charge or trial and torture, as its chosen method of conducting its 'war on terror'. It is to the American Government's shame and disgrace that it continues with its criminal treatment of detainees in the US invented 'Gulag' comprising Bagram, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and other facilities which have not yet come to the public attention. In the words of Benyam Mohamed al Habashi, one of the hunger strikers in Guantanamo Bay "we (the hunger strikers) ask only for justice: treat us, as promised, under the rules of the Geneva Conventions, while we are held, and either try us for a valid charge or set us free".
President Bush should immediately close Guantanamo Bay detention camp and charge the detainees under US Law in US courts or release them.
Extraordinary Rendition
This US practice of Extraordinary Rendition which involved the apprehension of a suspect, who is not placed on trial, or flown to Guantanamo, but taken to a country where torture is common, is breaking domestic and International Laws. These suspects are denied legal representation and their detention is concealed from the Committee of the Red Cross. A handful have emerged from what has been labelled 'secret Gulags' and have given deeply disturbing accounts of horrific mistreatment. This USA counter-terrorism operation around the world is breaching basic human rights. This is CIA operating 'torture by proxy' by taking detainees to countries where they know they will be tortured. These countries include Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, etc., * Benyam Mohamed al Habashi was arrested in Pakistan in April 2002 became a victim of the US practice of 'extraordinary rendition.' He was transferred by US forces from Pakistan to Morocco to Afghanistan and finally to Guantanamo Bay. In all of these places of detention he alleges that he was tortured and ill-treated, including being beaten, deprived of sleep, forced to take medication and subjected to sensory deprivation. While he was held in Morocco for a period of 18 months without access to his family or a lawyer allegedly at the behest of the US, al Habashi has alleged his genitalia were cut with a scalpel once a month for the duration of his detention, leaving him permanently scarred. He states that the conditions of his confinement in Guantanamo have been a 'nightmare'.
I would like to support Amnesty Internationals call for the US Congress to set up a full independent commission of inquiry into all the USA's 'war on terror' detention and interrogation policies and practices, including its involvement in secret transfers of detainees. Also for its call on the US Attorney General to appoint an independent Special Counsel from outside the Justice Department to conduct a criminal investigation into any administration officials against whom there is evidence of involvement in crimes in the 'war on terror' including 'disappearances' extra judicial executions, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
After the horror of the Second World War, and Auschwitz Concentration Camp, the World community recognized the need for legislation to protect citizens.
Since then many International Laws have been enacted, sometimes led by the United States of American and based on the values of justice, liberty and equality. These Laws, such as the Geneva Convention, the Convention on Human Rights, Civil and Political Liberties, etc., must be upheld by everyone. USA is not above the rule of law, because it is the most powerful state in the world. This does not give it the right to have a two tired system of justice or to set aside its Constitution. I believe the American Government., has lost its moral leadership, controlling its people through fear and no longer treating all people equally under the law. But, I have hope that, the true spirit of the American people can and must recall its Political and Spiritual leaders to remember their humanity and join the rest of the human family in building what Martin Luther King called 'the beloved (world) community'.
Mairead Corrigan Maguire
24th September, 2005.
Nobel Peace Laureate