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International Herald Tribune, France

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'Crazy Bastards': Imprisonment Without Trial ... and Without End (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)

 

"When prisoners took their lives there, one general called it part of the 'war against us.' Right-wing Senator Lindsey Graham recently said that the Guantanamo inmates are 'crazy bastards' - so dangerous that they should never be moved to the mainland. ... The injustice is not Guantanamo itself, but the concept of imprisonment without trial - and without end. In nations with the rule of law, even those considered 'crazy bastards' are entitled to trial."

 

By Nicolas Richter

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Translated By Ruth Woodrow

 

May 6, 2013

 

Germany - Sueddeutsche Zeitung - Original Article (German)

Demonstrators at the White House call for President Obama to close Guantanamo, April 11.

AL-JAZEERA VIDEO: Inside Story - Will Obama close Guantanamo? , May 3, 00:25:01RealVideo

Behind the wire fencing, where despair begins, the rule of law ends. The prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are on hunger strike. They have nothing to lose. President Obama must honor his campaign pledge and close the camp. There have already been plenty of opportunities.

 

Washington: For many Americans, the prisoners in Guantanamo are more like hazardous materials than people. When prisoners took their lives there, one general called it part of the “war against us.” Right-wing Senator Lindsey Graham recently said that the inmates are “crazy bastards” - so dangerous that they should never be moved to the mainland.

 

Of the 166 prisoners, 100 are now on a hunger strike, and many are being force-fed. According to Graham’s theory, this could only be an act of war or madness (which, one wonders?). More likely, it is an expression of despair by people with nothing left to lose.

 

Uncertain future

 

Recently, the military added a program that includes amenities for prisoners called “intellectual stimulation,” such as puzzle games or television. The name of the program says it all, however: terror suspects have brains and clearly understand that their situation is hopeless. They have been imprisoned for a decade, cannot hope for a trial and don't even know how much longer they'll be locked up; 30 years ... or 40?

 

President Barack Obama wanted not only to end America’s wars, but to extract his country from the sphere of human rights deprivation created by his predecessor after September 11, 2001. Because Congress forbade the transfer of the detainees to the mainland to face civil trial, Obama turned to other things. However, the hunger strike has reminded us of the fact that Guantanamo taints not only America’s reputation, but also his own.

 

The president’s excuses

 

The president shouldn't use Congress' obstinacy as an excuse. He should use his authority to gradually empty the camp. While Obama may not transfer any prisoners to U.S. soil, he could send dozens of prisoners who have long been considered harmless home to Yemen. Moreover, the commander-in-chief could reassess the status of dozens of prisoners, allow a number of them to return to their homelands, and bring the rest before a military tribunal.

 

Obama has always been politically defined by the fact that he appeared particularly committed to human dignity; that he defends the poor, the sick, and minorities; and that he respects Muslims around the world. Now a shadow has been cast, not only by his intemperate use of drone warfare and hesitation over the bloody Syria conflict, but also his lack of interest in Guantanamo.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

The Guantanamo prisoners are considered “enemy combatants.” Soon, when the last U.S. troops return from Afghanistan and America is no longer waging war, this status will have to be considered even less justified than it is. The injustice is not Guantanamo itself, but the concept of imprisonment without trial - and without end. In nations with the rule of law, even those considered "crazy bastards" are entitled to trial.

 

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

Liberation, France: From Boston to Guantanamo Bay: Protecting Freedom When it Hurts

Juventud Rebelde: Cubans Desperate to 'Rip' Prison at Guantanamo Out of their Land

Berliner Zeitung, Germany: Guantanamo: Is Anyone Truly Innocent?
Granma, Cuba: Castro Demands Return of Guantanamo Bay
Diário de Notícias, Portugal: Ten Years of Guantanamo and No End in Sight

Estadao, Brazil: Obama Incapable of Ending 'Nightmare' of Guantanamo

Die Zeit, Germany: Germany Must Refuse U.S. on Guantanamo Prisoners

Die Zeit, Germany: Guantanamo: Obama Must 'Put an End to the Secrecy'

El Pais, Spain: Guantanamo Incompatible with Mr. Obama's Principles

Liberation, France: How Brave Americans Were Turned Into Torturers

NRC Handlesblad, The Netherlands: Torture Has No Place in 'Shining City on a Hill'

Le Temps, Switzerland: Doing Evil in the Name of the Good

Izvestia, Russia: U.S. and Torture: For Mr. Obama, It's 'Hard to Be Gorby'

Publico, Spain: Torture Charges Filed Against Bush Legal Team; Judge Garzon Handles Case

Hurriyet, Turkey: Dick Cheney's Torture Logic is 'Deeply Offensive'

Die Tageszeitung, Germany: America and Torture: 'Just Following Orders'

Financial Times Deutschland, Germany: Obama: Inviting the Next Torture Scandal

Jornal de Noticias, Portugal: Poverty and Torture: Bush Has Company in Europe

Le Monde, France: 'Fussy' Rights Groups 'Wrong' to Be Impatient with Obama

Le Figaro, France: Obama's Moral Crusade: A Few Words of Caution

The Independent, U.K.: America Doesn't Need a Witch-Hunt

BBC News, U.K.: U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Calls CIA Exemption 'Illegal'

Ottawa Citizen, Canada: Torture the 'Chicago Way'

Toronto Star, Canada: Winking at CIA Abuse

 

 

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Posted By Worldmeets.US May 5, 2013, 10:30pm