Head of Amnesty International Asks To Inspect Gitmo

[truthpusher]

http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jun/EEN429f6610c9cdb.html

Head of Amnesty International Asks To Inspect Gitmo
----------------------------------
The leader of the international human rights group Amnesty International called on President Bush and the United States to allow the group to inspect the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Secretary-general Irene Khan stood by the group's assertion that Gitmo was a modern day equivalent to a gulag. 'We wanted to send a strong message that ... are actually undermining human rights in a very dramatic way,' she said in Tokyo on Thursday.

The United States continues to hold approximately 540 people at Guantanamo Bay, most without charges. The Bush Administration has labeled many of them 'enemy combatants' and has not given them the right to lawyers or even to know what if any crimes they are charged with.

While President Bush called the Amnesty allegations of mistreatment 'absurd,' Khan had a straightforward answer for the American president. 'The administration's response has been that our report is absurd, that our allegations have no basis, and our answer is very simple: if that is so, open up these detention centers, allow us and others to visit them,' Khan told reporters at her press conference. 'Transparency is the best antidote to misinformation or incorrect facts.'

Khan was in Tokyo to speak out against the death penalty in Japan

Brad Kurtzberg

Link: http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jun/EEN429f6610c9cdb.html

[louis-t]

1. What excuses do you think neo-president will use?

Too tired to come up with any.

[Cocoa]

8. he'll say Amnesty hates America

and they're demoralizing the troops, and costing jobs, etc.

[VegasWolf]

15. He'll say gays will be allowed to marry. n/t

[MasonJar]

2. Go git 'em, gal! Keep the pressure alive; we are with you.

[TahitiNut]

3. Translation: "Put up or shut up, you fascist prick!"

:shrug: The language of diplomacy rarely conveys the whole truth.

[MisterP]

4. oh dear, the King might just give her that same opportunity!

[babylonsister]

5. Great! The blivet claims their assertions are absurd, so he

should have no problem granting them access. Yeah, when hell freezes over.

[ninkasi]

6. I thought the right wing

in this country has been the group which has always said that if you have nothing to hide, why be afraid of government oversight? That's usually the spin given when someone's civil rights are trampled.

What is absurd, is that with the overwhelming evidence of systematic abuse documented so thoroughly at prisons in Iraq, with evidence that the torture and abuse was authorized at the highest levels of government, Amnesty International is supposed accept the words of a man who lied to take this country to war.

The whole sickening last few years have been so corrosive to the soul of this country, that it is sometimes hard to say that any particular thing is the one that really, really infuriates me. One of them, though, is that the coward who is ruining our country goes around bragging about bringing democracy to the rest of the world.

From the article...

The United States continues to hold approximately 540 people at Guantanamo Bay, most without charges. The Bush Administration has labeled many of them 'enemy combatants' and has not given them the right to lawyers or even to know what if any crimes they are charged with.

Those are not the actions of a man who claims to be leading the world to democracy. Those are the actions of a fascist dictator, who is using war as a pretext to enrich his already engorged wealthy friends. There is no doubt in my mind that Gitmo is, indeed, a gulag.

If * wants to settle the dispute now, without looking any more moronic than he already has, then he can comply with the very reasonable request, and allow open inspections. He will allow every person there to either leave, or to have what he is being charged with explained, and given access to a lawyer.

Our country is slipping further and further into being the most hated, and the least respected in the world.

[MGKrebs]

7. I know what he'll say, I already heard it

on some nutso radio show (don't even know who it was).

***channeling***

"AI does do some good, but they do more harm than good, and this is a case of them doing harm. Can't fight the war on terra' if everybody knows who we hold as 'detainees', or if they get to interview them and pass on terr'ist information. I mean, fer' cryin' out loud, why d'ya think we don't let 'em talk to lawyers? Besides, they might come in there with cameras and we all know now that we're not s'posed to take pictures of detainees! Wouldn't be prudent.

Our servicefolks are highly trained and well versed in the arts of, uh, ya' know, keepin' prizners. We're rootin' out the evil wherever it is, and that facility is a big part of that. We cain't have uh, mmm, FOLKS traipsin' all over the place in there, plantin' ripped up Korans and whatnot. Heh. War ain't pretty. It's hard work fightin' terr'ists. We gotta focus on the nucular threat that somebody might bring in through Mexico or somethin'. Next question."

***whew****

[Frederik]

14. "AI does some good"

Yes, when the reight-wingers want to invade a country, they're always justifying it with Amnesty reports about their human rights abuses. But when they point to American abuses, they're terrist-lovin' homo tree-huggers.

[meganmonkey]

9. I won't hold my breath...

but I will hope and hope and hope like hell that they get in there!

[Supersedeas]

10. the detention camps are classified...lock stock and barrel

[4_TN_TITANS]

11. I firmly disagree with Gitmo...

but if those detainees are freed, it would be payback for the US. I know I'd be pissed off and hungry for veangence if it were me. What a mess * has created - it's wrong to imprison them but there's hell to pay if they are released....

[Hobarticus]

13. If they weren't terrorists when they went in...

Sure as shit they will be when they get out.

[Frederik]

16. My guess is

most of them just want to get home to their families. Call me a tree-hugger. Though, of course, torture is no great way to increase pro-US sentiments among people.

[thecai]

12. Ask Head of A.I. To Inspect Gulag Jails and Prisons...

...in America. Especially the privatized prisons that our politicians own stock in. Bush ignores those inmate abuse/neglect/murder reports, SOMEONE needs to inspect and investigate.