US wants to close Guantanamo: Bush
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/214943/1/.html21 June 2006
After all the uproar that Guantanamo has created in human rightists across the globe, I think this move by Bush would create more upheaval among American citizens. Many of these convicts are there because they have been deemed particularly dangerous such that they don't need to go through a trial, and should these convicts be released, not just Americans, but the world would be more wary. First impressions die hard, and it may not be easy for people to come to terms with the idea that these people are no longer locked up.
Closing Guantanamo may not be the best solution to the problem, on the contrary it might cause more. This is just Bush's cowardly way of getting out of a problem. In my opinion the best thing to do would be to change Guantanamo by holding decent trials for every single convict there, and reconsider their sentences. Guantanamo's personnel might also want to rethink how they treat detainees there. Treatment that causes not one but three convicts to commit suicide? I think that's just too brutal, no matter what their nature is.
posted by Charmaine @ 10:36 AM
2 Comments:
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I agree that the closing down of Guantanamo is not the way to go. In fact, the problems that are faced are already clearly mentioned in your analysis.
There are detainees that are not given their right to a fair trial and there are many who are innocent who are rotting away in a prison that pays no heed to the likes of the Geneva Convention.
However, there is perhaps a greater problem in the situation. There are others who have been tried and convicted--condemned to serve out countless years in such a prison.
Yet, there is a catch. The military tribunal that was set up has recently been outlawed by the US courts on the grounds that it denied the detainees their fundamental rights of even being present at their trial!
At this point in time, President Bush has already changed his stance and is working towards reformation. However, the question remains: Is it too late to undo the hurt, pain and suffering of the detainees who are innocent or denied fair trial?
For some, the answer is no. There will be emotional scars for the innocent that may never heal. However, there is only one way forward and that is to correct the wrongs of the past.
It is my hope that history will never repeat itself in this regard. Once is enough. The suffering that the detainees have undergone cannot be measured out or explained adequately in words.
Things will be recitfied. However, there are some things that can never be undone. Perhaps in the future, the US government will think twice about such camps and hold mor echecks to make sure Human Rights abuses do not run rampant.
Problems have to be stopped before they start. Prevention is certainly better than a cure.
Ryan
5x
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