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Guantánamo: A Prison That Should Have Never Existed

Taken from Radio Habana Cuba (RHC)
June 16, 2006

There is so much demand to close down the detention center the United States maintains in the Guantánamo naval base, that President George W. Bush himself was obliged to admit that the installation in eastern Cuba is damaging the image of his country abroad.

Nevertheless, he once again attempted to hide behind the hackneyed argument of national security to insist that the existence of the center is necessary to defend the United States.

The Pentagon has kept more than 700 prisoners in Guantánamo since the illegal prison was opened four and a half years ago. It currently lodges more than 400 inmates.

The situation of the prisoners, who have not even been tried, is desperate. Victims of humiliation and torture, dozens of inmates have gone on hunger strikes and according to news agencies, 23 inmates have attempted suicide, many more than one time.

The suicides of three prisoners at Guantánamo last Saturday has increased the pressure on the Bush administration to define the status of those prisoners and to close down the prison.

Even some within the British government, faithful followers of the United States, have expressed their uneasiness over the existence of a prison in Guantánamo. British Justice Minister Charles Falconer, stated that the Guantánamo prison camp "should have never been opened and should be closed down".

Last month, Peter Goldsmith, main legal advisor to the London government, also commented that "the existence of Guantánamo is unacceptable and it is time for it to be closed".

In addition, several special reporters have questioned the existence of Guantánamo, and recently the UN Committee against Torture called for its closure and for prisoners to be properly tried in a court of law or released.

What's more, just days ago the European Parliament passed a resolution by a wide margin, that reiterates the lawmakers' appeal to the U.S. government to close the Guantanamo detention center. The document also insists that the treatment of all prisoners be in accordance with Humanitarian International Law.

Many voices around world are demanding that the US's Guantánamo prison camp be close. The concentration camp was opned after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and behind which the United States has hidden on the pretext of fighting terrorism. But in fact, Washington was manufacturing its own state terrorism, in open violation of the principles of International Law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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