Amnesty Takes Aim at 'Gulag' in Guantanamo

AP ^ | 5/25/05 | By PAISLEY DODDS, Associated Press Writer

[Rushgrrl]

LONDON - Amnesty International branded the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay a human rights failure Wednesday, calling it "the gulag of our time" as it released a report that offers stinging criticism of the United States and its detention centers around the world.

The 308-page report accused the United States of shirking its responsibility to set the bar for human rights protections and said Washington has instead created a new lexicon for abuse and torture. Amnesty International called for the camp to be closed.

"Attempts to dilute the absolute ban on torture through new policies and quasi-management speak, such as 'environmental manipulation, stress positions and sensory manipulation,' was one of the most damaging assaults on global values," the annual report said.

Some 540 prisoners from about 40 countries are being held at the U.S. detention center in Cuba. More than 200 others have been released, though some have been jailed in their countries; many have been held for three years without charge.

"Guantanamo has become the gulag of our time," Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said.

[Rushgrrl]

I guess focusing on Gitmo is more important than giving attention to those places that have been infringing on human rights for decades. HUGE shock there.

[NormsRevenge]

Gulag?

Amnesty doesn't have a clue what a gulag is or who created them, do they?

Idiots, the whole damn lot of them. Nothing more than towing the party line, and guess whose party.

[Patrick1]

Too bad AI didn't care about the real gulags in the USSR. They are still mad that GW Bush has liberated more people in four years than AI has in its entire history.

[handy old one]

One mans Gulag is another mans means of extracting useful info to protect the whole world.

[NormsRevenge]

btw, what kind of name is Paisley :-?

That seems like a human rights violation in itself, naming a kid that, jmo. ;-)

[dead]

History will long recall the harrowing rumors of less than piping hot food and long marches about the compound endured by the brave jihadists at the hands of the minions of America's darkest lord.

[tomahawk]

Gulags extermined millions of people.

Amnesty shows themselves to be clowns to call Gitmo a "gulag".

No credibility.

[CONSERVE]

fun in the sun or life underground. hmmmm

[freecolorado1]

Paisley is a town in Scotland not too far from Glascow. Its where my great grandmother immigrated from. I hope the author is female, it would be a human rights violation to name a boy Paisley. Maybe AI could make themselves useful and come to his rescue.

[george wythe]

While Amnesty International devotes so much time to a tiny fraction of the island of Cuba, most of the 11 millions of Cubans get their most basic human rights violated on a daily basis on the rest of the island.

It reminds me of the 'straining the gnat and swalling the camel' analogy.

[Ramius]

They are still mad that GW Bush has liberated more people in four years than AI has in its entire history.

Hah! Indeed. By many orders of magnitude.

[metesky]

Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan

'Nuff said.

[Little Ray]

Nah. Amnesty knows two things
1. Liberals, Socialists, Commies, and other America haters will give 'em money if they try to make a stink 'bout Gitmo.

2. The US Armed Forces won't imprison them, shoot them, kidnap them and cut off their heads, etc., just 'cause they make obnoxious twits of themselves.

Kind of a no-lose situation for 'em.

[Enchante]

Castro's Cuba is one of the real "Gulags of our time" -- we all need to make the point loudly that 11 million INNOCENT people in Castro's Cuba have far LESS freedom of conscience and religion than the Guantanamo terrorists, who are at least allowed/encouraged to practice their religion. When will Amnesty take seriously the national Gulags of Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Myanmar, etc.? No, of course they're rather rag on the USA like the depraved leftists they are.....

[COBOL2Java]

History will long recall the harrowing rumors of less than piping hot food and long marches about the compound endured by the brave jihadists at the hands of the minions of America's darkest lord.

And the Froot Loops! Don't forget the Froot Loops!

[gogogodzilla]

Well, heck, Amnesty has just given the US a blank check for torture and starvation.

Torture and starvation occurred in gulags... and Amnesty says that the US is running a gulag. Therefore, if the US starts to torture and starve the prisoners at Gitmo, then Amnesty cannot increase the level of criticism, as the US would only be running a gulag. Which is what Amnesty just accused the US of doing.

Kinda like the boy who cried 'Wolf'.

[injin]

here is what Amnesty Int's online petition states :

Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are despicable, immoral, illegal and always wrong. The highest authorities in my country should publicly denounce these acts in the strongest possible terms, and never utilize them, not least in my name.

Governments around the world should not only condemn but prosecute to the full extent of the law any of these acts by our own agents, whether in this country or anywhere else we have control. No one should be held in secret, beyond the eyes of the law, where such acts can flourish.

Governments around the world should not return anyone anywhere where such acts are known to be routine or possible. The use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment does not ensure safety or yield good intelligence.

Security is best achieved through governments' adherence to human rights and the rule of law, including the absolute prohibition on torture. The use of torture is an affront to human dignity that can never be justified and must be opposed in every country of the world.

Write them directly , tell them what you think....