The Guantanamo prison is located in a part of land that was leased by Cuba to the United States through a treaty in 1934. This is a prison where the US government keeps suspected members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In my opinion the United States government, by allowing the brutal treatment of prisoners in this prison, has broken its long lasting promise and call for the respect of Human Rights. The United States has also broken the International Laws by failing to adhere to Geneva Convention and other treaties which prohibit the mistreatment of prisoners. The society is not familiar with the identity of these prisoners nor with their wrongdoings, the charges against them or the possibility for their release. As a result, many countries are coming together more and more, each time arguing against the existence of Guantanamo. Different international organizations have already started working with the American government officials in order for this prison to be closed and for the prisoners be sent to different countries.
The article that I have chosen to reflect on today is about a statement that was released in the name of General Michael Lehnert by the advocacy organization Human Rights First, where the General stated that the Guantanamo prison should be closed as it doesn't fulfill the minimum standards for holding people inside. Knowing that the first general that was in charge of this prison is against keeping it open, I am not surprised that many other important politicians are following his way.
In order to illustrate why I would personally be against the existence of such a prison, I will use two examples from the history that have been very successful and didn't involve aggressive procedures. After the WWII ended, the Nazi who attacked and occupied other countries where soon brought before the justice. Within two years, the trials were finished and people were sentenced and were prone to be held accountable for only what they did. A similar case was the one with the pirates right after Barbary Wars of the 19th century between the US and pirates based in North Africa. The US ensured that the imprisoners will be held according to the rules and they will be set for a fair trial.
However, there are more basic norms as to why the US will have to determine to close this prison. Some of the prisoners are being held in there for a long time that even the danger that they posed to the society or the US has already been outdated. For example, the author mentions one example of a Yemeni prisoner who was taken as an al-Qaeda bodyguard, who no longer seems to be a problem to the US foreign policy. Also, the idea of sending people to jail and keeping them there without any information as to why they are being kept imprisoned should be obsolete by now. There are people that have been kept in Guantanamo for 12 years without being charged.
Last but not least, human rights are something that everyone should be able to enjoy and as the United States has been one of the strongest fighters for those rights, then I think they should also work harder on protecting them by all means. Terrorism doesn't only threaten the US and therefore the people prosecuted for terrorism shouldn't be judged or tried only in that country. It is better for everyone if the people who are suspected for different crimes can be judged in different countries and be offered the rights as required by the International Law. I also think that it is much more efficient if the terrorism is fought globally rather than just by one country.
For the original article please click here.
Fatlum Gashi
No comments:
Post a Comment