Liberty, Justice and the American way.
Well it seems that the US is considering our request for the release of five (nearly) UK citizens held in Gitmo. Read here. Whoopy Do dah. Our lot are finally moving.Now I still find it absolutely amazing how the West can go on about human rights, justice and liberty while this travesty is still going on. What a hypocritical bunch we are. These guys are either guilty or not. If so they should face trial, if not, released. Yet we still keep them in jail and not just any jail either but the worst jail possible where they are convinced they could die at any moment.
I was particularly interested in the comment about them seeking guarantees they would be treated humanly. You have just got to laugh at someone from the US having the gall to ask that question.
There is even an example there about previous inmates who were released.
It seems that they kept them in Gitmo for two years after knowing they were not a threat all because they had not thought their policies through to release innocents. Not a single completer amongst the bunch. That of course doesn't even include the amount of time they were kept there while they were checked out. Two years and then out with no compensation, complain and your back for another couple of years. Can you imagine it? I bet they never even told them they were not under threat to be tortured or treated them any differently than any of the others there. That must be more inhumane than anything even our mickey mouse government could throw at them.The United States has released individuals from Guantanamo Bay to a third country before - a group of Chinese Muslims were sent to Albania in May 2006 after the US deemed them not to be dangerous.
Those men, ethnic Uighurs, were cleared for release two years before they were freed, but the US did not send them to China for fear of persecution.
Now I think if I spent so long in a prison and treated like that I would quickly pick up a religion. Might even make one up to fit the others. I would pray for release, one way or the other and then, when I got out and found my life destroyed and no way back I doubt I would just be shrugging my shoulders and going to herd goats in Albania.
I was thinking that this would be marked down in the history books as a dark chapter in our past. Now I'm not even convinced our society sees anything wrong with it. And, in a few years when it should be history our society will have changed so much it will not be able to see a problem then either. It doesn't look good and nowhere to go.
Although it does seem that the tide is changing. The US, UK and Oz seem to be moving away from this slightly. Maybe too little and too late but at least a change in the right direction.
Why can't we seem to get people in power that have some sort of moral compass. I'm not convinced that Gordo is doing this for the right reasons. I think it's because the EU is expecting a stance from the UK now the poodle has gone. Fingers crossed that our stance includes Blair on trial for war crimes. That would restore my faith in the system.
posted by Bag @ 7:29 pm
6 Comments:
Bag: might it be that they kept them in Gitmo (the place where people don't want to leave because of the medical care, food, and other amenities they recieve... free) because of the Chinese instead of your guess on 'not thinking' through?
Google the Uighers a little and see what China has been doing to them; the US will not release prisoners to any country that will torture them (real torture I'm sure). The UK won't either; something to do with humanity and being civilized or somesuch.
Of course we could simply follow your path, close Gitmo, release everyone to their home country and then say "sorry" when they are tortured and/or killed by the repressive regimes they came from.
Hmm?
Bag
I would judge that they are keeping it open to take care of people like you if you get any further out of line.
Be careful.
hehe good one Colin :)
My Lord,
I fully accept what the Chinese are doing is not right but nevertheless this is caused by a Western policy that has not been thought through.
The US, and the UK, have taken these people and put them on a rail track heading towards a cliff. Then when you find out they are, according to all laws, innocent you then think. Oh what can we do? So you throw them off the train, broken bones etc. and then claim it is better than what would have happened. It may be but you then take no responsibility for putting them in the situation in the first place. You make it sound like you are rescuing them. Like what would happen when Saddam fell. There was no thought put into the next stages. It was assumed that everything would go exactly how you wanted it to go.
Colin, the UK has its own Gitmo. I'm keeping an eye on it and when it becomes a little less crowded with Muslims and they start with DK etc. I'm making a run for it.
What the Chinese are doing is caused by a Western policy. Good one...
You say it hasn't been thought through, what exactly are you basing this on? The fact that they can't release these people (for whatever reason) to their home country? So when they picked them up (and at the time had reason to believe they were in fact dangerous) you believe that they should just pass, because they may not be able to 'think it through' enough to get them home.
If you are going to complain about the policy, offer another.
My Lord.
I’m not saying that what the Chinese are doing us based on a Western policy. I'm saying tht the threat to these people being returned is caused by Western policy. After all we have many people in the West who have asylum. To return those would mean the same. The Chinese Justice system is still worse than ours. We are still working towards it though so it won't be long.
I'm basing my view that it hasn't been thought through by the fact that we are keeping groups of innocent people in a hell hole because we don't know what to do with them.
My offer for the policy is simple. Stop doing it. The ones you have immorally imprisoned in an arguable illegal way should be given asylum in the US if they cannot be safely returned. That should make the US a bit more careful when you have to take responsibility.
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