Guantánamo at 12: Shut It Down NOW!
December 16, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
This November marked 12 years since the U.S. first opened its torture/detention camp at its Guantánamo military base in Cuba. Earlier this year, most of the 164 men still imprisoned by the U.S. at Guantánamo joined in a sustained hunger strike which began in February 2013 and continued after Barack Obama promised in May, more than four years after his first promise, to take action to close the prison. (See "Hunger Strike at Guantánamo Bay: 'Respect us or kill us'" and "Guantánamo: The Hunger Strike and the Hellhole of Made-in-America Torture" here at revcom.us)
This is the reality for the people held at Guantánamo: isolation cells; frequent genital searches designed to humiliate; removal of personal papers; and most of all, denial of hope of ever leaving, even for the majority who have been “cleared” for release for years. There are 82 such prisoners who have been "cleared" but continue to be held, and some 45 who have been told they will be held indefinitely without charge, not as prisoners of war but in legal limbo. The remaining prisoners may face military commission trials designed to cover up the torture inflicted on them, depriving them of any rights they might have formally had in regular U.S. courts.
Concern is growing among those opposed to Guantánamo that prisoners weakened from the prolonged hunger strikes and the authorities' abuse will die. Shaker Aamer, a former British resident who has been imprisoned at Guantánamo for 11 years even though he was "cleared" for release in 2007, has led hunger strikes and spoken out many times for the rights of the prisoners. A November feature titled “Inside Guantánamo” on the CBS show 60 Minutes captured Aamer's voice, unidentified, shouting to anchor Leslie Stahl, “Please, we are tired. Either you leave us to die in peace—or either tell the world the truth. Let the world hear what’s happening.”
In August, British musician PJ Harvey released a new song, “Shaker Aamer,” for free downloads. The lyrics, based on his letters, read in part: "No water for three days./I cannot sleep, or stay awake./Four months hunger strike./Am I dead, or am I alive?/With metal tubes we are force fed./I honestly wish I was dead./Strapped in the restraining chair./Shaker Aamer, your friend."
Aamer told his attorney in early December that the hunger strike is on again, with 29 prisoners striking and 19 being force-fed. At the same time, the U.S. military, which controls the prison, has announced that it will “no longer” release information on the hunger strike, or on how many prisoners are being force-fed.
Only four prisoners have been released since Obama's speech in May. Two of them, citizens of Algeria, had long opposed being sent back to the country which each had left years ago, because of credible fear of repression by the Islamic fundamentalist government. One of these men, Djamel Ameziane, sought to join relatives in Canada where he had applied for residence; the country of Luxembourg offered to take him. But the U.S. government forced him back to Algeria, where he is being held under detention. The Center for Constitutional Rights, whose attorneys represent him, organized protests at the Algerian embassy and Mission to the United Nations, demanding his rights be respected and his safety protected.
A week-long solidarity fast in Washington, DC will begin January 6. On Saturday, January 11, Amnesty International, Code Pink, National Religious Coalition Against Torture, Witness Against Torture, and World Can't Wait will hold a mass protest at the White House demanding that Obama close Guantánamo.
UK-based investigative journalist Andy Worthington, who has closely covered Guantánamo, and Debra Sweet, director of World Wan't Wait, will be on a Close Guantánamo NOW Tour from January 9 to 17, which is scheduled to go to New York City, Washington, DC, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. They will be speaking on "How & Why the U.S. Has Kept This Illegal Prison Open for 12 Years, and Our Responsibility to Close It." Go to worldcantwait.net to learn more about the tour and other protests against Guantánamo.
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