Closing Gitmo

Everyone wants Guantánamo Bay to be closed, from Amnesty International to George Bush. So why is the military prison still open? asks David Fickling.

"Mr Bush claims it's just a question of time. 'I would like to close the camp and put the prisoners on trial,' he told German television earlier this month. But sadly, as a mere president and commander in chief of the armed forces, it seems he's in no position to hurry things along.

"So far only 10 of the roughly 460 detainees in the camp have been charged with anything, although another two dozen are expected to face charges shortly and 110 more will be released in the coming weeks. That leaves nearly 300 prisoners who are neither accused of doing anything wrong, nor facing any prospect of release from the camp ...

"The US government has been clever with its semantics here. Claiming that Guantánamo is just a temporary camp blunts any calls for its closure. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty would no doubt have been demanding that it be shut down much earlier had they not given Washington the benefit of the doubt on this claim ..."
Source

UN panel slams US on detainee practices
UN panel urges US to close prison at Guantanamo
UN wants Guantanamo closed :: Forbes :: Duluth News Tribune
Boston Globe :: The Herald :: all 702 related »

Inside Guantanamo in pictures
(picture above comes from this disturbing gallery)

Tagged: guantanamo, usa, torture, human+rights, military, civil+rights, war+on+terror