29/10/2005
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is inviting independent experts from the United Nations to visit detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, almost four years after the U.N. first asked permission to inspect the prison.
The prison has become one of the symbols of the ongoing controversy over detainee abuse by the U.S. military. About two dozen prisoners are on hunger strikes to protest what they say is cruel and inhumane treatment. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said the invitation ``was extended in an effort to broaden understanding of U.S. detention operations and to demonstrate that detainees at Guantanamo are treated humanely.'' There is no set timeline for the visit. The three observers will meet with commanders at the facility as well as medical staff and interrogation staff, but they will have no interaction with the detainees. They will be able to observe the detainees during recreation time, religious observances and other periods. U.S. officials have allowed only the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit detainees at Guantanamo. In a statement issued Friday, the Pentagon said, ``The department strives for transparency in our operation to the extent possible in light of security and operational requirements and the need to ensure the safety of our forces.'' The three observers are: Dr. Manfred Nowak, an expert on torture and inhumane treatment; Asma Jahangir, an expert on religious rights and freedoms; and Lelia Zerrougui, an expert on detention. As of last month, 505 prisoners were in the compound, all suspected of links to the al-Qaida terror network or Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime. Many were captured in Afghanistan in the months after the U.S.-led invasion in October 2001, and some have been there since the compound was opened in January 2002. Four of the prisoners have been charged. The military has said it will soon proceed with a military trial against David M. Hicks, an Australian charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy. Members of Congress visited Guantanamo in June as lawmakers grew increasingly concerned that the prison at the Navy base in eastern Cuba is hurting the nation's image because of the abuse claims. The White House and Pentagon have insisted that conditions are humane and detainees well-treated. Seven of the detainees on the hunger strike are hospitalized and being force-fed, according to the government. Some of the others also are being fed involuntarily. The strikers allege that feeding tubes are inserted without using anesthesia or sedatives and that tubes are being reused without proper sanitization. Some detainees have been fasting since Aug. 8. Dr. John Edmondson, commander of the U.S. Navy Hospital at Guantanamo and head of the detainee hospital, has denied all of the detainee allegations, saying tubes are always inserted using a lubricant, an anesthetic is offered ``in all cases,'' and new tubes are used every time a detainee has to be fed involuntarily. Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said Friday that it is unlikely the U.N. rapporteurs would be satisfied with a cursory look at Guantanamo. "Even in places like China, the rapporteurs on torture and arbitrary detention have been able to speak privately to prisoners in the facilities they've been allowed to visit," Malinowski said, "and even then they haven't been fully satisfied with the access they've gotten." SOURCE: The Guardian & The Houston Chronicle |
