7 - 13 March 2002
Issue No.576
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 March 2002 Issue No.576 |
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Resistance at Camp X-Ray
The hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay has once again alerted the world about conditions at the US prison, reports Anayat Durrani
Nearly 200 Al-Qa'eda and Taliban prisoners at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are taking part in a hunger strike that began last Wednesday.
The protest was sparked off after two guards removed a turban, made from a sheet, from the head of a prisoner while he was praying. They were apparently unaware that the prisoner was still in the middle of prayer. When the military guards first asked the detainee to remove his turban, he did not respond. A translator was then called and repeated the order to remove the turban, but the inmate still refused. The prisoner was shackled and his turban removed by the guards, according to The Associated Press.
The prisoners reacted to the incident by beginning a hunger strike, the first mass protest since they began arriving at the Guantanamo naval base on 11 January. On Thursday 194 detainees refused to eat lunch and began a demonstration, throwing their things from their cells and chanting, "God is great" in Arabic.
Seventy-five prisoners refused to eat lunch and dinner on Friday, 85 prisoners did not eat breakfast on Saturday; 91 refused breakfast and 81 declined lunch on Sunday, and 83 refused some or all food on Monday. Thirteen detainees have continuously taken part in the hunger strike since Wednesday, according to officials. Officials said that those participating in the hunger strike consisted of a group of 75-80 detainees and that the refusals to eat varied each day and meal. Nine prisoners have been given liquids intravenously because of dehydration, as of Monday.
On Friday US military officials lifted the ban on turbans that originally began the protest. Prisoners have now been allowed to wear turbans but told they may be subject to search by guards for security reasons. Prisoners were originally prohibited from wearing turbans because they could be used to hide weapons. Prisoners at the camp had already been provided with close-fitting caps, known as kufi caps, to wear. However, most have instead used their white towels for head covers.
Though the hunger strike was the first protest of its kind at the camp, officials said that detainees had made complaints earlier about a lack of understanding of Islamic religious customs and practices by guards. One incident involved the mishandling of the Holy Qur'an. Prisoners have also recently begun ignoring a taped call to prayer, preferring instead certain detainees to call and lead the prayer.
Marine Major Steve Cox, the public affairs officer for a task force overseeing the detention camp, said the demonstration was not an organised protest by the detainees but reflected more the detainees' "displeasure over the uncertainty of their future." Cox said the prisoners had not made any demands and that the hunger strike had become a means "to draw attention to their cause" and bring about a decision regarding their indefinite detention. He said the treatment of the prisoners would continue to be fair in accordance with international conventions. He added, "Detainees can and will be kept alive. No one is going to starve at Guantanamo Bay. We will not let that happen."
The detainees at Camp X-Ray have been provided with a Muslim cleric; are allowed to perform their five daily prayers and are given three culturally balanced halal meals daily. The detainees recently celebrated the Islamic holiday of Eid El- Adha, also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, in late February. They were given a meal consisting of lamb stew, rice, beans, boiled cabbage and honey-soaked pastry for the holiday.
There are 300 prisoners from 30 different nations being held at Camp X-Ray. The prisoners were captured in the US-led war in Afghanistan and are accused of being members of Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qa'eda network, blamed for the 11 September attacks, or members of the toppled Taliban regime. The legal status and conditions of the detainees has drawn worldwide criticism from human rights groups regarding the Bush administration's policy of denying the detainees prisoner-of-war status with rights under the Geneva Convention. These concerns were heightened in mid-January when the Pentagon released photos that showed the prisoners in shackles and chains, blackened goggles, face-masks and ear-muffs, kneeling in holding cells. The US has said that the Geneva Convention would be applied to members of the Taliban, but not to detainees linked to Al-Qa'eda. In November, President Bush issued an order approving the use of military tribunals to try non-US citizens with ties to Al-Qa'eda.
The hunger strike has caused concern by international human rights groups such as Amnesty International. Amnesty said the hunger strike "highlights the dangers of the legal limbo into which the prisoners have been thrown."
"This latest development underscores the urgent need for the US to acknowledge that all of the prisoners are covered by the Geneva Convention, and to ensure that they are granted due process rights, including the right to challenge their continued detention," said Amnesty spokesman Alistair Hodgett. US officials have not yet decided if or how they will prosecute the detainees. The prisoners are currently being interrogated by investigators and are not allowed to consult lawyers.
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