Systematic crimes

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Will scenes of violence and torture inflicted by US occupation forces against Iraqi prisoners mark the beginning of soul- searching across the world? Will they help us to understand that no occupation is good; that the very act of occupation is a crime? Occupation diminishes the sovereignty of a member of the international community, involves a flagrant interference in domestic affairs, and constitutes a violation of international law and the UN Charter.

The fate of prisoners is normally held in the balance between two camps. One is the authority exacting detention; in this case US forces, who have admitted that torture have taken place. The other is international and regional organisations that are entitled to visit the prisoners and ensure that they are properly treated.

Recent developments raise questions on the efficacy of these organisations. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has disclosed that it had been aware of these violations and submitted strongly worded reports to US authorities. But the ICRC did not reveal the content of these reports at the time of their writing in October 2003 because of its policy of neutrality and its desire to continue visiting prisoners and providing assistance. This renews the controversy over the value of neutrality at a time when flagrant human violations are taking place.

More surprisingly, a delegation of the Arab League visited Iraq in December 2003 and was aware of these crimes. The delegation submitted a report to the occupation authorities in this respect but nothing otherwise to publicise the scandal or embarrass the Americans. The torture in Abu Ghraib exposes the ugly face of the US army; the same army that used internationally banned chemical, biological and nuclear weapons all the way from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Iraq.

On its independence day, Algeria considered demanding compensation for the torture French occupation forces used against Algerians. This will perhaps encourage other nations in the region to demand compensation for the practices, past and present, of British, French, Italian, Israeli and US occupations. The torture in Abu Ghraib refutes the claim that Western occupation is a way of promoting freedom and democracy, culture and humanitarianism.