A great response to Guantanamo Bay detainees' rights petition

galway | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Monday March 29, 2004 18:18

by karen eliot

The life-size cage erected in Galway's Shop Street and the orange-clad prisoner that it held attracted much attention in the city on Saturday. This colourful piece of street performance accompanied the collection of signatures for the Detainees' Rights petition.

the cage......

The petition, which is addressed to the European Parliament and will be distributed to various governments around the world, demands the U.S. Administration respect the rights of the detainees currently being held in Guantanamo Bay.

The inherent dignity as human persons of the some 660 detainees requires that they receive a fair trial immediately. The standards of a fair trial as recognized in international law include the right to an independent and impartial judiciary, an individual trial, held in public with international observers, and the rights of the defence which involve access to legal counsel, time and facilities to prepare one's case, the presumption of innocence, and the banning of retrospective application of law.

The present detention, a blatant violation of international law that has been allowed to continue, is regarded as posing great danger to the international community. "[T]he United States detachment from its own rule-of-law principles is having a profound effect on human rights around the world. Counter-terrorism has become the new rubric under which opportunistic governments seek to justify their actions, however offensive to human rights. Indeed, governments long criticized for human rights abuses have publicly applauded U.S. policies, which they now see as an endorsement of their longstanding practices." [The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 'Assessing the New Normal: Liberty and Security for the Post-September 11 United States' p.v, www.lchr.org].

Over 650 signatures were collected on the day. The strong support was a clear sign of Irish people's understanding of the dangers involved, and their abhorrence of the behaviour of the U.S. Government. Young and old were concerned, eager to be better informed, and good-willed. People from all over the country and many parts of the world took the opportunity to express their views. Many U.S. citizens congratulated the action and signed the petition.

Detainees' Rights Action Group are indebted to Galway Alliance Against War for being suckers for pain, Kieran Cunnane of the Green Party for his digital camera, Amnesty International Galway Branch, Human Rights for Change, and of course to the passion and great vision of Galway Grassroots.