Guantanamo Bay and America prisons in perspective...
YellowStars
YellowStars blog
Posted by ESLaPorte
20 June 2006
http://yellow-stars.com/blog/2006/06/guantanamo_bay_and_america_pri.html
The calls to close "Gitmo" might be in order, but why were there never the
same level of concerns on the part of Europe and the international community
for human rights conditions in American prisons? Now that human rights
abuses that are routine in American prisons are being exported to the rest
of the world - why all the concern with Guantanamo Bay - and still Abu
Ghraib?
As a student at Florida State University in Tallahassee in the late 1990's,
I was involved in anti-death penalty and prisoner rights groups in Florida's
state capital. While Europe demonstrated concern for the death penalty, the
abuses of prisoners (beating, rapes, murders, including medical neglect and
denial of proper diets) were something that few in the international
community cared, including Europe, demonstrated the same level of concern.
The use of sexual humiliation, tolerance for rapes, and abusive body cavity
searches are routine in Florida prisons. The prisoners at "Gitmo" have
better medical care and diet than the average American prison inmate - so we
need to seriously put this Guantanamo Bay issue in prospective!
Do American prisoners have the same human rights as the prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib? It doesn't look like it... The use of the
American Constitution's Bill of Rights is problematic, as the American
Supreme Court can easily undermine and water down civil rights to below what
are acceptable human rights standards in the international community. The
level of protection for American inmates can fall below even that of the
European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding torture. So, the level
of protections in America can actually be below the human rights standards
of the international community and the ECHR.
After finding out the perpetrators of Abu Ghraib were American prison
guards - I was not surprised, nor were other observers.
In Arizona, a sheriff was making male inmates wear women's underwear in his
jail LONG BEFORE the pictures of Abu Ghraib. The international community and
Europe demonstrated NO CONCERNS for this practice until prisoners at Abu
Ghraib were pictured with women's underwear on their heads. From Human Right
Watch:
***In recent years, U.S. prison inmates have been beaten with fists and
batons, stomped on, kicked, shot, stunned with electronic devices, doused
with chemical sprays, choked, and slammed face first onto concrete floors by
the officers whose job it is to guard them. Inmates have ended up with
broken jaws, smashed ribs, perforated eardrums, missing teeth, burn
scars-not to mention psychological scars and emotional pain. Some have
died.***
Human Rights Watch. "Prisoner Abuse: How different are U.S. Prisons?"
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/14/usdom8583.htm
I get the feeling that the human rights of certain ethnic and religious
"minorities" (Muslims) in the international community are of greater value
and more worthy of protection that other groups (Americans). This type of
unequal value of the human rights of one group over the other IS JUST AS
WRONG as human right violations themselves. Denial of the human rights of
one group do not "provide justice" for the past human rights on another
group. Such a view and practice serves only to undermine ALL of our human
rights.
Europe - don't be so damned hypocritical! The lack of concern for human
rights abuses years ago in American prisons is now festering in the form of
Guantanamo Bay. In fact, its is my understanding that prisoners at
Guantanamo Bay are treated far better than prisoners in American prisons and
jails. As governor of Texas, Bush was lord over one of the most abusive
prison systems on the planet. Florida is ranks up there with Texas. Still,
as a prisoner human rights activist who was in touch with the movers and
shakers in prisoners' rights, I saw no concerned (beyond the death penalty)
from the international community, including Europe.
***The corrections experts say that some of the worst abuses have occurred
in Texas, whose prisons were under a federal consent decree during much of
the time President Bush was governor because of crowding and violence by
guards against inmates. Judge William Wayne Justice of Federal District
Court imposed the decree after finding that guards were allowing inmate gang
leaders to buy and sell other inmates as slaves for sex**
New York Times. "Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Routine in U.S."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/08/national/08PRIS.html?ex=1399348800&en=bea18d005140f198&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
There are NO arguments that can be presented that can convince Americans
that we "need to close Guantanamo Bay." It is my understanding that the
prisoners at "Gitmo" are actually treated BETTER than prisoners in American
prisons and jails. The sad truth is that many Americans know that American
prisoners have less human rights that those prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
However, the international concerns for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay needs to
equal those of prisoners in American prisons!!! Those of you out there that
are protesting abuses at "Gitmo" should also stop being hypocrites and
equally protest the abuse in American prisons. Start treating the conditions
of American prisons EQUALLY to those conditions at Guantanamo Bay - and you
just might get somewhere on the issue of "Gitmo!"
The inhumane treatment and human rights abuses of any prisoner anywhere, Abu
Ghraib, "Gitmo" - OR in American prisons - should be our up most concern.
See:
Human Rights Watch. "Prisoner Abuse: How different are U.S. Prisons?"
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/14/usdom8583.htm
New York Times. "Mistreatment of Prisoners Is Called Routine in U.S."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/08/national/08PRIS.html?ex=1399348800&en=bea18d005140f198&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
Watching Justice. "Abu Ghraib At Home"
http://www.watchingjustice.org/reports/article.php?docId=619
Commondreams. "Abu Ghraib Hits Home." http://www.commondreams.org/views04
Rob
organization.
Support the "European project" and advocate the "Europe's place in the
world," the "ever closer Union" and the European social model. The European
model of human rights, social inclusion and social cohesion is the most
humane and is superior to all other models. Europe is the undisputed moral
leader of the world!
Once upon a time - I had a published various research papers on NATO and the
North Atlantic Treaty to a website call The NATO Citizen. It is a most
interesting story, but my views on NATO and the European Union may have
moderated. Yet, its an interesting story...I still do love the NATO
institution!
"YellowStars" <europhile...@yellow-stars.com> wrote in message
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