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To President George Bush and Members of the House and Senate;
I am deeply disturbed by the report issued on February 15, 2006, by the Commission on Human Rights of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that the US has engaged in practices at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba that
“must be assessed as amounting to torture”
I agree strongly with the recommendation by the five Special Rapporteurs that
“the United States Government should either expeditiously bring all Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial…or release them without further delay”
and that
“the United States Government should close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility without further delay”
and with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that
“sooner or later there will be a need to close Guantanamo, and I think it will be up to the [US] government to decide hopefully to do it as soon as possible”
The 45 square miles of the Guantanamo base cost millions of dollars annually to maintain and are completely controlled by the US yet are said to lie outside the protections of our Constitution.
To prevent such abuse in the future, I believe it is time to restore to Cuba land which has no strategic value to the US.
The perpetual lease of Guantanamo for $4,085 per year was imposed in 1903 under the Platt Amendment as a condition for withdrawal of US troops from the rest of Cuba and therefore lacks legitimacy under international law.
Total US disregard of legal objections by Cuba to the base and of international dismay at conditions in the detention center contribute to widespread perceptions of American arrogance.
By closing the Guantanamo detention facility and base, the US government can bring justice to those detained and help restore our country’s standing in the world. |
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The Fund for Reconciliation and Development builds bridges between the United States and Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Cuba. Our non-partisan programs have sought since 1985 to heal the wounds of war by fostering mutual understanding and respect and by addressing lessons and legacies of conflict. We encourage and facilitate cooperation in education, trade, people-to-people exchanges, and humanitarian and development assistance, working in partnership with foundations, other not-for-profit organizations, business, academic institutions and governments.
For further information, contact John McAuliff director@ffrd.org or visit www.ffrd.org
To support FRD's work, go to http://www.ffrd.org/support.ht... |
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