Posted on 06/07/2005 1:41:51 PM PDT by Blue Turtle
ATLANTA - Former President Jimmy Carter on Tuesday called for the United States to shut down its Guantanamo Bay prison to demonstrate the country's commitment to protecting human rights.
"Despite President George W. Bush's bold reminder that America is determined to promote freedom and democracy around the world, the U.S. continues to suffer terrible embarrassment and a blow to our reputation as a champion of human rights because of reports concerning abuses of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo," Carter said in a news conference following the close of a two-day human rights conference at his Atlanta center.
In addition to closing Guantanamo Bay and two dozen other secret detention facilities, the former president said the United States needs to make sure no detainees are held incommunicado and that they all be told the charges against them.
His other recommendations included that the United States stop transferring detainees to foreign countries where torture has been reported and that an independent commission be created to investigate where terrorism suspects are held in U.S. custody.
Carter also said the United States should reaffirm its commitment to due process and international law, and assure that the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners are enforced.
Carter said many countries, including the United States, are using the campaign against terrorism as an excuse to restrict freedoms and silence human rights activists.
"In fact, combating terrorism, defending human rights and ensuring our collective security go hand in hand," Carter said.
The former president also pointed out abuses in other countries, including:
_ In Indonesia, efforts to reform the state intelligence body are being resisted in the name of safeguarding security.
_In conflict zones such as Chechnya and Colombia, crimes against humanity, and the targeting of human rights activists, are justified as counterterrorism.
_Persistent poverty contributes to insecurity and violence in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, and Uzbekistan.
A delegation of human rights defenders from around the world will be in Washington on Wednesday to present their testimony to key leaders of the U.S. government.
Despite his criticism of the Guantanamo Bay prison, Carter said Amnesty International should not have called it "the gulag of our time" when the describing the facility in a report last month.
Calling it "an ill-advised term," Carter said the abuses said to take place at Guantanamo Bay could never compare with the Soviet-era gulags, where thousands of people died.
"I think it's unfortunate that their choice of words has become the focal point of the debate," Carter said.
Jimmy who, yawn.........
Human Rights First and Carter Center Team Up to Address New Challenges Facing Human Rights Defenders: 15 Leading Activists at Risk
snip
The new environment in the global war against terrorism is having very damaging consequences for human rights activists working in countries where even peaceful dissent against government policies is often labeled as terrorism. Many of these human rights defenders are traveling to the U.S. at risk of reprisal when they return home. Some of them have been imprisoned and tortured in their home countries, and many have lost colleagues and relatives. Leading human rights activists from the following countries will be available to speak to the press on the dates listed below: Burma, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Thailand, United States, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.
* June 6-7th: Human rights defenders from 15 countries will gather in Atlanta to Advance Security and Rule of Law at the 2005 Human Rights Defenders Policy Forum titled: Human Rights Defenders on the Frontlines of Freedom: Advancing Security and Rule of Law. President Carter will be giving the key note address.
Jimmy never met a dictator or terrorist that he didn't like.
Piss on Jimmy Carter. He is stupid, never-was, the worst president in US history, even Klinton. Carter is a total disgrace. Total. And, I am a southerner by birth and wish he were from Mars instead of the south.
Yes let us execute them all and close that base immediately.
Unfortunately, it was removed.
The true irony of that is that I copied the image from here!
Email me if you should want it.
It serves no purpose, other than providing a place to put prisoners of war until such time as that war is declared to be terminated, you mean.
Gitmo is an outstanding place to put prisoners of war. If they escape, where are they going to go?
All of this is liberal bilge designed to hurt W. If they close Gitmo and put the prisoners elsewhere, they'll demonize elsewhere, and so on.
Someone must have kicked "Carter the Dumb" in the ass, and fed him the latest Democrat/Marxist talking points....
The "leadership" of the current Democrat party is as dangerous a group of politicians as ever existed in the U.S...
The Enemy Within, come to mind.
Semper Fi
When you speak of a "trial," you mean a civilian type trial with an open court, access to the evidence by both sides, right to counsel and cross-examination, a jury, etc. Is that right?
There's no way I'd support that for terrorists -- there's no way we can transport CIA agents of special forces operators to a courtroom in GITMO to give depositions and testimony and be cross-examined. We need those people elsewhere in the world -- not cooling their heels for months during a discovery and trial. And what they have to say is classified information that will get others killed if released.
I'm sorry if some hapless goat herder get hurt in our war -- and I'm sure it happeneds. But it's very rare, and it's war, and unfortunately some people do get hurt to prevent much bigger harm.
Garbage.
Considering that most of them are from outside of the country in which they were caught, what country would that be?
Not to put too fine a point on it, but that is precisely the reason that why most of them are there.
Joe Jihadists in foriegn countries, in no uniform, just there to kill us.
I would prefer they close down Jimmy Carter instead.
Thanks...I grabbed it before it was removed.
Jimmah Cahhhhter...man..WTF is going on with the dumbocrats?
Is it just me or are they getting more desperate day after day...First Howie Dean then Hillary, and now Carter...and Kerry supposedly is working on Articles of Impeachment against Bush...hahahahahah with his track record he'll never finish'em.
They're about as desperate alot as terrorists in Iraq, and sadly, of the same mindset.
Not necessarily. When I say a trial, I mean whatever the military considers a trial for this kind of person. I assume that would be different from a civil trial. Bottom line - I think we should either kill them or set them loose, I see no point in holding them in Gitmo potentially for years. What's the point? If they're dangerous, kill them, if they're not - let them go.
Okay -- I think I see your point and I'm sorry if I misinterpreted what you wrote.
You say you're comfortable with executions, but not with holding these folks in custody. It's hard to understand why execution is less objectionable than merely holding someone in a cell, but I don't want to belabor this point.
Release them all under one condition. Before they are released they are to be divided equally according to the number of those advocating for their release. Then they are to be released in the home towns of those advocating for their release.
Got my vote.
If Pres Carter wants to see human rights advanced on planet earth, he should get after those countries that do not recognize the Declaration or feel they were coerced into signing when they were young as contries and still under heavy influence of their colonial masters.
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