Posted on 07/12/2006 10:24:32 AM PDT by Aussie Dasher
(Australian) FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer says the United States has always treated terror suspect David Hicks and his fellow Guantanamo Bay detainees in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
The Bush administration said overnight that all detainees in US military custody in Cuba and elsewhere would be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
The new policy appears to reverse Washington's earlier insistence that Guantanamo detainees, including Mr Hicks, were not prisoners of war and therefore not subject to Geneva protections.
It reflects the recent five to three US Supreme Court decision blocking military commissions set up by US President George W. Bush to try the Australian and other terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
The Supreme Court criticised the US military for not adhering to the internationally recognised Geneva Conventions, particularly Article 3.
Article 3 prohibits parties from "violence to life and person" and "humiliating and degrading treatment" of detainees.
Mr Downer said today that the US administration had not made an announcement but rather reiterated "an existing practice".
"The United States has not endeavoured to circumvent the Geneva Conventions, we would always ask countries to adhere to the Geneva Conventions," Mr Downer said.
"In terms of treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, the United States has, to the best of our knowledge, adhered to Geneva Conventions and this is a reiteration in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision."
Mr Downer said it was merely an opportunity for the US to remind its officers that they needed to adhere to the conventions.
"It's the right thing to do," Mr Downer said.
"But this debate about Guantanamo Bay comes back into sharp focus today, when we see so many people killed in Mumbai it reminds us that dealing with terrorism requires resolve and strength, not weakness."
Adelaide-born Mr Hicks has spent four and a half years at Guantanamo Bay following his capture in Afghanistan after the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States.
He faces charges of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy.
Mr Hicks's US military lawyer, Major Michael Mori, welcomed the Pentagon's announcement today.
"If they are really applying Common Article 3, then obviously his treatment should improve," Maj Mori said.
"His isolation should go away, all of his reading and legal materials should be returned."
Lack of research by the unprofessional journalist who wrote this report.
A simple search would have yielded the following WH statement about the GC, from 2003:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030507-18.html
"Statement by the Press Secretary on the Geneva Convention
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
May 7, 2003, 1:40 P.M. EST
MR. FLEISCHER: I have an announcement to make. Today President Bush affirms our enduring commitment to the important principles of the Geneva Convention. Consistent with American values and the principles of the Geneva Convention, the United States has treated and will continue to treat all Taliban and al Qaeda detainees in Guantanamo Bay humanely and consistent with the principles of the Geneva Convention.
They will continue to receive three appropriate meals a day, excellent medical care, clothing, shelter, showers, and the opportunity worship. The International Community of the Red Cross can visit each detainee privately.
In addition, President Bush today has decided that the Geneva Convention will apply to the Taliban detainees, but not to the al Qaeda international terrorists.
Afghanistan is a party to the Geneva Convention. Although the United States does not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate Afghani government, the President determined that the Taliban members are covered under the treaty because Afghanistan is a party to the Convention.
Under Article 4 of the Geneva Convention, however, Taliban detainees are not entitled to POW status. To qualify as POWs under Article 4, al Qaeda and Taliban detainees would have to have satisfied four conditions: They would have to be part of a military hierarchy; they would have to have worn uniforms or other distinctive signs visible at a distance; they would have to have carried arms openly; and they would have to have conducted their military operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
The Taliban have not effectively distinguished themselves from the civilian population of Afghanistan. Moreover, they have not conducted their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. Instead, they have knowingly adopted and provided support to the unlawful terrorist objectives of the al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda is an international terrorist group and cannot be considered a state party to the Geneva Convention. Its members, therefore, are not covered by the Geneva Convention, and are not entitled to POW status under the treaty.
The war on terrorism is a war not envisaged when the Geneva Convention was signed in 1949. In this war, global terrorists transcend national boundaries and internationally target the innocent. The President has maintained the United States' commitment to the principles of the Geneva Convention, while recognizing that the Convention simply does not cover every situation in which people may be captured or detained by military forces, as we see in Afghanistan today.
He arrived at a just, principled and practical solution to a difficult issue. The President did so because, as Americans, the way we treat people is a reflection of America's values. The military operates under a code of conduct that upholds these values, based on the dignity of every individual.
The American people can take great pride in the way our military is treating these dangerous detainees. The Convention remains as important today as it was the day it was signed, and the United States is proud of its 50-year history in compliance with the Convention"
The author knowingly wrote a fictional report.
That's OK, the US Supreme Court just issued opinion against a fictional abuse of fictional rights.
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