During his campaign for the presidency, Barack Obama committed himself to closing Guantánamo and ending torture by US personnel. Today,however, Obama’s efforts to close Guantánamo have been effectively sabotaged by the US Senate, and the President himself has announced that he may reconstitute military commissions to try the Guantánamo detainees.
On 19 May, the US Senate voted 90 – 6 against closing Guantanamo. The Obama administration put its congressional Democratic allies in a difficult spot by asking the Senate to pay for the closure of Guantánamo without being able to present a plan for what to do with its detainees. A clear plan for the detainees would probably have helped Obama’s chances in the Senate, maybe to the point of securing the closure of Guantánamo, but it might not have helped the detainees.
Guantanamo military commissions have a notoriously poor record of dispensing justice and lack legitimacy even among many military lawyers. Still, according to the BBC, President Obama recently stated that some Guantanamo detainees “would need to face a military commission”. This is, in lack of better words, clearly a bad idea. By trying terrorist suspects in a sort of parallel “justice” system, the Obama administration will not only rob the suspects of the right to a fair trial, but also effectively robs the American people of the very same right. If the Guantánamo detainees really are guilty of terrorism or anything remotely connected to terrorism, it is in the interest of the American people that these people are tried and convicted by a fool-proof justice system, impeccable by both national and international standards. If, on the other hand, they are innocent, it is in everyone’s interest that they are acquitted by a credible and trustworhty system.
“A kid who is still learning how to throw”
In an op ed in USA Today, Human Rights First CEO Elisa Massimino explains in baseball terms just how ridiculous an idea it is to try terrorist suspects by military commissions. If you were the New York Yankees manager and had to make a pitching change in the 9th inning of a World Series game, who would you chose, Massimino asks. Would you turn to the greatest relief pitcher in the game? Or would you choose a kid who is still learning how to throw and hope for some beginner’s luck?
According to Massimino, this is the choice facing president Obama when it comes to trying the Guantánamo detainees. He can either move the prisoners to American federal courts, where more than 100 international terrorism cases have been tried successfully over the past 15 years, or he can go for military commissions, a rather new system that already has a poor record of dispensing justice and lacks legitimacy even among many military lawyers.
Terrorists are undeniably among the worst and most dangerous criminals any country will ever have to deal with. Exactly because of this, it is hard to understand why Obama is so reluctant when it comes to choosing the right tools for the job. This is not just about giving the detainees fair trials, but about the importance of arriving at fair sentences and verdicts in the right way and through due procedure. The American people – not to mention the rest of the world – needs to know that when a man captured by US forces is found guilty of terrorism, it is because he actually IS guilty, not because the US government has decided to push him through some ramshackle military “justice” system.
I do not believe in a
vengefull vicious God.
My God is not the
author of any suffering
or pain or hatred or
envy or fear neither
in this life nor any
other existence, and he
will not Punish us for
anything that he has
Created in us, and he is
the Creator of all. He is mine
and I am yours.
The above poem can be found in a book called The Dawn of a To-morrow. While the book was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, she never wrote the poem. Neither did she borrow, quote or steal it. Nevertheless, these beautiful words can undeniably be read in this very book. On particular copy of it, that is. Not everything that can be read in printed books is put there by the author, and “Confessions of Faith” was written by a poet only identified as “Loving Daddy”. Probably written for just one very special reader, it has now reached a much bigger audience, thanks to the Book Inscriptions Project. This website collects personal messages written in ink (or pen or marker or crayon or grape jelly) inside books. While most of these inscriptions are personal messages and dedications, some of them tell some fascinating stories and raise intriguing questions, and some – like the one above – are works of art in their own right.
All in all this project shows in its own small way that a thing of beauty can indeed be a joy forever.
This week, Aung San Suu Kyi faces her oppressors in a “trial” that could land her in jail for five years. The trial comes just days before she was due to be released from house arrest, and is held at Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison.
The charges brought against Aung San Suu Kyi carry a maximum jail term of five years, which she would most likely spend in horrible conditions in this hellhole of a prison. According to Amnesty International, her health is at risk, and five years of torture and abuse in Insein could spell disaster.
Write an e-mail to general Than Shwe, leader of the Burmese military junta, and urge him to free Aung San Suu Kyi immediately!
On 14. May, Burma’s democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested by the regime and moved from house arrest to the notorious Insein prison.
According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, Article 22 of the Burmese penal code bars Aung San Suu Kyi from contact with any outsiders without permission, and charges have been brought against her relating to her contact with a US citizen who swam across a lake to reach her.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s two caretakers and the swimmer, John William Yettaw, have been charged under Article 22/109, relating to aiding and abetting the breaking of Article 22. The official court trial will take place on 18 May, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win,told the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Regardless of the actual charge, many see the arrest and the upcoming trial as a nothing more than a scheme to keep Aung San Suu Kyi locked away as her current internment under house arrest expires on 27 May.
- It looks as though this is a pretext to keep her detained until elections due in 2010 which the generals think will give them some legitimacy, says BBC South-East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.
Punishing the victim
Even under the cruel conditions of her house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi has committed no crime. If a crime has been committed, she is the victim, not the perpetrator. If somebody shows up at her doorstep in violation of Burmese law and refuses to leave, she cannot be held responsible for the “crime”. The junta has no real case against Aung San Suu Kyi, but that does not stop them from using any excuse to keep her detained. If the international community does not take strong action, Aung San Suu Kyi could very well spend the rest of her life in jail.
E-mail the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon and ASEAN leaders and urge them to send envoys to Burma to demand the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi!
UPDATE: FollowAung San Suu Kyi´s trial at the website of the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Norges klimagassutslipp har aldri vært så store som nå. Oljeindustrien står for over en fjerdedel av disse utslippene. Petroleumssektorens utslipp er nesten dobla siden 1990, og verre kan det bli.
8. mai kunngjorde regjeringa at de gir det italienskeide oljeselskapet ENI Norge lov til å bygge ut Goliat-feltet i Barentshavet. I ei pressemelding fra Olje- og energidepartementet påpekes det ganske riktig at Goliat er det første oljefeltet i Barentshavet som skal bygges ut. Videre heter det i meldinga at Goliat vil være et av de største industriprosjektene som noen gang er gjennomført i Nord-Norge.
Havområdene utafor Finnmarkskysten er blant verdens rikeste og mest verdifulle. I tillegg til å øke klimagassutslippene fra olje- og gassutvinning på norsk sokkel, vil utbygging og drift av Goliatfeltet utgjøre en trussel mot livet i dette unike havområdet. I et arktisk område med ekstreme værforhold har oljevernberedskap liten effekt, og konsekvensene av et akutt oljeutslipp kan bli enorme. Petroleumsvirksomhet i nordområdene har derfor et stort potensiale for alvorlige miljøødeleggelser både på lokalt og globalt nivå, og det er ikke akkurat overraskende at kampen mot Goliat-utbyggingen har vært Natur og Ungdoms viktigste kampsak i mange år.
Kampen fortsetter
Selv om regjeringa har godkjent utbygginga av det mildt sagt kontroversielle oljefunnet i Barentshavet, er ikke slaget tapt, hverken for torsk og hyse eller Natur og ungdom. ENIs søknad om utbygging skal etter planen behandles av Stortinget før sommeren, og det italienske oljeselskapet må også søke om utslippstillatelse for de planlagte klimagassutslippene fra virksomheten.
- Vårt siste håp nå, er at SFT og miljøverndepartementet nekter ENI å øke norske klimagassutslipp. Det går ikke an å sitte stille og se på hvordan oljeindustrien gang på gang overkjører klimahensyn og sårbar natur, sier Ingeborg Gjærum, leder i Natur og Ungdom.
Ingen hull i Lofoten og Vesterålen!
Det er dessverre ikke bare Goliat som truer globalt klima og lokale fiskebestander. I 2010 skal den helhetlige forvaltningsplanen for Barentshavet og havområdene utafor Lofoten og Vesterålen revideres. Da vil Stortinget bestemme om disse områdene skal åpnes for oljevirksomhet. Kombinasjonen av næringsrikt atlanterhavsvann og en smal kontinentalsokkel gjør at også havområdene utenfor Lofoten og Vesterålen er spesielt rike på naturverdier. Utbygging av oljeindustri utafor Lofoten og Vesterålen vil foregå midt i gyteområdene for verdens siste store bestand av torsk, og dermed true både artsmangfold og fiskerinæring. Oljeutvinning i disse områdene møter derfor kraftig motstand fra både miljøfaglige etater og fiskeriorganisasjoner, fra Statens Forurensningstilsyn til Norges Fiskarlag.
Folkeaksjonen oljefritt Lofoten og Vesterålen ønsker å ta vare på Lofoten og Vesterålens natur og ressurser gjennom å stoppe planene om olje- og gassvirksomhet i disse sårbare områdene. Ved å åpne for oljeutbygging i Barentshavet og utafor Lofoten og Vesterålen, vil regjeringa imidlertid ikke bare true sårbare og viktige naturområder i Norge. Ei utvida oljeutvinning på norsk sokkel vil også bidra til økte klimautslipp, og dermed få konsekvenser for miljøet over hele kloden. Norge har nok olje på hendene nå. Vi har mer en nok penger på bok og altfor mange hull i kontinentalsokkelen. Det er på høy tid å stoppe galskapen. Skriv under på Folkeaksjonens opprop for et oljefritt Lofoten og Vesterålen i dag!
