OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Concerning the Three Suicides at Guantanamo Bay

Date: June 16, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security Arts, Entertainment, and History


CONCERNING THE THREE SUICIDES AT GUANTANAMO BAY -- HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY (Extensions of Remarks - June 16, 2006)

* Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker there has been no organization, no strategy and no plan for the handling of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. They have been in prison for years and years, with no hope of being formally charged. They are given none of the rights afforded prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention nor are they given the rights of criminal suspects in the U.S. justice system. In fact, out of the roughly 500 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, only four have been charged with war crimes. And, since these detainees are classified as enemy combatants, they can be held until the Iraq war is over. Since no one can accurately determine when the war will end, the prisoners could be detained for an indefinite amount of time.

* Mr. Speaker, I visited Guantanamo Bay in 2003. I saw firsthand the conditions of the prisoners and the facilities in which they were being held. These prisoners were being held in small cells for over a year without any hope of having their day in court--or even being formally charged with a war crime. With this desperate atmosphere, it is not surprising that there have been at least 41 unsuccessful suicide attempts by 25 detainees since the United States began taking prisoners to the base in January 2002.

* I find it inexcusable that my own country has not demonstrated more concern for the basic Constitutional rights of these prisoners. If there is legitimate evidence of crime, these prisoners deserve a speedy trial.

* Mr. Speaker, we must be a positive example to the world. We must prove to all those who would challenge our way of life that a worthy Democracy that upholds the rule of law even in the time of conflict, can exist. If we are to convince the world that terrorism is wrong and freedom is right and just, then as the most powerful voice of liberty, the United States of America must start acting as a leader and as an example.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r109:3:./temp/~r109neMRko::

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