Suicide At Guantanamo

Guantanamo suicides 'acts of war':

"The camp commander said the two Saudis and a Yemeni were "committed" and had killed themselves in "an act of asymmetric warfare waged against us"."

Prisoners' Ruse Is Suspected at Guantanamo:

"Three detainees at the United States military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, tried to conceal themselves in their cells -- behind laundry and through other means -- to prevent guards from seeing them commit suicide, a senior military official said Sunday.""

Washington condemns first suicides by Guantanamo inmates as 'a PR exercise':

" "The methods of hanging themselves were similar," he said. "I believe this was a co-ordinated attempt." The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Colleen Graffy, described the suicides as a "good PR move to draw attention"."

The prisoners who committed suicide has also been part of the ongoing hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay.

The Independent report (above) gives the following break down:

Protests at Camp Delta

* January 2002
Soon after Guantanamo opens, doctors begin force-feeding two detainees on hunger strike for nearly a month.

* April 2003
The number of suicide attempts since the camp opened reaches 24, involving 17 detainees.

* August 2003
23 detainees stage an eight-day protest, trying to hang or strangle themselves.

* December 2003
350 incidents of "self-harm" are reported in 2003, including 120 " hanging gestures".

* August 2005
A mass hunger strike begins. Involving 131 detainees at its peak. The strike ends in February 2006 when American military use restraint chairs for force-feeding. US authorities insist the tactic is "humane and compassionate".

* May 2006
A group of detainees attacks guards the day after two prisoners attempt suicide using hoarded anti-anxiety drugs.

* June 2006
Three detainees commit suicide by hanging themselves with bedsheets, the first deaths reported since Guantanamo opened.

These men died in U.S. custody after being held without charges for years, "interrogated," and engaging in hunger strikes where they were force fed. Who is responsible for the conditions in which these men are being held as "enemy combatants?" Who has kept them off of U.S. shores, and therefore beyond U.S. law?

Public Relations? Ruse? Asymmetric Warfare?
If the suicides themselves were not bad enough, the official response to them is so ludicrous to be heartless. I am shamed by my nation.

Posted by rowan at June 12, 2006 5:35 PM | [eMail this article!] |