Will US President Obama Close Guantanamo?
By Zaheerul Hassan
United States is closing down from Afghanistan in 2014 but still failed to issue the schedule of shutting down of Guantanamo. Detainees of the jail were used to be dealt inhumanly by the investigators. The question arises whether in the next 24 hours; President Obama could finally move to close Guantanamo — the most notorious prison camp on earth.
With inmates on a 100-day hunger strike and the UN denouncing their force feeding as torture, Obama has been pushed to respond with a major speech about the prison. If enough of us demand a plan — he could free the prisoners already cleared for release, and appoint a White House official with one mission: close Guantanamo down!
We’re at a tipping point. Sign up to demand Obama close this shameful gulag down, and share the shocking facts below so others join this urgent call:
The facts speak for themselves:
- Detainees in Guantanamo now: 166
- Detainees facing active charges: 6
- Detainees cleared for immediate release, but stuck in the camp: 86
- Guantanamo inmates on hunger strike: 103
- Hunger strikers strapped down and force fed: 30
- Prisoners who have died in custody: 9
- Children the US has held at Guantanamo: 21
- Detainees tried in civilian court: 1
- “Unreleasable” detainees who can’t be tried for lack of evidence or torture: 50
- Prisoners released by the Bush administration: 500+
- Prisoners released by the Obama administration: 72
- Current annual cost to US taxpayers: $150 million
- Days since Obama first pledged to close Gitmo: 1579
- Days since first prisoners arrived at Guantanamo: 11 years, 4 months, 11 days
- For years, Obama has blamed the US Congress for the failure to close Guantanamo. But since Congress granted the Defense Department waiver authority that allows prisoners who have been cleared to be transferred out, Obama himself can free these 86 men. And while he will need Congressional cooperation to close the prison completely, if he truly wants to shut it down, he can task someone at the White House right now to show it is a priority and make it happen.
In short, International human rights organization should demand Obama to announce a plan to close Guantanamo. President Obama could end more than a decade of injustice by finally closing Guantanamo — the world’s most notorious prison camp. I would also request the world community to pressurize U.S for releasing of innocent D r. Aafia Siddiqui, who has been convicted in 2010 and awarded 86 years imprisonment for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapons. The awarded sentence of punishment itself reveals the cruelty of the mindset of American’s Justice. Interestingly, none of the American soldier has been killed or injured while arresting Dr. Aafia from Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities and masses number of times demanded the release of Dr. Aafia, stopping of drone attacks and closing down of the Guantanamo.
