My RSS Feeds
Dana Priest and the "black sites"
I've just read Dana Priest's article on the Washington Post and the recent news about the existence of "black sites" where prisoners of war are held by Americans and subject to torture, aka "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques". Another unacceptable scandal, are there words enough to classify or comment on this? What about the accomplices in crime in Europe, Poland and Romania. What about the Asian partner, Thailand. Jordan and Egypt? A sorrowful list of countries going along in this, something to ashame anyone who has anything to do with this and does nothing to stop it.
Here's a bit of the Human Rights Watch Statement about this matter:
"Further investigation is needed to determine the possible involvement of Poland and Romania in the extremely serious activities described in the Washington Post article. Arbitrary incommunicado detention is illegal under international law. It often acts as a foundation for torture and mistreatment of detainees. U.S. government officials, speaking anonymously to journalists in the past, have admitted that some secretly held detainees have been subjected to torture and other mistreatment, including water boarding (immersing or smothering a detainee with water until he believes he is about to drown). Countries that allow secret detention programs to operate on their territory are complicit in the human rights abuses committed against detainees. "
And finally, something that I usually deplore but might me appropriate, given the subject: there's an independent website that makes available online a number of video clips and photos of all sorts of killings, assassinations, torture and executions, it's called thenausea.org. Not for the weak, not for voyeurs, just a nauseating reality check of what these words really mean in the real world, when people believe they can't be seen or judged. Warning: the materials are very, very graphic. And here's the nausea's disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER: "The nausea" is a non-profit project of different individuals all over the world. This is NOT a "politically correct" web. We do not share any particular political tendency except our rejection to violence in every way. We believe that getting close to first degree violence will avoid any patriotic or romantic fantasy about war. Children DO NOT have any nationality. They should not suffer. Their lives, our lives can never be replaced. Our aim is to distribute information to everyone that demands it. Every information will NOT be manipulated before being posted. You can help just resending this email to everyone who is sensitive to this topic.
Stop Torture Now Campaign, by the Amnesty International. Also, check out Keld Bach's Abuse and Torture category of Press Cuttings. (The photo above was taken in Burma in 1999).