March 25, 2008

The practices and policies of the current administration warrant serious consideration and contention by citizens.
If the rest of the country is not going to hold up a mirror of morality to the soul of the nation, the youth of the United States of America will. Amnesty International’s National  Week of Student Action, March 31 – April 4, 2008, is an attempt to awaken America to what is being done in our name.
Just this month, the results of our regression from rule of law hit the headlines; however, very little was done by us to demand that our democracy reflect the values of liberty, freedom and human rights. This month marks the fifth anniversary of a pre-emptive war strike foreign position that multiplies the number of “terrorists” and minimizes our credibility as well as harming relations with allies, resulting in a war without end. Our national budget indicates it isn’t without a tremendous cost to our country, physicially and fiscally. The milestone of 4,000 dead American soldiers and countless Iraq civilians by collateral damage has been reached. We’re spending over $12 billion dollars a month for a failed policy. That same amount of money could either take care of the basic economic, social and cultural rights of every American citizen such as education, health care and housing, or a new energy policy harnessing solar and wind that would radically change our foreign policy in the region of the current conflict and truly regain America’s sovereignty.

Amnesty International realizes that enough is enough.

One symbol of America’s lost way in world affairs is Guantanamo Bay, also known as Gitmo. On January 11, 2008, the sixth anniversary was observed for this high-security facility located off of our soil to avoid international legal consequences. With a start-up cost of $54 million and an annual budget of over $100 million, nearly 300 prisoners of war remain in legal limbo.

While the cost is excruciating, the reversal of centuries of norms in law that embodies the philosophy and principles of a nation is even more alarming. Are we becoming the so-called monster we are fighting? We cannot sacrifice our values for violence. No harm is worth erasing centuries of basic human rights such as habeas corpus, the right to challenge one’s detention before an independent court (guaranteed by our constitution) and freedom from torture.

The youngest prisoner of war, who remains in Gitmo today, was only 13 years old when he was incarcerated. Many others were transferred to Gitmo after being held incommunicado in secret CIA prisons for over four years. Only one of the 300 prisoners have been convicted by a military commission. At least 25 percent are deemed eligible for release but remain in custody. People who continue to be detained should be charged with a crime and given a fair trial. Individuals being held indefinitely without being charged or without access to a trial violate basic beliefs that this nation was founded upon, and numerous international human rights legal treaties such as two that the United States has adopted and ratified - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture. The immoral and illegal actions of torture in our name to protect the country will only result in ineffective and counterproductive measures that breed more people willing to attack America. 

America must close Guantanamo down. If our government refuses to recognize the long-term harm to the country, we citizens have the responsibility to stand up for our rights and demand that our nation recognize our core values, which are enshrined in the Constitution, and be part of the global family guaranteeing fundamental freedoms in international human rights. 

 Guantamano is the embodiment of the illegal policies that have shredded the fabric of human rights and the symbol of America as a world leader.

You can make a difference. Join the students’ efforts to empower citizens to take back our country. Amnesty International will write letters to their elected officials beginning on Monday. Films such as Rendition, Road to Guantanamo and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib will be shown in the evenings. On Tuesday, there will be a candlelight vigil at the peace pole. Students will wear orange on Wednesday to symbolize the jumpsuits the detainees are forced to wear, and will also wave signs for social justice. Every day, the students will circulate petitions among the citizenry to close this sore on the soul of America.

Be an agent of change for peace and justice. Change the direction of the country to enshrine our values of rule of law, human dignity and justice for all. The America I believe in doesn’t look like our current country. Together, we can change the direction of our democracy.

Joshua Cooper