Replica of Guantanamo cells casts shadow on Washington
Source: AFP, 27-06-2008
WASHINGTON: Amnesty International has set up a replica of a Guantanamo prison cell a stone's throw from the White House aiming to step up pressure on the US administration with its demonstration with a twist. The isolation cell - 3 meters long and 2 meters wide - is just like those used to hold two-thirds of detainees at the US naval base in Cuba. It "is a 3-D way to bring the injustice home to the American people," said Gwen Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the London-based rights group.
In the shadow of the Washington Monument, in an area bustling with US tourists near the White House, the demonstration is aiming to grab the attention of voters and pressure the US administration.
Visitors get "a real sense of what it means to be locked up in a box for 22 hours a day without being charged for a crime and without having any idea when they will be released," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International-USA.
Inside the cell a camera encourages visitors to tape a message for President George W. Bush which will eventually be posted on the group's Web site.
"When people walk inside the cell and see the limited space ... they usually emerge with a real sense of outrage and determination to do something to bring this horrible chapter of US history to an end," said Cox.
"We are trying to build a permanent and strong American constituency in this country that will never again allow these kinds of practices to take place," he stressed.
Cox welcomed the recent Supreme Court ruling giving detainees access to US civilian courts.
"It's a very important step that they reaffirm this age old right of habeas corpus for everyone. We can only hope that finally the president of the United States will realize that he's not a dictator and that the US Supreme Court is the law and that he has to follow the law like everyone in this country," he said. "The fact that the US government is committing acts that violate human rights weakens our ability to have any positive influence on other countries like Zimbabwe or Burma."
WASHINGTON: Amnesty International has set up a replica of a Guantanamo prison cell a stone's throw from the White House aiming to step up pressure on the US administration with its demonstration with a twist. The isolation cell - 3 meters long and 2 meters wide - is just like those used to hold two-thirds of detainees at the US naval base in Cuba. It "is a 3-D way to bring the injustice home to the American people," said Gwen Fitzgerald, a spokeswoman for the London-based rights group.
In the shadow of the Washington Monument, in an area bustling with US tourists near the White House, the demonstration is aiming to grab the attention of voters and pressure the US administration.
Visitors get "a real sense of what it means to be locked up in a box for 22 hours a day without being charged for a crime and without having any idea when they will be released," said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International-USA.
Inside the cell a camera encourages visitors to tape a message for President George W. Bush which will eventually be posted on the group's Web site.
"When people walk inside the cell and see the limited space ... they usually emerge with a real sense of outrage and determination to do something to bring this horrible chapter of US history to an end," said Cox.
"We are trying to build a permanent and strong American constituency in this country that will never again allow these kinds of practices to take place," he stressed.
Cox welcomed the recent Supreme Court ruling giving detainees access to US civilian courts.
"It's a very important step that they reaffirm this age old right of habeas corpus for everyone. We can only hope that finally the president of the United States will realize that he's not a dictator and that the US Supreme Court is the law and that he has to follow the law like everyone in this country," he said. "The fact that the US government is committing acts that violate human rights weakens our ability to have any positive influence on other countries like Zimbabwe or Burma."
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