Archbishop of Canterbury Speaks Out Against Guantanamo Bay Detention
Sends the Wrong Message to Tyrants Elsewhere in the World
The Church of England's most senior clergyman has today joined criticism of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, warning that it's set a dangerous precedent.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, says the United States' disregard of international law sends the wrong message to tyrants elsewhere in the world, as Toni Hassan reports.
TONI HASSAN: When Rowan Williams speaks he carries the voices of not just those within the Church of England, but those within the 70 million strong world wide Anglican communion - the loose federation that he heads.
In a BBC interview conducted during his current visit to war-ravaged Sudan, Archbishop Williams took the opportunity to strongly criticise the US Government's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
He says the camp goes against existing legal norms by creating a new category of custody, with prisoners held without proper legal assistance and without being found guilty of specific crimes.
The end result is not a win in any war America wages against its enemies. Instead, he says the camp may even help enemies or tyrants elsewhere in the world.
ROWAN WILLIAMS: Any message given that any state can just override some of these basic habeas corpus type provisions is going to be very welcome to tyrants elsewhere in the world, now and in the future.
Once again, words have consequences, policies have consequences. What, in 10 years' time, are people going to be able to say about a system that tolerates this?
TONI HASSAN: Reverend Rowan Williams says the base in eastern Cuba is an "extraordinary legal anomaly".
His comments are remarkably similar to those made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a speech to the British House of Commons just last week.
Mr Blair said then, as he's said before, that the camp is a legal anomaly. The difference is that Mr Blair, who supported America's invasion of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, has qualified his remarks. Mr Blair added that the US had justifiably opened the detention camp in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Nonetheless, both want the naval base shut down, and as soon as possible, with the prompt adjudication of cases involving current detainees.
Britain had nine of its citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay; all were released in recent years.
The fate of Australia's only remaining detainee, accused terrorist David Hicks, still remains uncertain.
Last week Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the 30-year-old is being kept at Guantanamo Bay as a trophy prisoner because it's too embarrassing for the US to have the camp full of only Middle Eastern suspects.
While pressure mounts on the Bush administration to close down Guantanamo Bay, US authorities have repeatedly insisted that detainees are treated humanely and that the camp remains a strategic intelligence resource.
ELEANOR HALL: Toni Hassan reporting.
This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1584947.htm
© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Church of England's most senior clergyman has today joined criticism of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, warning that it's set a dangerous precedent.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, says the United States' disregard of international law sends the wrong message to tyrants elsewhere in the world, as Toni Hassan reports.
TONI HASSAN: When Rowan Williams speaks he carries the voices of not just those within the Church of England, but those within the 70 million strong world wide Anglican communion - the loose federation that he heads.
In a BBC interview conducted during his current visit to war-ravaged Sudan, Archbishop Williams took the opportunity to strongly criticise the US Government's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
He says the camp goes against existing legal norms by creating a new category of custody, with prisoners held without proper legal assistance and without being found guilty of specific crimes.
The end result is not a win in any war America wages against its enemies. Instead, he says the camp may even help enemies or tyrants elsewhere in the world.
ROWAN WILLIAMS: Any message given that any state can just override some of these basic habeas corpus type provisions is going to be very welcome to tyrants elsewhere in the world, now and in the future.
Once again, words have consequences, policies have consequences. What, in 10 years' time, are people going to be able to say about a system that tolerates this?
TONI HASSAN: Reverend Rowan Williams says the base in eastern Cuba is an "extraordinary legal anomaly".
His comments are remarkably similar to those made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a speech to the British House of Commons just last week.
Mr Blair said then, as he's said before, that the camp is a legal anomaly. The difference is that Mr Blair, who supported America's invasion of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, has qualified his remarks. Mr Blair added that the US had justifiably opened the detention camp in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.
Nonetheless, both want the naval base shut down, and as soon as possible, with the prompt adjudication of cases involving current detainees.
Britain had nine of its citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay; all were released in recent years.
The fate of Australia's only remaining detainee, accused terrorist David Hicks, still remains uncertain.
Last week Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the 30-year-old is being kept at Guantanamo Bay as a trophy prisoner because it's too embarrassing for the US to have the camp full of only Middle Eastern suspects.
While pressure mounts on the Bush administration to close down Guantanamo Bay, US authorities have repeatedly insisted that detainees are treated humanely and that the camp remains a strategic intelligence resource.
ELEANOR HALL: Toni Hassan reporting.
This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1584947.htm
© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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