June is Torture Awareness Month

JUNE IS TORTURE AWARENESS MONTH!!!!

In the late 1970s and into the 1980s in Northern Ireland, Irish men and women were taken from their homes and thrown in jail without being charged with a crime or taken to trial. These people were held for years. The end result of this internment was the the bloody fighting in the North intensified: the bombings increased, the sectarian murders, assasinations, and general lawlessness only got worse due to these policies. The situation remained desparate straight through until the 1990s.

Fast forward to 2006. Again, young men are being taken from their homes, but this time the situation is even more grave. These men are being held (again) without trial, without charge, and without any evidence at all being presented to warrant their internment. What makes the situation worse is that these men are being brutally tortured: beaten, molested, deprived of sleep, humiliated; the very definitions of Cruel and Inhumane treatment. Excuses are given for this treatment: an Orwellian "War" on terror, which has "changed the rules" for the way things are to be done in this new century. But if history has taught us anything, it's that policies like this only make the situation more grave, more bloody, and more desparate.

If the U.S. actually intends to try to put an end to terror, engendering resentment and rage by torturing people is the polar opposite to policies that might achieve their goals. For their own sake, they must stop these policies now, apologize to the international community, and see that those responsible are brought to justice.

If people suspected of helping terrorists are being taken away and tortured today, who's to say who might be taken away tomorrow? If we donate money to a group that the U.S. adds to their "terror supporters" list, then we are by definition terrorists, and we could as well be taken away to be tortured. Such groups have included in the past Nelson Mandela's freedom party; many groups that do nothing more than try to feed starving palestinian children are on that list today. Will you be next?

There are basic human rights that should be observed, for the greater good of society. If we allow these rights to be usurped for one person, then two, then ten, tomorrow it could be for thousands, tens of thousands, or millions. The policies of torture need to stop, and those responsible need to be brought to justice. This needs to happen now.



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