SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Without Truth About Torture, No Reconciliation
May 14, 2009
No matter how you dress it up, the question on the table is whether the Obama administration should continue to cover-up
evidence of the criminal offence of torture, committed by US personnel.
It is a truly remarkable notion that evidence of crimes should be
suppressed because it might provoke anger around the world. Try telling
the victim of child abuse that it would be better if we all hushed the
facts up, and let the paedophile go free, because news of what happened
might spark outrage among the readers of the Sun - who, in turn, might
go on a vigilante raid against some innocent paediatrician.
Yet this is basically the argument advanced by Michael Tomasky today. Tomasky is probably correct when he suggests that the photographs
of prisoners being abused by American soldiers will inflame passions.
It is possible that this might even put entirely innocent Americans in
danger. I carry an American passport, and I might be the victim. I
certainly hope none of this happens. But can these fears really justify
the continued cover-up?
I got off a plane this morning from
Washington DC where - sadly - President Obama continues to suppress the
evidence of the torture committed against British resident Binyam Mohamed.
Binyam is suffering badly these days, the bitter consequences of the
years of torture he endured in American custody, in Pakistan, in
Morocco, in the dark prison
in Kabul, and in Guantanamo Bay. So far, the United States has not only
refused to apologise, but will not even admit what American personnel
did to him. Bizarrely (and, as the high court said, the approach of a
totalitarian state rather than a democracy), the US won't even admit where Binyam was for at least two of the seven years he was held without trial.
Binyam
does not want revenge; he is not even calling for people to be locked
up for what they did to him. But he does want the truth to come out, so
that others can be spared his fate next time our politicians respond to
a terrible crime like September 11. We cannot, as he says, expect to
learn from history if we don't know what that history is.
Crimes
have been committed in the recent past against Binyam and others.
Unfortunately, another crime is currently being committed when
politicians suppress evidence of torture. As the judges noted in
Binyam's case, section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 makes it an offence to assist in concealing a crime such as torture.
We
might all have more sympathy for those keen to sweep all this under the
carpet - to "look forward rather than backwards" as the sloganeering
suggests - if the American and British officials concerned would put
their hands up, admit that they did wrong, and apologise. Sad to say,
this has not happened. Without truth, there is unlikely to be any
reconciliation.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 The Guardian
Clive Stafford Smith
Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of defendants facing the death penalty in the USA.
No matter how you dress it up, the question on the table is whether the Obama administration should continue to cover-up
evidence of the criminal offence of torture, committed by US personnel.
It is a truly remarkable notion that evidence of crimes should be
suppressed because it might provoke anger around the world. Try telling
the victim of child abuse that it would be better if we all hushed the
facts up, and let the paedophile go free, because news of what happened
might spark outrage among the readers of the Sun - who, in turn, might
go on a vigilante raid against some innocent paediatrician.
Yet this is basically the argument advanced by Michael Tomasky today. Tomasky is probably correct when he suggests that the photographs
of prisoners being abused by American soldiers will inflame passions.
It is possible that this might even put entirely innocent Americans in
danger. I carry an American passport, and I might be the victim. I
certainly hope none of this happens. But can these fears really justify
the continued cover-up?
I got off a plane this morning from
Washington DC where - sadly - President Obama continues to suppress the
evidence of the torture committed against British resident Binyam Mohamed.
Binyam is suffering badly these days, the bitter consequences of the
years of torture he endured in American custody, in Pakistan, in
Morocco, in the dark prison
in Kabul, and in Guantanamo Bay. So far, the United States has not only
refused to apologise, but will not even admit what American personnel
did to him. Bizarrely (and, as the high court said, the approach of a
totalitarian state rather than a democracy), the US won't even admit where Binyam was for at least two of the seven years he was held without trial.
Binyam
does not want revenge; he is not even calling for people to be locked
up for what they did to him. But he does want the truth to come out, so
that others can be spared his fate next time our politicians respond to
a terrible crime like September 11. We cannot, as he says, expect to
learn from history if we don't know what that history is.
Crimes
have been committed in the recent past against Binyam and others.
Unfortunately, another crime is currently being committed when
politicians suppress evidence of torture. As the judges noted in
Binyam's case, section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 makes it an offence to assist in concealing a crime such as torture.
We
might all have more sympathy for those keen to sweep all this under the
carpet - to "look forward rather than backwards" as the sloganeering
suggests - if the American and British officials concerned would put
their hands up, admit that they did wrong, and apologise. Sad to say,
this has not happened. Without truth, there is unlikely to be any
reconciliation.
Clive Stafford Smith
Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of defendants facing the death penalty in the USA.
No matter how you dress it up, the question on the table is whether the Obama administration should continue to cover-up
evidence of the criminal offence of torture, committed by US personnel.
It is a truly remarkable notion that evidence of crimes should be
suppressed because it might provoke anger around the world. Try telling
the victim of child abuse that it would be better if we all hushed the
facts up, and let the paedophile go free, because news of what happened
might spark outrage among the readers of the Sun - who, in turn, might
go on a vigilante raid against some innocent paediatrician.
Yet this is basically the argument advanced by Michael Tomasky today. Tomasky is probably correct when he suggests that the photographs
of prisoners being abused by American soldiers will inflame passions.
It is possible that this might even put entirely innocent Americans in
danger. I carry an American passport, and I might be the victim. I
certainly hope none of this happens. But can these fears really justify
the continued cover-up?
I got off a plane this morning from
Washington DC where - sadly - President Obama continues to suppress the
evidence of the torture committed against British resident Binyam Mohamed.
Binyam is suffering badly these days, the bitter consequences of the
years of torture he endured in American custody, in Pakistan, in
Morocco, in the dark prison
in Kabul, and in Guantanamo Bay. So far, the United States has not only
refused to apologise, but will not even admit what American personnel
did to him. Bizarrely (and, as the high court said, the approach of a
totalitarian state rather than a democracy), the US won't even admit where Binyam was for at least two of the seven years he was held without trial.
Binyam
does not want revenge; he is not even calling for people to be locked
up for what they did to him. But he does want the truth to come out, so
that others can be spared his fate next time our politicians respond to
a terrible crime like September 11. We cannot, as he says, expect to
learn from history if we don't know what that history is.
Crimes
have been committed in the recent past against Binyam and others.
Unfortunately, another crime is currently being committed when
politicians suppress evidence of torture. As the judges noted in
Binyam's case, section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 makes it an offence to assist in concealing a crime such as torture.
We
might all have more sympathy for those keen to sweep all this under the
carpet - to "look forward rather than backwards" as the sloganeering
suggests - if the American and British officials concerned would put
their hands up, admit that they did wrong, and apologise. Sad to say,
this has not happened. Without truth, there is unlikely to be any
reconciliation.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.