Diva
03-02-02, 04:41PM
MIAMI (Reuters (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&u=/nm/20020301/ts_nm/attack_guantanamo_dc_15) ) - A hunger strike by nearly 200 al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, lost momentum on Friday after U.S. military officials ended a ban against wearing turbans that sparked the protest.
But 73 of the 300 prisoners captured during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan still refused to eat breakfast on Friday and a similar number refused lunch, said a spokesman for the U.S. military's Southern Command in Miami, which oversees the prison camp operation. Two were forcibly given intravenous liquids at the camp infirmary after medical officials determined they were dehydrated, according to media reports from Guantanamo.
The protest began on Wednesday after guards entered a praying prisoner's cell and removed his turban, which he had refused to take off. Prisoners were forbidden to wear them because they could conceal weapons. By lunchtime on Thursday, 190 prisoners were refusing to eat. They staged a 45-minute demonstration, tossing belongings out of their cells and chanting "God is great" in unison. It was the first widespread act of defiance by the Afghan war captives since the United States started shipping them to Guantanamo on Jan. 11.
Marine Gen. Michael Lehnert, commander of the prison operation, addressed the detainees through a translator late on Thursday, telling them he had changed the turban policy. "He basically told them that they could, if they wished, fashion turbans using the materials they had, sheets or towels," SouthCom spokesman Steve Lucas said. "They would be subject to being searched, because there is a security concern and security is a priority."
Lucas said the incident resulted from "a misunderstanding." He said guards did not realize that the prisoner who refused to remove the turban was ignoring their orders because he was at prayer. Lehnert also told the prisoners he would hold weekly briefings to keep them informed about the status of proceedings against them.
The camp holds 300 prisoners captured in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Their treatment has drawn criticism from some U.S. allies and human rights groups.
Most prisoners at the camp, who come from more than 30 nations, are Muslim. A Muslim chaplain who leads them in prayer said previously that turbans were not considered necessary for proper prayer by Muslims, though many prisoners come from nations where turbans are commonly worn. Prisoners at the camp had already been given close-fitting white knit caps to wear if they choose.
The chaplain acts as a liaison between the prisoners and camp officials to resolve issues pertaining to religious and cultural customs. Camp officials handed out copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, and designed meals in keeping with Islamic dietary customs, serving lamb stew and honey-soaked pastries for Saturday's "Feast of the Sacrifice" holy day.
At briefing in Washington on Friday, Pentagon officials said tensions at the camp had eased and that the protest was unsurprising. "It's the normal evolution in a detainee's life," said Brig. Gen John Rosa. "Many of them, the first group got there seven weeks ago. So they are going through the shock and amazement of being some place that they're not familiar with, and now they're starting to settle in. I think the real issue is: What's their fate? What happens to them?"
The United States said earlier this month it would apply the Geneva Convention to captives belonging to the Taliban militia that ruled Afghanistan with a hard-line interpretation of Islam, but not to those linked to al Qaeda. U.S. officials have said they are struggling to differentiate between the two groups at the camp but are treating all of them humanely.
I think they should have stood their ground. A prisoner is a prisoner and they were given close fitting caps to wear as an alternative. When the issue is safety then I don't see removing caps as an inhumane rule.
Any other opinions?
But 73 of the 300 prisoners captured during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan still refused to eat breakfast on Friday and a similar number refused lunch, said a spokesman for the U.S. military's Southern Command in Miami, which oversees the prison camp operation. Two were forcibly given intravenous liquids at the camp infirmary after medical officials determined they were dehydrated, according to media reports from Guantanamo.
The protest began on Wednesday after guards entered a praying prisoner's cell and removed his turban, which he had refused to take off. Prisoners were forbidden to wear them because they could conceal weapons. By lunchtime on Thursday, 190 prisoners were refusing to eat. They staged a 45-minute demonstration, tossing belongings out of their cells and chanting "God is great" in unison. It was the first widespread act of defiance by the Afghan war captives since the United States started shipping them to Guantanamo on Jan. 11.
Marine Gen. Michael Lehnert, commander of the prison operation, addressed the detainees through a translator late on Thursday, telling them he had changed the turban policy. "He basically told them that they could, if they wished, fashion turbans using the materials they had, sheets or towels," SouthCom spokesman Steve Lucas said. "They would be subject to being searched, because there is a security concern and security is a priority."
Lucas said the incident resulted from "a misunderstanding." He said guards did not realize that the prisoner who refused to remove the turban was ignoring their orders because he was at prayer. Lehnert also told the prisoners he would hold weekly briefings to keep them informed about the status of proceedings against them.
The camp holds 300 prisoners captured in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Their treatment has drawn criticism from some U.S. allies and human rights groups.
Most prisoners at the camp, who come from more than 30 nations, are Muslim. A Muslim chaplain who leads them in prayer said previously that turbans were not considered necessary for proper prayer by Muslims, though many prisoners come from nations where turbans are commonly worn. Prisoners at the camp had already been given close-fitting white knit caps to wear if they choose.
The chaplain acts as a liaison between the prisoners and camp officials to resolve issues pertaining to religious and cultural customs. Camp officials handed out copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, and designed meals in keeping with Islamic dietary customs, serving lamb stew and honey-soaked pastries for Saturday's "Feast of the Sacrifice" holy day.
At briefing in Washington on Friday, Pentagon officials said tensions at the camp had eased and that the protest was unsurprising. "It's the normal evolution in a detainee's life," said Brig. Gen John Rosa. "Many of them, the first group got there seven weeks ago. So they are going through the shock and amazement of being some place that they're not familiar with, and now they're starting to settle in. I think the real issue is: What's their fate? What happens to them?"
The United States said earlier this month it would apply the Geneva Convention to captives belonging to the Taliban militia that ruled Afghanistan with a hard-line interpretation of Islam, but not to those linked to al Qaeda. U.S. officials have said they are struggling to differentiate between the two groups at the camp but are treating all of them humanely.
I think they should have stood their ground. A prisoner is a prisoner and they were given close fitting caps to wear as an alternative. When the issue is safety then I don't see removing caps as an inhumane rule.
Any other opinions?