North East Digital Village

:: CIVICS :: ABOUT FREEDOM :: VOTING RIGHTS & DEMOCRACY :: GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT :: DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE :: BILL OF RIGHTS :: ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION :: THE CONSTITUTION :: USA PATRIOT ACT :: INTERNMENT IN AMERICA :: CHILDREN'S RIGHTS :: EQUALITY :: VITAL RECORDS :: CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM :: WHY NOT PEACE? :: IN MEMORY OF :: CONNECTICUT MEDIA ::

Internment in America

:: JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT :: GUANTÁNAMO BAY ::

It with great embarassment and grief that we must agree with Amnesty International's description of the treatment of those of detained at Guantánamo Bay as "a symbol of injustice and abuse in the US administration's war on terror". Perhaps it is that we have lost touch with our own history - with how and why this country was formed and the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Those too young to remember the internment of Japanese citizens may not know about it, or may not be aware of the imprisonment of citizens and people determined to be "enemy combatants" without formal charges or trial betrays some of the most valuable prinicples of this country. None of us is safe from the abrogation of our civil right unless all of us are safe.

Please, take a moment to learn more about the Internment of Japanese citizens during the Second World War and the current imprisonments at Guantánamo Bay

Japanese-American Internment

Children of the Camps: cite: (children-of-the-camps.org) this documentary captures the experiences of six Americans of Japanese ancestry who were confined as innocent children to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. The film vividly portrays their personal journey to heal the deep wounds they suffered from this experience.

Japanese-Americans Internment Camps: cite: (lib.utah.edu) from the Special Collections Department, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, and Private Collections

Masumi Hayashi Photpgraphy: cite: (csuohio.edu) panoramic photo collages show the remnants of sites of Japanese American Internment camps during World War II, an archeological memory.

Conscience and the Constitution: cite: (pbs.org) "delves into the heart of the Japanese American conscience and a controversy that continues today".

_/\_TO THE TOP

Guantánamo Bay

The unlawful detention of "enemy combatants" at the US Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba has now entered its fifth year. Hundreds of people of around 35 different nationalities remain held in effect in a legal black hole, many without access to any court, legal counsel or family visits.
Many of these detainees allege they have been subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In desperation, some detainees have attempted suicide. Others have gone on prolonged hunger strikes, being kept alive only through painful force feeding measures.
Guantánamo Bay has become a symbol of injustice and abuse in the US administration's "war on terror". It must be closed down.

Guantánamo Bay - a human rights scandal: cite: (amnesty.org) Despite a major international outcry and expert condemnation of US government policy, hundreds of people of around 35 different nationalities remain held in a legal black hole at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, many without access to any court, legal counsel or family visits. Denied their rights under international law and held in conditions which may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the detainees face severe psychological distress. There have been numerous suicide attempts.

Guantánamo Bay: cite: (navy.mil) Oldest overseas U.S. Naval Base and the only one in a country with which the U.S. does not maintain diplomatic relations.

GUANTANAMO: cite: (guantanamo.com) Provides latest World News for Guantánamo American base in Cuba from WN Network Worldwide. News and analysis on human rights, terrorism, military and more.

Guantánamo Bay detainment camp: cite: (en.wikipedia.org) Beginning in 2002, a small portion of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base was used as a military prison or detainment camp to imprison suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere at Camp Delta (which includes Camp Echo), Camp Iguana, and the now-closed Camp X-Ray. The facility is often eponymously refered to as Guantanamo, Gitmo, or Camp X-Ray.

This use of Guantánamo Bay as a military prison has drawn fire from human rights organizations and other critics, who cite reports that detainees have been tortured or otherwise poorly treated and note their unusual and unclear legal status. Neither prisoners of war, nor tried as common criminals, detainees are not permitted review by or recourse to the U.S. legal system. Supporters of the detention argue that constitutional rights have never been afforded for prisoners of war or non-U.S. citizens. This line of argument ignores the U.S. ratification of international treaties that ban torture or the shipping of prisoners to countries where they will be tortured. . . [more from Wikipdeia]

Human Rights Watch: Guantanamo Detainees: cite: (hrw.org) Who's Really Locked up in Guantanamo?, United Nations Finds that U.S. Has Failed to Comply with International Obligations at Guantanamo Detention Center and more up-to-the-minute reports and news.

	Web nedv.net

_/\_TO THE TOP