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23.01.02, 17:02
Justice or revenge?
As a hostage in Beirut, Terry Waite was chained to a wall, beaten and denied
all human rights. Here he gives his thoughts on America's treatment of the al-
Qaida detainees in Guantanamo Bay
Wednesday January 23, 2002
The Guardian
I can recognise the conditions that prisoners are being kept in at the US camp
at Guantanamo Bay because I have been there. Not to Cuba's Camp X-Ray, but to
the darkened cell in Beirut that I occupied for five years. I was chained to a
wall by my hands and feet; beaten on the soles of my feet with cable; denied
all my human rights, and contact with my family for five years, and given no
access to the outside world. Because I was kept in very similar conditions, I
am appalled at the way we - countries that call ourselves civilised - are
treating these captives. Is this justice or revenge?
I was determined that my five years in captivity would not break me, and they
didn't. But I cannot say that it was easy. The hardest thing for a prisoner in
those conditions is the uncertainty. You don't know what will happen to you
next: you have no rights, no one to speak to, no one to advise you, no one to
fall back on. You only have your own resources. These men, who may or may not
be guilty, will be experiencing that sense of isolation and dislocation.
For four years I was kept in solitary confinement and had no companionship at
all. I was always blindfolded, or had to wear a blindfold when someone came
into the room. I never saw another human being. The initial effect is eerie,
but eventually you become accustomed to it. You learn to live from within. But
that's tough, and no one should be forced to attempt it.
I had a diet very similar to that being given to these men - bread, cream
cheese, rice, beans. I was adequately fed, but not luxuriously, and I lost a
lot of weight. The greatest difficulty was never having any exercise in the
whole period. I had to get what exercise I could while chained to the wall. I
had five minutes a day to go to the bathroom; for the rest of the time I had
to use a bottle. The conditions were inhuman, but all the time I had to assert
my humanity. What I experienced makes me all the more determined when I say
that prisoners of whatever description must be treated humanely and justly. I
would stand up for the rights of the alleged terrorist and of any other
individual facing serious charges. I am not soft on terrorism - I have had too
many dealings with it to be so - but I am passionate that we must observe
standards of justice. I fear that unless firm action is taken to institute
just and fair procedures, the long-term results for the US will be
catastrophic. Terrorism is not ultimately defeated by the force of arms; you
have to deal with the root causes and ask what makes people act in such
extreme ways.
It alarms me greatly that the prisoners' status seems to have been determined
almost exclusively by the US president and his advisers. Their status should
be determined by an independent tribunal. The US seems to be making up the
rules as it goes along. First, it said that the appalling acts of terrorism in
New York and Washington were acts of war; now it is saying that these captives
are not in fact prisoners of war, that they are unlawful combatants. An
independent tribunal should establish precisely what they are.
If the US is making up the rules, it will have no moral authority should other
countries try, convict and perhaps execute American and European suspects.
There will be no moral grounds on which we can stand if we allow this to
continue. Americans tell me that they have little patience with international
tribunals - they take a long time, and often come up with a different result
from that which was hoped. But that is no argument. It doesn't matter how long
it takes - justice must be seen to be done, and be done impartially.
I was appalled when I heard a prominent American suggest that in certain
circumstances the limited use of torture might be justified. That is a
dreadful statement to come from a civilised nation. Torture can never be
justified, and must be clearly condemned. When it comes to trial, these men
are entitled to basic defence rights and ought to be tried under the auspices
of the UN. It is vital that we uphold standards of international law for the
protection of the innocent, and for the protection of American or European
subjects who may find themselves in difficult circumstances in the future. For
once, morality and pragmatism go hand in hand.
· Terry Waite is the former special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He
was held captive by terrorists in Beirut from 1987 to 1991.
