A Grim Fairy Tale
Let me tell you a story...
Once upon a time, far, far away, there lived a people called the Uighurs. They lived in a land in the center of Asia, and their nation of East Turkistan was taken over by the Chinese Communist government. This was hard for the Uighurs, since they are ethnically different from the ruling Han in China, and they believe in Islam, which is not approved by the Communists. From time to time, Uighurs make their way out of their country, trying to escape the brutal persecutions and deprivation of their homeland.
One pair of Uighurs left the country, and made their way across central Asia. Finally, they made it to Pakistan. Sadly for them, it was shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, and the US was paying bounties for "terrorists." Perhaps not surprisingly, Pakistanis turned these two foreign Uighurs over, and pocketed the money. First the US took them to a prison in Afghanistan, and then it took them to Guantanamo.
Much time passed. The sister of one of the pair thought her brother was dead. Eventually, after a few years, there came to be held a military tribunal. The tribunal decided that these two were not terrorists, not enemy combatants, just two guys who's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were ordered released.
Oh, happy day! Justice had prevailed, at long last! Only...
They are still there. Still imprisoned in Gitmo.
They now have a civilian lawyer, who has asked a judge to get them released. The government says it can't, because it would normally send them home to China, but China persecutes Muslims and Uighurs, and no other country has offered to take them. The military still wants to keep them under supervision. The government asserts that the "executive power to make war" includes the "authority to wind up" the detention of enemy combatants in an orderly fashion. So they're feeling no urgency to get them out. Despite the fact that the military's own tribunal, a system that has reported to be rigged against the prisoners, decided these guys were innocent, even though they've been in jail for years now.
* * *
Once upon a time, the United States was the friend of those being persecuted by communist governments, and went out of its way to provide support, safety and comfortable shelter for those refugees trying to escape those regimes. No, wait, that's a completely different story...
Once upon a time, far, far away, there lived a people called the Uighurs. They lived in a land in the center of Asia, and their nation of East Turkistan was taken over by the Chinese Communist government. This was hard for the Uighurs, since they are ethnically different from the ruling Han in China, and they believe in Islam, which is not approved by the Communists. From time to time, Uighurs make their way out of their country, trying to escape the brutal persecutions and deprivation of their homeland.
One pair of Uighurs left the country, and made their way across central Asia. Finally, they made it to Pakistan. Sadly for them, it was shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, and the US was paying bounties for "terrorists." Perhaps not surprisingly, Pakistanis turned these two foreign Uighurs over, and pocketed the money. First the US took them to a prison in Afghanistan, and then it took them to Guantanamo.
Much time passed. The sister of one of the pair thought her brother was dead. Eventually, after a few years, there came to be held a military tribunal. The tribunal decided that these two were not terrorists, not enemy combatants, just two guys who's been in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were ordered released.
Oh, happy day! Justice had prevailed, at long last! Only...
They are still there. Still imprisoned in Gitmo.
They now have a civilian lawyer, who has asked a judge to get them released. The government says it can't, because it would normally send them home to China, but China persecutes Muslims and Uighurs, and no other country has offered to take them. The military still wants to keep them under supervision. The government asserts that the "executive power to make war" includes the "authority to wind up" the detention of enemy combatants in an orderly fashion. So they're feeling no urgency to get them out. Despite the fact that the military's own tribunal, a system that has reported to be rigged against the prisoners, decided these guys were innocent, even though they've been in jail for years now.
Once upon a time, the United States was the friend of those being persecuted by communist governments, and went out of its way to provide support, safety and comfortable shelter for those refugees trying to escape those regimes. No, wait, that's a completely different story...
posted by Paul at 11:20 AM |
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