‘Guantanamo fuels hatred of West and boosts al Qaida’

THE United States must close Guantanamo prison, where its treatment of some 500 terrorism suspects encourages hatred toward the West and bolsters Muslim membership of the al Qaida network, a new report concludes.

Sat, 02 Jul, 2005 - 01:00

Sabina Zawadzki, Brussels

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commissioned the report from its human rights representative, Belgian senate president Anne-Marie Lizin, and will vote next week whether to accept its findings.

“A generation of young Muslims, fed on the images of Abu Ghraib, of the treatment reserved for the Guantanamo detainees and rumours about profanation of the Koran, will have filled the al Qaida ranks and those of other extremist groups,” said the report made public yesterday.

“The longer the detention is in the camps the more the hatred against the US and the West becomes anchored in hearts and minds,” it said. “Being fully aware of the US authorities’ dilemma between national and world security and long procedures, we recommend terminating the Guantanamo detention facility by announcing a calendar of closure.”

In June, the US military described cases of mishandling of the Koran by US personnel at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba, including splashing it with urine and kicking it.

The American government, increasingly under pressure at home to close the prison down, has said it is key to protecting the country from further attacks. Last week it said it was addressing abuse claims and holding prison staff to account.

The OSCE, consisting of 55 member nations from Europe, North America and the former Soviet republics, aims to maintain security and flag conflicts and human rights issues in its region. The US is a member.

Guantanamo mostly holds prisoners scooped up in Afghanistan during the US offensive there in retaliation for the September 11 al Qaida attacks.

Human rights groups as well as institutions such as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe have criticised the United States for holding detainees there for indefinite periods.