Today, there is a real crisis of leadership in Iraq -- with double standards and double speak on human rights. Before the war began on 20 March 2003, Amnesty International (AI) warned that military action would mean further suffering for a people who had already suffered terribly as a result of government repression and the devastating effects of economic sanctions. Some of AI's fears were borne out. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed and injured during the war, some as a result of cluster bombs dropped by Coalition Forces. Scores of civilians have been killed apparently as a result of excessive use of force by US troops or have been shot dead in disputed circumstances. For example, US soldiers have shot and killed scores of Iraqi demonstrators in several incidents, including seven in Mosul on 15 April 2003, at least 15 in Falluja on 29 April and at least two outside the Republican Palace in Baghdad on 18 June. AI has repeatedly called for all killings of civilians by Coalition Forces to be thoroughly, independently and impartially investigated and for perpetrators of unlawful killings to be brought to justice. To date, no independent investigations are known to have been held.
By now, we also have seen the shameful pictures of Iraqi prisoners being tortured, humiliated, and mistreated by US armed forces. In most of the pictures, American soldiers stand with naked Iraqi prisoners. The soldiers are laughing, smiling, pointing, and giving the camera a thumbs-up. In some photos, soldiers are shown punching prisoners, or attacking them with dogs. In a couple of photos, American soldiers smile jovially next to the body of a dead Iraqi prisoner. When Private Lyndee England, one of the soldiers apparently guilty of abusing prisoners herself, was asked whether there were even worse offences perpetrated against Iraqi prisoners than what the world has already seen, her answer, eerily, was "yes." These photos have outraged the entire world, as they should also outrage each and every one of us for what is being done in our name.
While these acts happened to be caught in photographs, we know that they are not unique. Amnesty International has received frequent reports of torture or other ill-treatment by Coalition Forces during the past year. These abuses have been well known and widely reported by human rights and humanitarian organizations. Former detainees have said they were forced to lie face down on the ground, were held handcuffed, hooded or blindfolded, and were not given water or food or allowed to go to the toilet. Many detainees have alleged they were tortured and ill-treated by US and UK troops during interrogation. In one horrific case, Abdallah Khudhran al-Shamran, a Saudi Arabian national, was arrested in al-Rutba in early April 2003 by US and allied Iraqi forces while travelling from Syria to Baghdad. On reaching an unknown site, he said he was beaten, given electric shocks, suspended by his legs, had his penis tied and was subjected to sleep deprivation. He was held there for four days before being transferred to a camp hospital in Um Qasr.
Virtually none of these cases of torture or ill-treatment has been adequately investigated. There must be a fully independent, impartial and public investigation into all allegations of torture. The perpetrators of these crimes, as well as the intellectual authors, must be held to account.
Those who abuse human rights must be held accountable and this country must voice zero tolerance for torture. There is absolutely no excuse. Contrary to some opinions, the fact is that torture does not make us safer as Americans - torture is not an effective interrogation method, it serves only to further erode our reputation abroad, and it is against every value that we claim to hold dear as a civilized and free people.
We must take a united and principled stand against torture and ill-treatment, without reservation and without hesitation. If Iraq is to have a sustainable and peaceful future, human rights must be a central component of the way forward. We need to get serious about human rights.
Sincerely,
Hal Bertilson
(Superior) Chair of the Duluth-Superior Chapter of Amnesty International
Mayra Gomez
(Duluth) member of the Duluth-Superior Chapter of Amnesty International