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THE TORTURE WE IGNORE [Col. Writ. 5/14/04] Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal "The
object of torture is torture." Formal charges have now been preferred against U.S. Army M.P., Chuck Graner, based upon his behavior at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Among the charges are: maltreatment, cruelty, conspiracy, and failure to protect those in his charge. What makes these charges ironic, of course, is that Graner is, in his civilian life, a Pennsylvania prison guard. As some have learned, Graner, before his reserve deployment to Iraq, worked at the Super-Max -- SCI-Greene -- for the past 7 years. His colleague at Abu Ghraib, and one also charged in the abuse scandal there, was Sgt. Ivan Frederick, also a prison guard in civilian life. It is telling that two of the major figures in the abuse, humiliation and violence against imprisoned Iraqis worked in their usual lives as prison guards. It is there, in the shadowy depths of American prisons, that these men learned their cruel craft. If this were not so, wouldn't you think that these two guys would've been at the forefront in letting their fellow reservists know what was unacceptable? Instead, they were in the front lines of the violators. In recent commentaries, I've opined that we will see a whitewash. Nothing I've seen since the beginning of this scandal has altered my opinion. It appears the lower ranks will tote the heaviest weight; and the administration will manage it away, as a case of the perennial 'bad apples.' The media is full of references to the Geneva Convention, as if that's the only basis of international law that governs the situation. It ain't. In 1994, the United States ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and unlike the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture applies to *everyone* -- not just state parties. Thus, this International *Law* applies to the prisoners in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- and even in the U.S. Moreover, when US soldiers swear to follow the Constitution when they join the services, *they are swearing to uphold Laws which include the UN Convention Against Torture!* Article Six (VI) of the US Constitution establishes the Constitution, *and* Treaties entered into by the US, as the Supreme Law of the Land. That means the Geneva Convention; that means the Covenants against torture, racism, political repressions, and the like, are part and parcel, of the Constitution. But, as we have seen, swearing to a 'law', and following it, are two different things entirely. The US doesn't abide by it, or other such acts of international law -- it doesn't have to -- for it is more than a state -- it is an Empire. As such it slaps the UN silly when it dares to challenge its imperial authority and hegemony (or it holds back its billions in dues). The brutality, the sexual and psychological torture, the violence that has come to symbolize Abu Ghraib, didn't begin in Iraq. It began in the US -- against alleged citizens. It is but the latest US export. As the former Rap Brown (now Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin) used to say, 'as American as apple pie.' Copyright 2004 Mumia Abu-Jamal Read Mr. Jamal's latest work,"WE WANT FREEDOM: A Life in the Black Panther Party", from South End Press (www.southendpress.org). "When a cause comes along and you know in your bones that it is just, yet refuse to defend it--at that moment you begin to die. And I have never seen so many corpses walking around talking about justice." — Mumia Abu-Jamal MUMIA'S COLUMNS NEED TO BE PUBLISHED AS BROADLY AS POSSIBLE TO INSPIRE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT AND HELP CALL ATTENTION TO HIS CASE. The campaign to kill Mumia is in full swing and we need you to **please** contact as many publications and information outlets as you possibly can to run Mumia's commentaries (on-line and **especially off-line**)!! The only requirements are that you run them *unedited*, with every word including copyright information intact, and send a copy of the publication to Mumia and/or ICFFMAJ. THANK YOU!!! |
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