Kafka and Uighurs at Guantanamo

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By Ray McGovern (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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On Monday morning a three-judge appeals court met to hear arguments as to whether or not Urbina’s decision should be overturned. Judge Judith W. Rogers, appointed by President Bill Clinton, had objected strongly to the stay, pointing out, "The government can point to no evidence of dangerousness" from the Uighurs. On Monday, she subjected Barre to strong questioning. Her colleagues Karen Henderson and A. Raymond Randolph, both appointed by President George H. W. Bush, seemed much more sympathetic to the government’s position that the Uighurs should not set foot in the United States.

It was the tone of the Solicitor General’s argument that hit me strongest. Here is an unmitigated tragedy for which the U.S. (together with Pakistani bounty hunters) is responsible. Small wonder that on Oct. 7, Judge Urbina shouted, "Enough. Six-plus years is enough. Bring them here and let the government defend its extraordinary position."

There has been no information on what the three-judge panel that met on Monday will eventually decide, or when. It may take weeks, we were told.

Meanwhile? For the Uighurs, more languishing in Guantanamo. Don’t be overly concerned, though, said Barre. He told the court that they had been moved to a "less restrictive part of the prison in Guantanamo, where there are amenities like DVD players." (sic)

Aliens Have No Unalienable Rights?

I thought the Declaration of Independence was what we were all about as Americans:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…"

Where does it say "except for Uighur aliens?"

When we were a younger country and much closer to our roots, France decided to mark the centenary of the Declaration of Independence by giving us the Statue of Liberty to watch over the streams of immigrants coming to our shores. Aliens like my grandparents were not turned back—so long as they were found to be sound of body. The statue was not actually emplaced until October 1886, less than two years before my grandparents arrived in New York from Ireland.

My grandparents were aliens—but fortunate ones. They could go to Liberty Island; they could read Emma Lazarus’ sonnet and rejoice at the words:

"…Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Guantanamo An Abomination

Maybe we need to pause this Thanksgiving. The Uighur prisoners should be at table with us, not in confinement watching DVDs. What has happened to us? Have we lost our soul?

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Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an Army infantry/intelligence officer and then a CIA analyst for 27 years, and is now on the Steering Group of (more...)

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