Ethiopia

Africa’s Guantanamo

Since 2007, people have been detained and tortured in the Horn of Africa. The detainees that have been released claim that they were interrogated and tortured by Ethiopian, British and American officers. It has been dubbed “Africa’s Guantanamo.” The United States Human Rights Watch has estimated that near one hundred and fifty men, women and children have been detained. The detainees are being questioned about terrorist attacks in Kenya and Tanzania within the past twenty years. Now, the majority of the prisoners have been released. It is estimated that at least ten people are still being held captive in Ethiopian jails. The location of others is currently unknown.

In January 2007, Ethiopian troops took over the capital of Somalia. This drove out the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). Members of the UIC fled toward Kenya and were arrested when they reached the border. Kenya arrested these people because Somalia has, for a long time, been seen as a sanctuary for terrorists. These terrorists are also thought to have links to al-Qaeda and the people responsible for the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Released detainees accuse United States of taking part in the interrogations. The US had no comment on the matter; however, such actions are believable because of the United States’ desire to spread democracy and western philosophy. The United States has fought al-Qaeda through the War on Terror. If accusations were true it would make sense that the United States and Britain would lead the interrogation. The two countries have fought the beliefs of Islam and the Islamic terrorists for a long time and with this report it seems like the struggle between western thinking and Islamic thought will not be ending any day soon.

Identity

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnJOE4900N1.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7644989.stm

October 3, 2008 at 11:41 am