Lech Walesa on detention issues
The International Committee of the Red Cross's flagship publication, the International Review of the Red Cross has devoted most of its latest issue to the question of detentions.
All the articles there that I've been able to look at look really, really interesting and important. Including this one, on "Human Rights and Indefinite Detention".
But perhaps this interview with Lech Walesa-- who was interned by the pro-Soviet regime in Poland a number of times in the 1970s, and then again in 1981-- is the article that should receive the widest circulation inside the US. (To most members of the US political elite, especially those who shout loudest about the need to "extend freedom", Walesa-- like Vaclav Havel-- is regarded as a big hero.)
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
- Qun: Coming back to detention issues, where are the limits that because of religious or moral reasons we are not allowed to overstep?
The United States leads the world economically and militarily, but it no longer does so morally. This is partly due to the fact that it has occasionally resorted to immoral methods to fight the phenomenon of international terrorism. It says: we have the money, we have the means, and we will fix the problem ourselves. But how much will this cost in human terms? You have to prove your high moral standing by deeds, not by words. This also applies to detention. I say it with all due respect for the reasonable concerns of the United States and as a friend of the Americans, who are facing serious threats from terrorist organizations...
What are the responsibilities of politicians?
Politicians have a moral and legal obligation to give clear and unambiguous messages and instructions to uphold minimum humanitarian standards even in the worst situations. It is their moral responsibility. I am afraid the present international atmosphere is not helping us, but I believe that everybody is increasingly aware of their responsibilities and that we are heading in a better direction.
"I must say I do not share his optimism on that last count."
Strangely enough, I do. As bad as things can seem in the moment, I think we humans in general are holding ourselves to a higher standard than in much of the past, certainly compared to the bloody 19th and early 20th centuries. That's not to say we have anything to congratulate ourselves for, just that there are signs of gradual improvement. I expressed my concern in another thread about the case of Jose Padilla, the one American citizen currently being held without trial as an "enemy combatant." This is bad, to be sure, but is it as bad as the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII? I think not. The reason no such broad internment of Arab-Americans is occurring is because we the people (current regime elements excluded) have progressed beyond the point where we would accept that as an appropriate response to an attack on our country. There is hope, Helena, and things like this blog of yours feed it. Keep up the good work!!!