MEDIA REACTION - GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM: GUANTANAMO

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001322 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR IIP/G/WHA, INR/R/MR, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA STATE FOR INR/IAA, L/WHA, DRL, S/P E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR KPAO PHUM CI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM: GUANTANAMO DETAINEES ¶1. On June 15, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record "El Mercurio" (circ. 119,807) carried an editorial entitled, "Debate Over Guantanamo." Quote: ¶2. "The suicide of three Al Qaeda prisoners in the Guantanamo detention center has reactivated controversy over the camp and renewed accusations of human rights violations.... But President Bush has invoked the special circumstances of the 'war on terrorism'...saying the Geneva Convention does not apply because the prisoners are not soldiers of a recognized government. ¶3. "We do not doubt the difficulties of fighting terrorists: they are not a regular army, blend with the civilian population, and use the guarantees of rule of law to operate but the U.S.--which bases its social system on the respect for human rights--cannot disregard these rights, even in this case. The legitimacy of its fight on terrorism depends on the moral strength of its cause. Situations such as the one in Guantanamo only degrade that moral strength. Chile already learned that even in justified cases ignoring human rights degrades the cause and eventually turns against it. The U.S. should dismantle the Guantanamo prison without abandoning its fight against terrorism." KELLY