Hunger Strikes are increasing at Guantanamo

[shance]

The Time article reads much like its usual propaganda, however it is good to see the individuals striking are increasing in number.

This was one of the main actions taken in the early 1900's by American suffragist women like Alice Paul to obtain our right to vote. They were also strapped down and force fed.



Gitmo Hunger Strikers Increase

MICHAEL MELIA
AP
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The number of Guantanamo Bay detainees participating in a hunger strike has more than doubled in recent weeks to 11, including five who are being force-fed, the U.S. military said Monday.

(snip)

The number of participants stood at five just one month ago, officials said. No information on who the new hunger strikers are was immediately available. The military rarely releases details on individual detainees.

The U.S. government says it needs to keep men deemed "enemy combatants" under guard, but many prisoners protest they are innocent. Guantanamo Bay received its first prisoners on Jan. 11, 2002, and currently holds about 395 foreign men on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

Among the hunger strikers are two prisoners who began refusing food in August 2005, near the start of a hunger strike that reached a peak participation of 131 that year, Durand said. Most detainees abandoned the protest as the military adopted more aggressive force-feeding methods, including a restraint chair.

Those on the hunger strike have not made any specific demands or requests, Durand said.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1575544,00.html

[malaise]

1. Check this out

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2CC001B4-5CFE-4E9E-A83D-A76D39989715.htm

Shut down the US military prison camp in Guantanamo Bay

[LynneSin]

2. Most heartbreaking movie you can watch - "Some Mother's Son"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117690/

It's about the Irish Hunger Strikes back in the 80s lead by Bobby Sands

[louis-t]

3. Maybe they should puree the lemon chicken and

put it in an IV bag. Sheeesh! How do you force feed someone without doing bodily harm. Sure, a child maybe, but if a grown man or woman doesn't want to eat....