Guantanamo: Obama Pursues Prison Closure Again

President Barack Obama has said he will "re-engage" Congress on his failed attempt to close down the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Mr Obama called for the controversial prison's closure as a candidate for the White House in 2008, and vowed to shut the centre's gates for good within his first year in office.

But lawmakers on Capitol Hill objected and the facility has remained open.

Obama promised to close down Guanatamo in the first hear of his presidency

"It needs to be closed," Mr Obama told a White House news conference on Tuesday. "I'm going to go back at this."

He said: "I think it is critical for us to understand that Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe.

"It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing. It lessens co-operation with our allies on counter-terrorism efforts. It is a recruiting tool for extremists."

A spreading hunger strike by prisoners, who are protesting their indefinite detention without charges or trials, has drawn new attention to the controversial camp.

A majority of the prison's 166 inmates are said to be on hunger strikes

Mr Obama said he was not surprised there are problems at the facility, where a recent tally indicated 100 of the prison's 166 detainees are refusing food.

Asked about the strikes, he said: "I don't want these individuals to die", adding that the Pentagon was doing what it could to manage the situation.

Mr Obama warned the situation would only get worse, and said it made no sense to hold more than 100 people in a "no man's land" indefinitely.

Activists rally for the prison's closure outside the White House

He urged Congress to help him find a long-term solution that would allow for prosecuting terror suspects while shuttering the detention centre.

Rights groups, which have long branded the prison as a legal "black hole", welcomed the president's remarks.

Daphne Eviatar, of Human Rights First, said in a statement: "The writing is on the wall. It's time for the failed Guantanamo experiment to end and for our nation to return to the values that have kept us strong."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Guantanamo: Obama Pursues Prison Closure Again

Dengan url

http://congormangap.blogspot.com/2013/05/guantanamo-obama-pursues-prison-closure.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Guantanamo: Obama Pursues Prison Closure Again

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Guantanamo: Obama Pursues Prison Closure Again

sebagai sumbernya