Guantanamo Bay has fallen out of the headlines over the past month, and that’s something officials say is totally in keeping with history. Ramadan is always a relatively quiet time at the detention center, and officials are now expecting “misbehavior” from their detainees to grow, since the Muslim holy month has ended.
It’s more than a little shocking that the coverage completely vanished during Ramadan, however, because despite official reports of some detainees eating a meal on the first day of Ramadan and were offered food for Eid al-Fitr, the massive hunger strike involving most of the detainees didn’t end, and neither did the force-feedings.
Officials touted the usual Ramadan “calm” of detainees being cooperative, but the usual “Ramadan pardon” of forgiving detainees for misbehavior likely rang hollow, with the force-feedings seen by so many as a punitive measure.
It’s also interesting to note that while they claimed some detainees had started eating for Ramadan, they never really offered updated hunger strike tolls, nor did the number being force-fed ever decline. It seems likely that with open-ended detention and no access to a court or real charges still major problems, the hunger strike will continue on.
I suppose these people would call a drowning man's flailing the water "acting out".
Odd, this assessment: "It’s also interesting to note that while they claimed some detainees had started eating for Ramadan, they never really offered updated hunger strike tolls, nor did the number being force-fed ever decline"
In fact, the numbers are updated in the press, daily.
Here are today's numbers (August 12, 2013):
53 detainees are tracked as hunger striking
38 are on the enteral feed list
There have been no changes since Saturday, Aug 10, 2013
The beatings will continue until morale improves!
Women should run that place. The trials would be over by now, and the good home cooking would be hard to pass up. Who doesn't like apple pie ? Now, about the American way of justice…..for all….(sound of crickets)