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Liz LynneLiberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands 1999-2012 |
MEP hails Obama's Guantanamo pledge.
November 11, 2008 12:57 PM
Liz Lynne, the Liberal Democrat MEP for the West Midlands, has today welcomed the announcement by Barack Obama, that he intends to uphold his campaign pledge of closing Guantanamo Bay prison as one of his first acts upon being sworn in as President.
The new President- elect and his advisors have said that the closure will see some prisoners released, some moved to the mainland to finally face trial in American courts and some, whose cases are deemed to contain highly classified information, to potentially be tried in a new type of specialist terrorism court, though details of this court are as yet unclear.
Liz Lynne, who is a member of the European- Parliament's Sub- Committee on Human Rights and a long time campaigner against the Guantanamo prison, has said that the move is a long awaited one and a positive step forward in bringing the USA back to a position of respect for human rights.
Liz said:
"I am very pleased to hear that Barack Obama will fulfill his campaign promise and shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison. Since 2002 the detention centre has been a heavy cloud over the human right's landscape. It is illegal, immoral and irresponsible. Shutting it down will be a clear sign that the USA under Mr Obama will be a place where fundamental human rights and International Law are respected once more.
"I urge Mr Obama to think long and hard about the best way to proceed with regards to those detainees with complex and difficult cases and to ensure that he continues on the course he has set of regarding human rights as inalienable no matter what the charge.
"If this announcement is a sign of things to come then I firmly believe that the Obama Presidency could herald a new era of respect for America right around the world."
ENDS
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