Grenada 17 says US torture of POWs not new

[CottonBear]

Grenada 17 says US torture of POWs not new
by Leroy Noel

Monday, June 28, 2004
ST GEORGE‘S, Grenada: The 17 persons convicted in Grenada for the death of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his cabinet colleagues say reports of the humiliation and torture of prisoners of war in Iraq, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay, by their US military captors are nothing new.

A statement from the Grenada 17 says official US spokespersons have sought to portray these horrible abuses as recent, isolated incidents by out-of-control individual soldiers, and not the result of official US policy but those who lived through the US invasion of Grenada know the truth.

The prisoners added that in the months following the October 1983 US invasion of Grenada, 2,800 Grenadians out of a total adult population of 60,000 were detained, most of them at a prisoner of war camp set up at Point Salines International Airport. Many of the prisoners were kept in small ‘sweat boxes’ designed so that they had to crawl on hands, knees and stomachs like dogs in order to get in and out.

The Grenada 17 indicated that guard-dogs were set halfway into the sweat boxes to terrorize them; abuse, including racist abuse, was screamed at them day and night by the soldiers; and the boxes were constantly beaten at night so as to deprive the detainees of sleep. They were kept in those boxes on the asphalt tarmac for days or weeks, in the sun, in the stifling daytime heat. Leaks in the boxes let in the heavy October night rains, so that they shivered in their wet clothes night after night, many becoming ill they claimed.

more...
<http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2004/06/28/torture.htm>


This is an older article but I thought that I would post it here since I've never seen this topic discussed on DU. This is widely discussed and publicized in the Caribbean and in Britain as well as among Caribbean ex patriots and immigrants here in the US. I have been following this story for about 15 years. I suspect that the US government wants no discussion of this matter here at home. The only mention I've ever heard in the US media was in 1991 when one short (15 second) segment aired on NPR stating that the death sentences were overturned just as the prisoners were being prepared for the gallows. The Grenada 17 have had their legal case appealed to the High Court in London. The current Grenadian government of Prime Minster Keith Mitchell appealed the Eastern Caribbean Court's ruling that the 17 had served their terms and should be released. The case was supposed to be heard in September, however, the date was suddenly changed to late November - after the US elections.

Rich Gibson, a professor of Education at San Diego State University, has written extensively about the Grenada 17. I've provided a link to an excellent article published in Counterpunch. Please pay special attention to the second paragraph.

The Grenada 17
The Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black
By RICH GIBSON

On June 28, 2004, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States High Court will hear a Grenadian government appeal seeking to set aside a lower court ruling in favor of the Grenada 17. The lower court ruling would, in essence, overturn the convictions of the Grenada 17 on murder and manslaughter counts, stemming from unjust trials nearly twenty years ago. The Grenadian government, staggering from a series of corruption charges that have roiled the little island nation off the coast of Venezuela, is vigorously pursuing a legal strategy that would keep the prisoners in jail_well beyond the length of their initial sentences-on the grounds that the judiciary should not be able to negate the executive branch. The lower court has declared the convictions, "null and void."

The invasion of Grenada, more than 20 years ago, presaged many of the events that blowback on the US today: unilateral warfare, official deceit about the motives for war, a massive military moving against an imagined foe, stifling the press, leaders proclaiming their guidance from God, denials of human and civil rights, systematic torture and subsequent cover-ups-and a hero who refused to go along. Many of the players in the Bush administration who promise perpetual war today cut their teeth on the invasion of Grenada. It is more than worthwhile to review the events that lead to the upcoming trial.

more...
<http://www.counterpunch.org/gibson06052004.html>


The Grenada 17's appeals case may be stalled further because of the almost total destruction of the country of Grenada by hurricane Ivan. The Mitchell government has not held regular meetings of parliament since that time. The 17th century Richmond Hill prison had its roof blown off and many of the stone walls were destroyed. They survived this direct hit from Ivan while locked in an ancient stone fortress on a hilltop. Most of the general prison population escaped. Most have been recaptured. The 16 male political prisoners (The only woman, Phyllis Coard, was released a few years ago so that she could undergo cancer treatment.) did NOT attempt to escape. They stayed put and helped their fellow prisoners, their friends and their families in the awful aftermath of Ivan. They were allowed to stay with family during the day and report back to a temporary prison at night for the first few weeks. They have since been re incarcerated and are awaiting the High Court's ruling.