EDITORIAL – Inmate hunger strike understandable

Hunger strikes aren’t exactly unusual at the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay…. Hunger strikes aren’t exactly unusual at the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Since the center’s opening in January 2002, hunger strikes have been a common occurrence.

According to newly released Pentagon documents, hunger strikes in the early days of the center left strikers significantly more svelte then those being held today. It’s not that the inmates aren’t trying – it’s just hard to have a proper hunger strike when you’re strapped to a chair with tubes shoved through your nose and into your throat.

What’s that you say? Sounds like torture? Sure does.

The New York Times reported Sunday that a new long-term hunger strike of about 13 inmates has broken out at Guantanamo. These inmates are subjected to daily force-feeding to ensure that they will not fast successfully. Lawyers for the inmates participating in the strike say that their clients are protesting the atrocious conditions of life in the maximum-security prison that they’ve been housed in since December. The also say that the number of striking inmates is more like 40, rather than the 13 that the Army reported.

The Army has taken many precautions to ensure that there is little or no chance that the hunger strikers will be victorious – not only are inmates strapped into chairs and force-fed, but they are also kept in a “dry room” to make sure that they properly digest following the sessions. These inmates are also being kept in a “feeding block” where they can be further monitored.

When the Army first started using the restraining chairs, there were allegations that they were administering the force-feeding with tubes that were larger than necessary and that inmates were left strapped in the chairs for hours at a time. The Army says that it was to ensure proper digestion, but they have since started using the “dry rooms” to monitor inmates after feeding sessions.

Not only is the Army dealing with a whole slew of human rights violations, but it’s also certainly not winning any points with the public. We’re not suggesting that the Army let the prisoners starve themselves to death, but the methods they are using to keep them alive are not the most humane and dignified. It’s almost as if the Army was exploiting the hunger strike to further torture strikers.

Clearly the conditions in the detainment centers are bad enough for nearly continual hunger striking since 2002, and the answer isn’t to force-feed the strikers – it doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for the largely symbolic strike. To end the hunger strikes and other harm inmates are voluntarily inflicting upon themselves, the Army needs to grant the inmates the rights and due process that they deserve. The cruel and hopeless living situation at Guantanamo Bay has caused inmates to once again resort to a shocking technique to attract the attention of the world.