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AFP. 28 January 2002. White House insists on "modern" interpretation of Geneva Convention. WASHINGTON -- The White House Monday insisted a "modern" interpretation of the Geneva Convention was necessary when it came to the 158 prisoners from Afghanistan it is holding at a maximum security prison on a US naval base in Cuba. "It's unprecedented, it's complicated, and I don't think it should surprise anybody that the laws that are set out in the Geneva Conventions have to be interpreted in a modern light," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. International criticism of conditions at the makeshift prison camp in Cuba have grown since the first batch of 158 detainees now held in Guantanamo were transferred from Afghanistan earlier this month. Photographs released by the US Department of Defense shortly after their arrival showed a group of kneeling, handcuffed prisoners wearing dark goggles, earmuffs, mittens and bright orange jumpsuits. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday insisted that captives from the war in Afghanistan held on the naval base were "terrorists" who did not deserve to be considered prisoners of war. "I think that what is on the table is the unique nature of this conflict," Fleischer said. "This is not the clear-cut, old fashioned war that we were used to when the United States fights against a drafted army that represents an accepted nation recognized under law. President George W. Bush on Monday was meeting with his top national security advisors to discuss the issue, which has rattled the international coalition backing the US-led war on terrorism. But little change is expected from the debate over whether the men, currently being held as "unlawful combatants," should be accorded rights given captured soldiers under the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of war captives. "As you heard," Fleischer said, "this is a settled matter. They are not prisoners of war." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
