Of gulags and Gitmo
December 6, 2007 at 1:14 pm by Scott Henry in NewsThe Soviet gulag prison system will be the subject of a panel discussion hosted next week by the Carter Center – or will it?
Actually, here’s how the CC describes the event: “A panel of human rights leaders will discuss its impact on Russia and the world today, as well as offer comparisons to the American Civil Rights Movement.”
Fair enough, but does anyone imagine that the topic of America’s own gulag at Guantanamo Bay won’t come up among a panel that includes Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA; former Gulag prisoner Sergey Kovalev; and Pres. Jimmy himself?
Just yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the question of just how much access to the judicial process the more than 300 in Cuba should have. Said the Bush administration: not much. Said a lawyer for 37 detainees who’ve been locked away for more than six years without a proper hearing: more than they’ve gotten so far.
According to the NYT, the 83-minute hearing didn’t seem to go so well for the government, which tried to convince the court that being represented by an assigned officer before a military tribunal is all the justice the detainees deserve.
So the Carter Center event should be interesting. Shame you can’t go. Apparently, the program – scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 – is already sold out. However, you can listen to a live webcast of the discussion on the CC’s website.
You can also check out an exhibition on the gulags at the Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site. It’s billed as the first U.S. retrospective of the Soviet gulag system. Be sure to bring the kids.
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