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Terrorism isn’t James Bond or Tom Clay. Even al-Qaeda is looking old school these days–now it’s just some guy with a bomb. He walks the same roads as us. He thinks the same thoughts. But he’s got a bomb. MICHAEL MARSHALL, Blood of Angels Thesaurus defines terrorism as the calculated use of violence against civilians to attain political or religious goals. Knowing that a terrorist could be one among the thousands of innocent people walking on the roads is a scary thought.
But so is a ruddier, a thief, a rapist one among those thousands. All of them are out to hurt harmless people in some way or the other. How do we know who among a crowd of people Is a murderer? So Is It right to detain an Innocent bystander blaming him for an act he hasn’t performed? It Is not. The same way It Is wrong to detain a person indefinitely in the name of a suspected terrorist for a crime he hasn’t committed. In December 2011 American President, Barack Obama passed a legislation under which alleged terrorists can be held without trial for unlimited period until all the hostilities ND.
They will be allowed to appear before a committee once a year which will decide if the detention should continue. These suspects are then shipped to Augmentation Bay where they have to undergo torture at its peak which Includes shameful abuse. Water boarding and convoluted Interrogation techniques. Nearly 10% of the prison population held there have been proved to have no relation with any form of terrorism. Then why should they be subject to such cruelties for no fault of theirs? This puts into risk every single citizen because America’s definition of a suspected terrorist is broad and a large category of people will fall under it.
A person who has missing fingers or food stored for more than seven days also comes under the category of a potential terrorist. Giving the government rights to put someone behind the bars under such spurious premises Is foolish. Such undue power to the government which already has excessive control over the lives of normal people is uncalled for. When there are already strong laws against terrorists, this is totally unnecessary. All citizens have to always walk on the roads with fear that any moment hey could be arrested and the government needs no reason for it.
They would get no trial or hearing In front of a Jury, not even a lawyer to defend. In such a context the meaning of democracy simply vanishes. New York, a movie released In 2009 depicts a similar emotion. In the movie a man is detained under charges of being a terrorist and tortured incessantly for nine months. At the end of it he is being proved innocent and released. But the agony he faced there has a permanent impact on him leaving him with feelings of deep resentment towards the government and FBI. His hatred actually converts him into a terrorist.
There Is no Justification for being a terrorist but the fact that a person can become one because of the troubles he faces says that it is okay to detain a person indefinitely without trial as a terrorist suspect, he should realize that he himself doesn’t have any protection from such laws. Tomorrow, he could be the one arrested and detained. If we imagine the amount of power that policemen and government will get if such a legislation is passed, it would certainly make us think twice. That too in a country like India which is filled in abundance with corrupt officials this would be like the icing for their cake.
Any person who has ever irritated them to the slightest or some personal enemy of theirs “homo they had always wanted to arrest for no reason can now actually be convicted under the name of a terrorist suspect. The role of government officials is to protect the people. Giving such excessive and unnecessary power is only going to make them more corrupt. As we can see internment without trial is bound to encourage bad behavior among states, fails to make societies safer and undermines the meaning of democracy.
Internment is not a new concept. During the Second World War, USA detained about 110000 Japanese-Americans and recently, in 1971, British government detained hundreds of republicans in an attempt to shut down the Irish Republican Army which never happened. After the 9/1 1 tragedy many Muslim-American organizations and civil liberties groups have complained for months about the poor treatment of the random foreigners picked up as suspects. Their families were given o information about what happened to them.
It is obvious that giving the government such unchecked authority can lead to disastrous consequences. It is not unreasonable to detain people if the situation is urgent, like in an emergency in order to ensure national safety. But to keep someone prisoner for more than 24 hours without any sort of evidence against them is denying the very basic rights a democracy stands for. It reduces the amount of trust the civilians have for the authorities. If convicted, the person should at least be found guilty by a Jury or a trial just be conducted immediately.
Further there is no evidence to suggest that detaining suspects without trial has been a means of protection. Terrorism has still been happening. These detainees are treated differently by their peers once released. They are always seen with doubtful eyes. The psychological trauma that the acquitted suspects undergo is unimaginable. Also the detainees once released direct their pent up emotions, for being in a situation they never deserved, against the captors. If we try to win over terrorism by such barbaric acts, then there is no end to he war.