| by Eric Bailey
( September 24, 2012, Texas, Sri Lanka Guardian) The third issue, volume one, of Torture:
Asian and Global Perspectives has hit the presses and has several unique twists
that will make it stand apart from other issues for some time to come. Due to
an unusual set of circumstances, this issue was actually published jointly by
both the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Danish Research Centre
for Torture Victims (RCT). The reason for this was because of an Asian Alliance
Against Torture and Ill-treatment summit that was held, by these two organizations,
in Hong Kong, that gathered ministers of parliament and other experts from
several different countries in Asia for the purpose of discussing human rights
abuses and the means of combating them – both through legislation and
implementation of existing laws.
As a result, parliamentarians and other experts from the
Philippines, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal have had their speeches
printed in this issue, giving considerable insight into the state of affairs in
these countries, in regards to human rights abuses, as well as a sense of the
challenges facing law makers in those countries that must be overcome to
effectively combat problems like torture.
Additionally, interviews with experts and editorial articles
from others have added input from Sri Lankan Tamils, members of lower level
castes in India, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury under the
Reagan Administration, and human rights activists from both the AHRC and the
RCT.
This wealth of experts and the diverse knowledge they’ve
shared continues to elevate the quality of this young magazine and, while
reputations take time, Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is off to an
amazing start and is establishing itself as a credible and well written
publication.
Being an American myself, I was especially interested in the
interview with Paul Roberts. In this interview, Mr. Roberts did something that
is unfortunately rare among American politicians these days: he made no
distinction between the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations. Despite
coming from the most famous and celebrated Republican Party administration in
recent decades, he firmly condemned the Bush Administration for torturing
prisoners that had been taken in conflicts since the 9/11 Attacks and he
articulated his opposition to the Iraq and Afghan Wars. He explained the
constitutional, statutory, and international laws and treaties designed to
prevent the Federal Government of the United States from committing acts of
torture. He explained, in detail and with historical examples, why such actions
are not only immoral, but largely ineffective. And he clearly showed the
ultimate danger of such actions for the American people – not in the form of
revenge attacks from enraged Muslims or what have you, but through the erosion
of American civil liberties and the further consolidation of government power.
Then, in the very next sentence, he condemned Obama for
doing the exact same thing. In an era of intense political partisanship, where
each political faction does its utmost to misrepresent and demonize the other,
Paul Robert’s straight shooting was a breath of fresh air. He condemned Obama
for ordering the assassination of American citizens without judicial review. He
condemned the codifying into law of unjust and repressive powers, which now
includes the power of the military to directly arrest American citizens,
indefinitely, without charge, trial, warrant, or any other form of judicial
review, and argued that both administrations were fundamentally responsible for
the erosion of American civil liberties and the establishing of a regime that
conducts routine, unwarranted, searches and regular domestic spying.
Mr. Roberts continued by calling for The West to be held
accountable for its actions over the years, as a necessary step towards that
dream of a torture free world, as well as towards the restoration of civil
liberties in those Western countries (specifically in this interview, the
United States). His arguments were thoughtful and articulate, and it is my hope
that he will make additional appearances in future issues of this magazine.
Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives is a new initiative
which is focuses mainly on torture and its related issues globally. Writers,
who interested in having their views of this subject published, may submit
their articles to torturemag@ahrc.asia
About the author: Eric Bailey is a member of the editorial
board of, Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives
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