Right before Easter, the White House said that they are closely monitoring the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay. The US government have up until this point tried to ignore the existence of the strike but coincidentally enough, they now admit its existence the same week as the Red Cross, because of the hunger strike, is sending a delegation to check the conditions of the prison and the detainees.

The number of prisoners on hunger strike are only 31 according to a Pentagon spokesman. a number not compatible with the 130 prisoners on hunger strike according to a Saudi prisoner. Through his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, Shaker Aamer confirmed that, just in camp V, 66 prisoners are on hunger strike, and that more and more prisoners are joining the protest movement.

Shaker also told his lawyer that he had, since the hunger strike started 6th February, lost 32 pounds. According to authorities 11 other detainees are force fed with tubes and three others have been hospitalised for severe dehydration.

While admitting they are monitoring the hunger strike, the White House also said that Obama-administration still plans to close Guantanamo, something Obama has failed to mention in earlier speeches regarding keeping his promises. They did mention though that the closing will take time because of the legislation that Congress put in place. Why Congress is so against closing Guantanamo is unknown, but it is a good scapegoat.

Another interesting question is, if Obama is so keen on closing Guantanamo and it is only the Congress who are holding him back, why did Obama decide to fund the building of a new prison at Guantanamo, and also the building of a new camp 7? Why put millions of dollars into something that hopefully will not be needed? Or is the plan not to close Guantanamo and keep coming up with bad excuses why they can not release the prisoners?

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Too many times have we heard about Obama’s promise to close down Guantanamo bay. Still nothing has happened. For too many years have hundreds of men been held in the prison, most of them for no reason at all. What is even more fascinating is that more money have been requested for a new prison at Guantanamo, some of the money is rumored to go to a new camp 7.

Why build a new prison if you are going to close it down? Why still keep prisoners who are cleared for release in Guantanamo? For me it seems like the US government are just coming up with new excuses to avoid closing Guantanamo, avoid taking consequences for their actions at the prison and avoid letting the truth about the torture that the prisoners have subjected to to reach the public.

The hunger strike is still going on at the prison. Guards have confiscated the prisoner’s Korans and other personal items. They have also been disrespectful during praying time.The only way the detainees can protest is by refusing to eat. Why is it so hard to respect people’s religion and how can the world just stand and watch these men being treated like they are worth nothing?

And other question that I hope we will get answered soon is, what is going to happen to Shaker Aamer? Will he ever be able to seet his family again or is he going to spend the rest of his life in a prison, even if he has been cleared for release twice?

Order Spectacle’s DVDs  Shaker Aamer: a decade of injustice ( New Version) and  Outside The Law: Stories from Guantánamo

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Or visit our Guantánamo project  and Shaker Aamer project pages for more information and videos.

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This week is the Shaker Aamer awareness week and with a massive hunger strike going on at Guantanamo, the media are paying extra attention to the easily forgotten detainees at the prison. Even though the U.S government are pretending that the hunger-strike does not exist, there has been a renewed focus on Shaker, the last British resident in Guantanamo.

Shaker Aamer, who has been cleared for release both under President Bush and President Obama, has been in the prison for 11 years. Shaker’s family have launched an e-petition that needs 100,000 signatures before the 20th of April 2013 to be eligible for a Parliamentary debate about how the UK government can ensure Shaker Aamer’s return to his wife and four children in Wandsworth South London.

This week there are a variety of events to alert people to the awful things that happen at Guantanamo, to remind people about Shaker Aamer and to encourage them to sign the e-petition.

For more information about the different events please visit:

Shaker Aamer awareness week
Save Shaker
Andy Worthington

Order Spectacle’s DVDs  Shaker Aamer: a decade of injustice ( New Version) and  Outside The Law: Stories from Guantánamo

Click Guantánamo for more blogs
Or visit our Guantánamo project  and Shaker Aamer project pages for more information and videos.

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