Gitmo detainees outraged on Quran burning in Afghanistan

The Commander of Joint Task Force in Guantanamo, Rear Admiral David B. Woods has said that detainees at camp-6had resorted to protests after hearing the reports of Quran burning in Afghnaistan.It may be mentioned here that Camp-6 in Guantanamo houses compliant detainees who can watch live news channels and also get newspapers.When asked about the specific nature of protests, he said around 20 detainees had refused to take meals after the incident while some detainees posted protest slogans.He, however, declined to answer as to what was written on these protest signs. They also refused to go outside in the recreation area as a mark of protest, he added.Admiral Woods, interacting with the visiting media personnel Wednesday, termed these protests as the kind of peaceful protests that are seen off and on from detainees in Guantanamo.We explained to detainees what the exact situation was and we also are very sensitive to respecting Quran at Guantanamo, he maintained.Responding to another question, he admitted that 12 detainees were on hunger strike in camp-5 and camp-6 at the moment, but were being provided with health treatment.We ensure that body weight of detainees on hunger strike does not drop beyond a certain stage, he asserted.The JTF Commander refused the allegations made in a New York Times story about maltreatment of the detainees.Reports of mistreatment and substandard food to detainees are simply not true. Detainees are only disciplines on violation of rules, not because of any act in the battlefield, he argued.On the arraignment hearing of Majid Khan, first Pakistani national who was produced before a military commission on Wednesday, he said that Majid Khan had been kept separately in camp-7 in isolation of other high-value detainees, after he decided to enter a plea agreement with the government.He said that granting permission for families of detainees to visit them in Guantanamo was being discussed in Pentagon, but it was a policy issue and could take time.Regarding access to the relevant countries embassies to their nationals, detained in Gunatanamo, he said it was also up to the policy makers to decide.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Guantanamo bay, Cuba