Los Vuelos

Allá abajo, bien abajo en la portada (título nº 25 empezando desde arriba), a la izquierda, cerquita de notas como “Amazon tendrá su propia moneda”, o “Hierbas aromáticas: manual de instrucciones”, la versión digital del diario El País de Madrid manda un titulito: “54 países colaboraron en los vuelos secretos y secuestros de la CIA” (http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/02/05/actualidad/1360059661_594912.html).

Sin pretender la medalla al mérito, Astroboy recuerda que, como ciudadano argentino, en su momento (¿2007? ¿ 2008?; ya no recuerda), se avivó de que se estaba llevando a cabo un programa a escala internacional de detención forzada de personas (¿y posterior tortura y asesinato?), bajo la excusa de la “Guerra contra el Terrorismo” (mayormente islámico). En consecuencia, comunicó el hecho, por mail, ante (1) un prestigioso periodista argentino comprometido con los derechos humanos; (2) la secretaría de Derechos Humanos de la Nación, y (3) “nuestro” fiscal ante la Corte Penal Internacional, Luis Moreno Ocampo (sobre este último, véase: http://astroboy-en-ultiverso.blogspot.com.ar/2012/11/ay-luisito.html). Le respondió un funcionario de la Secretaría de Derechos Humanos, diciéndole que se ocuparían de investigar el asunto.  

La noticia de El País viene a cuento de un informe que acaba de publicar una ONG, Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), cuyo título es: “GLOBALIZING TORTURE. CIA SECRET DETENTION AND EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION”. Se lo puede bajar completo, como PDF, desde el sitio: http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/globalizing-torture-20120205.pdf

Vale la pena leerlo. Si bien el informe se restringe al studio de 136 casos, el mismo señala que podrían tratarse de muchos más (¿centenares? ¿miles?). De lo que sigue, nos hemos permitido subrayar el nombre de los 54 países involucrados en estas operaciones. No vaya a ser que les creamos ni por medio segundo cuando varios de ellos comiencen a derramar lágrimas de cocodrilo por "el hambre en Africa" o cosas por el estilo. A continuación reproducimos parte del Resumen Ejecutivo de este informe:

“Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) commenced a secret detention program under which suspected terrorists were held in CIA prisons, also known as “black sites,” outside the United States, where they were subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques” that involved torture and other abuse. At about the same time, the CIA gained expansive authority to engage in “extraordinary rendition,” defined here as the transfer—without legal process—of a detainee to the custody of a foreign government for purposes of detention and interrogation. Both the secret detention program and the extraordinary rendition program were highly classified, conducted outside the United States, and designed to place detainee interrogations beyond the reach of the law. Torture was a hallmark of both. The two programs entailed the abduction and disappearance of detainees and their extra-legal transfer on secret flights to undisclosed locations around the world, followed by their incommunicado detention, interrogation, torture, and abuse. The administration of President George W. Bush embraced the “dark side,” a new paradigm for countering terrorism with little regard for the constraints of domestic and international law.

Today, more than a decade after September 11, there is no doubt that high ranking Bush administration officials bear responsibility for authorizing human rights violations associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition, and the impunity that they have enjoyed to date remains a matter of significant concern. But responsibility for these violations does not end with the United States. Secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations, designed to be conducted outside the United States under cover of secrecy, could not have been implemented without the active participation of foreign governments. These governments too must be held accountable. 

However, to date, the full scale and scope of foreign government participation—as well as the number of victims—remains unknown, largely because of the extreme secrecy maintained by the United States and its partner governments. The U.S. government has refused to publicly and meaningfully acknowledge its involvement in any particular case of extraordinary rendition or disclose the locations of secret overseas CIA detention facilities. While President Bush acknowledged that the CIA had secretly detained about 100 prisoners, the U.S. government has only identified 16 “high value detainees” as individuals who were secretly held in CIA detention prior to being transferred to U.S. Defense Department custody in Guantánamo Bay. The United States also has refused to disclose the identities of the foreign governments that participated in secret detention or extraordinary rendition, and few of these governments have admitted to their roles. 

This report provides for the first time the number of known victims of secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations and the number of governments that were complicit. Based on credible public sources and information provided by reputable human rights organizations, this report is the most comprehensive catalogue of the treatment of 136 individuals reportedly subjected to these operations. There may be many more such individuals, but the total number will remain unknown until the United States and its partners make this information publicly available. The report also shows that as many as 54 foreign governments reportedly participated in these operations in various ways, including by hosting CIA prisons on their territories; detaining, interrogating, torturing, and abusing individuals; assisting in the capture and transport of detainees; permitting the use of domestic airspace and airports for secret flights transporting detainees; providing intelligence leading to the secret detention and extraordinary rendition of individuals; and interrogating individuals who were secretly being held in the custody of other governments. Foreign governments also failed to protect detainees from secret detention and extraordinary rendition on their territories and to conduct effective investigations into agencies and officials who participated in these operations. The 54 governments identified in this report span the continents of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America, and include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

By engaging in torture and other abuses associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition, the U.S. government violated domestic and international law, thereby diminishing its moral standing and eroding support for its counterterrorism efforts worldwide as these abuses came to light. By enlisting the participation of dozens of foreign governments in these violations, the United States further undermined longstanding human rights protections enshrined in international law—including, in particular, the norm against torture. As this report shows, responsibility for this damage does not lie solely with the United States, but also with the numerous foreign governments without whose participation secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations could not have been carried out. By participating in these operations, these governments too violated domestic and international laws and further undermined the norm against torture.”

Produce cierto orgullo saber que, de México para abajo, ningún país americano se prendió en esta movida de la Internacional Torturadora. No mucho más que eso, para ser sinceros.

Hasta la próxima