When Hannah Arendt wrote about the banality of evil she was criticised for her thesis that people who carry out unspeakable crimes are not be crazy fanatics, but ordinary individuals who simply accept the arguments of their state and voluntarily participate in the evil â?? they are indeed good bureaucrats, simply following orders. Arendtâ??s example was a key administrator in the Nazi death camp system (Adolf Eichmann).
It seems to me that this is the only way in which to understand the statement of Rear Admiral Harris that the Guantanamo suicides on 10th June: “This was not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetric warfare committed against us.” (The Time, June 11). He is the good bureaucrat – dutiful, unquestioning and supportive. Absolutely terrifying.
The three detainees committed suicide by using nooses made of sheets and clothes. One of the men was first detained when he was a juvenile. They had been in prison up to four years, but never charged a crime. This means that they have no way of knowing if and when they will ever be released.
Before June 10th there had been 41 suicide attempts at the camp. About the detainees at Guantanamo Amnesty International writes:
None of the detainees have been granted prisoner of war status or brought before a â??competent tribunalâ?? to determine his status…The US government refuses to clarify their legal status, despite calls from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to do so. Instead, the US government labels them â??enemy combatantsâ?? or â??terroristsâ??, flouting their right to be presumed innocent and illegally presuming justification for the denial of many of their most basic human rights.
Next week (23 June) the documentary Road to Guantanamo will be in the movies the website contains both the trailer and information about the infamous prison. Amnesty International has a broschure to accompany the film: The Road to Guantanamo Action Guide.
The banality of evil is in part the ability of the state to accept compromises such as Guantanamo – yet maintain they care about human rights. In addition to the general public opinion’s ability to forget that the evil is taking place…