An Inquisition The World Can Be Proud Of

Those who start pre-emptive wars leading to the deaths of thousands should be held liable for crimes against humanity. Private security forces that massacre innocent civilians should be tried for war-crimes

By Dallas Darling
First Published 2009-09-16,
Last Updated 2009-09-16 15:02:29
Courtesy Of Middle-East-Online

It was on this day, September 16, 1498, that the “burnt tower” died. The burnt tower, as he was called, was Monasterio de Santo Tomas, a Dominican monk. He had dedicated his life to God by cleansing Spain of its heretics. As the first and worst Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, he and his collaborators targeted and tortured tens of thousands of Jews and Muslims who claimed to have converted to Christianity, but still practiced their faith. Using a network of spies and encouraging neighbors to report any unusual behavior, Monasterio de Santo Tomas brutally extracted confessions and punished the guilty with execution at the stake. It is estimated that he burned in the name of God 2000 Muslims and Jews.(1)

When it was reported that Spain’s Judge Baltasar Garzon was pursuing a case against six senior Bush Administration lawyers for torturing detainees at Guantanamo Prison Camp, it was welcomed news. In truth, it is finally an inquisition that the world can be proud of. Unlike the Spanish Inquisition that extracted confession through sadistic means, and unlike the detainees at Guantanamo Prison Camp and other secret sites around the world that have been tortured and killed, this investigation will pursue justice and follow the rule of law. Already Judge Garzon has named John Yoo-Bush’s lawyer in the Justice Department, and Douglass Feith-undersecretary of defense for policy, to be investigated. Both of which were architects of policies that denied rights to individuals and spilled innocent blood.

Ironically, it was the misguided and overly zealous Spanish inquisitors that helped devise individual rights and a fair trial during the Age of Reason. Cesare Bonesana Beccaria was so incensed of the Spanish Inquisition’s injustices, that he spent much of his life writing against abusing witnesses and torturing prisoners. He also worked for the right to speedy trials and the abolishment of irregular proceedings and excessive punishments. Beccaria’s ideas that the rights of all people should be protected by governments challenged long-held ideas about society. As a result of this, the power of monarchs, religious leaders, and tyrants were limited. A more unjust set of standards and abusive punishments for the lower classes, as compared to the upper classes, were also challenged and reformed.

Several years ago when Judge Garzon indicted former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, he showed that no one should act as if they were above the rule of law. He also sent a message that leaders who behave as lawgiver, judge, and executioner should be held accountable for the war-crimes they commit. Now that Judge Garzon has accepted a lawsuit by a number of Spanish organizations and three former Guantanamo prisoners, will those who implemented the abuse and torture at Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp and other secret sites also be answerable? And what about those who oversaw the tortuous policies of John Yoo and Douglass Feith? And what about their collaborators?

In a world of American hubris, global capitalism, and corporate resource wars, there needs to be more activist judges who side with truth and justice and that try to put an end to the rule of supremacy and militarism. Those who start pre-emptive wars leading to the deaths of thousands should be held liable for crimes against humanity. Others who rule over conglomerates and view themselves as corporate crusaders (with the task of eliminating people of other faiths from the globe) should be made responsible for their crimes against peace. Private security forces that massacre innocent civilians should be tried for war-crimes.

It is unfortunate the Spanish Parliament just passed legislation to end the practice of its judges seeking war-crime indictments against officials from foreign nations. It is also regrettable that some are resisting Judge Garzon’s investigation into Spain’s own past, namely General Franco’s regime and its war-crimes during Spain’s civil war. “It is better to prevent crimes than to punish them,” wrote Beccaria. The real criminal perpetrators are often presidents, prime ministers, and generals of imperial powers. What keeps them from a war-crimes tribunal are their powerful positions, their enormous militaries, and their sanitized histories that bury state-sponsored acts of terrorism, along with their victims.

With activist and justice oriented examiners like Garzon, a fair and more peaceful world will be realized. It will finally be a kind of inquisition the world can be proud of.

Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John‘s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of his articles at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.)

Note:

(1) Marsh, W.B. and Bruce Carrick. 365 Your Date With History. Toronto, Canada: Penguin Books, 2004. p. 455.