Families of 9/11 victims want to keep Guantanamo open
 

GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, Cuba, (AFP) – Parents of five 9/11 victims called for the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay to remain open and for the military commissions to try the five men accused of perpetrating the attacks.

"We demand that this camp stay open and that the process continue," said Joe Holland, whose son was killed during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington.

"Right here, right now, this is a good process, they are getting a fair trial," Holland told reporters, referring to the military commissions established by the administration of President George W. Bush to try "war on terror" detainees held at the controversial facility.

"Guantanamo has been described as a national embarrassment. Mass murder in America is embarrassing," said Donald Arias, his voice trembling with rage.

"Mister Obama, it will be your job to take care of us."

President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on Tuesday, will likely make good on his campaign promise and shutter Guantanamo as well as Bush's military commissions by issuing an executive order shortly after taking power.

Chosen by the Pentagon to witness the hearings, the five representatives of the 9/11 victims spoke after a day of pretrial hearings, where self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed appeared alongside four alleged co-conspirators.

"I believe the preponderance of 9/11 victims defend the death penalty," Arias said at the press conference. "This is not an issue for federal courts."

It could take several months to fully close down the detention camp, as US officials will have to transfer some of the 248 prisoners to other countries and then decide whether to try the remaining suspects in US courts.

Obama has acknowledged that closing the prison will take longer than many of his supporters had hoped.

"We waited eight years, we had nothing ... This is an ongoing process," Jim Riches said about the military commissions, whose fate now hangs in the balance.

Mandated by Congress in 2006, the military commissions were established by the Bush administration to try terror suspects under separate rules from regular civilian or military courts.

The controversial system allows convictions based on classified and hearsay evidence, and critics say it allows for verdicts based on testimony obtained through torture and abuse.

Of the 248 inmates still held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, only about 20 have been charged, including the five suspected 9/11 conspirators.