The 2009 convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) opened in Toronto on August 7, and runs through today. Behind all the busy poster events, interest group parties, speeches and academic get-togethers, the fine wheels of bureaucratic resistance are grinding slowly and inexorably.
Anyone who has ever seen their dream killed by administrative indifference and authoritarian obstructionism will sympathize with the betrayal felt by the leaders of a referendum drive inside the APA to condemn psychologist participation in prison sites that are in violation of international law, say, by torturing their prisoners, or holding them in indefinite detention.
[Originally from Daily Kos: UN-Officer-to-APA:-All-Psychologists-Must-Leave-Gitmo!-(b-c-of-torture) - Sun Aug 09, 2009 at 12:16:07 PM PDT
[Your simple minded editor is surprised. He had thought that this was a done deal years ago. He is shocked that the APA membership haven't revolted years ago at the smear that this brings to their supposed professional status, that members of high rank and regard have allowed the sanctioning of the killing and torture of untried suspects, or if tried, people who were tried under specious and suspicious grounds. They will live to see their members in the docks with the untried but unspecious war criminals of the Bush Administration, from King Richard Cheney to the puppet George and all the anti-social beings below them.]
The referendum passed last summer by nearly 60% of voting members. Subsequently, APA revved up their bureaucratic resolution-killing machinery. A description of their bad faith maneuvers follows, along with coverage of breaking news, wherein the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture calls on APA to honor the referendum and tell the U.S. government it must pull all psychologists out of Guantanamo and other sites in violation of human rights.
This was not the first time APA leadership has moved against an anti-torture measure. At the 2007 convention, for instance, they pulled some tricky maneuvers at the Council of Representatives meeting and ensured a motion on banning psychologists from torture interrogations would never come to a vote.
Read the entire detailed story at: Daily Kos: UN-Officer-to-APA:-All-Psychologists-Must-Leave-Gitmo!-(b-c-of-torture) - Sun Aug 09, 2009 at 12:16:07 PM PDT
This diary has been adapted from an original posting at Firedoglake
