U.N. chief wants Guantanamo prison shut down

Reuters reported today that:

UNITED NATIONS - New U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes the U.S. prison at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay should be shut down, he said on Thursday.

"Like my predecessor, I believe that the prison at Guantanamo should be closed," Ban told a news conference. U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, who stepped down on December 31, had also called for the facility to be closed.

President Bush has himself said he would like to close the facility, Ban reminded journalists. But the U.S. leader has yet to do so.

Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of the camp's opening.

The first detainees were flown to the heavily guarded camp five years ago, soon after the U.S.-led war on
Afghanistan was launched in response to the September 11 attacks.

More than 770 captives have been held there since then, of whom only 10 have been charged with crimes.

Rights groups around the world have planned vigils -- in countries including Australia,Israel, Italy, the United States, Japan, Paraguay, Spain, Tunisia and Britain -- to mark the anniversary and urge the prison's closure.