Ireland must use its presidency of the EU to urge the US President George W. Bush to end his country's human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today.
Mr Bush due in Ireland tomorrow for an EU/US summit
In an open letter to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, the human rights group said the US "war on terror" was breaking international humanitarian law.
"With clear evidence of torture by US forces, and no limit on how high up the chain of command responsibility lies, the EU's silence has been shameful and deafening," Amnesty's Irish section director, Mr Sean Love, said.
He urged the Taoiseach to use his position as President of the European Council to tell Mr Bush that international law must be obeyed. Mr Bush will be in Ireland tomorrow and Saturday for an EU/US summit.
"The summit is the ideal time to confront President Bush with the strength of international opinion on the horrors of the detention centres in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, and Afghanistan, and the other secret US locations," the letter says.
Mr Bush should not leave Ireland without a clear message that the EU expects its single most important partner to abide by the absolute ban on torture laid down in international law, it continues.
The leter points out that the EU's new constitution approved by EU leaders in Brussels six days ago affirms the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as the bedrock of the European Union.
"Surely now is the moment for the EU to back up its concern with robust calls on President Bush to ensure that the US opens the doors of its detention facilities not only in Iraq, but also in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and other undisclosed locations elsewhere to United Nations human rights experts and independent international human rights monitors."
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, told the Dáil yesterday that the Government concerns about a number of aspects of US foreign policy would be "made clear" when Mr Bush visits.
Additional reporting PA