Cophenhagen Post
14-04-08, 02:36
Artist invites Guatánamo prisoners to Bornholm
14.04.2008
A Bornholm artist will soon have two former Guatánamo prison living in his home, if all goes according to plan
Yesterday, Torben Hansen, an artist from the island of Bornholm, flew to Cuba to invite two falsely accused Uygurs from Guantánamo prison to Denmark as a part of an art project.
Hansen explained that the idea came about one day when he heard on the radio that many Guantánamo prisoners were denied residency permits in various countries despite being declared innocent of terrorist activities.
'Then I had the crazy idea of inviting a couple of them over here,' Hansen told Politiken newspaper. 'I thought it could be part of an art project.'
'My plan is to get in touch with some of the more established Danish artists and ask them to do portraits of the refugees,' he said.
He said that all proceeds would go to the ex-prisoners so they could move on with their lives. His driving force was the desire to create what he called a 'mental climate change'.
'Instead of mistrust taking over and our constantly pushing everyone away, I feel that we should try to establish a different climate to live in.'
His choice of the prisoners coincided with the recent turmoil in Tibet and the ongoing debate on human rights issues in China. The Uygur people are an ethnic minority from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China.
'It is the right time to line up politicians against a wall and say, "You're speaking of human rights and Tibet, but what about the innocent Uygurs over there?"' he said, referring to 18 Uygurs who were captured by the Americans in 2001 while fleeing China.
After a year's detention at the Guantánamo base, all charges were dropped against the Uygurs, but they were already labelled 'Guantánamo convicts' and no nation, including Denmark, was willing to take them in. And Hansen was aware that there was a chance his project would fail because of that.
He was also aware of the many who would accuse him of promoting his art and not the good cause.
'Forget about my pictures. Warhol once said everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. And if I can use mine on giving these two people their freedom and maybe starting a debate, then I'm happy.' (LYT)
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/106679.html
14.04.2008
A Bornholm artist will soon have two former Guatánamo prison living in his home, if all goes according to plan
Yesterday, Torben Hansen, an artist from the island of Bornholm, flew to Cuba to invite two falsely accused Uygurs from Guantánamo prison to Denmark as a part of an art project.
Hansen explained that the idea came about one day when he heard on the radio that many Guantánamo prisoners were denied residency permits in various countries despite being declared innocent of terrorist activities.
'Then I had the crazy idea of inviting a couple of them over here,' Hansen told Politiken newspaper. 'I thought it could be part of an art project.'
'My plan is to get in touch with some of the more established Danish artists and ask them to do portraits of the refugees,' he said.
He said that all proceeds would go to the ex-prisoners so they could move on with their lives. His driving force was the desire to create what he called a 'mental climate change'.
'Instead of mistrust taking over and our constantly pushing everyone away, I feel that we should try to establish a different climate to live in.'
His choice of the prisoners coincided with the recent turmoil in Tibet and the ongoing debate on human rights issues in China. The Uygur people are an ethnic minority from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China.
'It is the right time to line up politicians against a wall and say, "You're speaking of human rights and Tibet, but what about the innocent Uygurs over there?"' he said, referring to 18 Uygurs who were captured by the Americans in 2001 while fleeing China.
After a year's detention at the Guantánamo base, all charges were dropped against the Uygurs, but they were already labelled 'Guantánamo convicts' and no nation, including Denmark, was willing to take them in. And Hansen was aware that there was a chance his project would fail because of that.
He was also aware of the many who would accuse him of promoting his art and not the good cause.
'Forget about my pictures. Warhol once said everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. And if I can use mine on giving these two people their freedom and maybe starting a debate, then I'm happy.' (LYT)
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/106679.html