LONDON, Nov 5: Amnesty International urged US president-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday to “reverse the damage” of the Bush administration over human rights during his first 100 days in office.

The rights group notably pressed Obama to “show true leadership” by announcing a date for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba.

“President-elect Barack Obama must make a clean break from the US government’s detention policies and practices adopted by the previous administration,” said Amnesty boss Irene Khan.

She said that in the first 100 days after he takes office on Jan 20, the new US administration should announce a plan and date for closing Guantanamo; issue an executive order banning torture, and set up an independent probe into abuses committed in the so-called “war on terror.” Obama “must reverse the damage done at home and abroad by the US government’s unlawful actions in the name of national security,” added Larry Cox, executive director at Amnesty International USA.

“The US government’s policies during the past eight years have violated the basic rights of thousands of individuals, damaged the United States’ credibility on human rights issues and strained diplomatic relations.” The Bush administration has been widely criticised over rights abuses since the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, notably in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and so-called rendition of terrorist suspects.—AFP