June, 14 2011, 02:42pm EDT
When it comes to Guantanamo Bay, the Politics of Fear and Cynicism Have Won Out over Any Promised Hope or Change
CALL TO ACTION - JOIN US ON JUNE 22-25, 2011
WASHINGTON
We must continue to speak and act against the ongoing crime of Guantanamo!
We walk in shame and grief and anger.
We walk mindful of broken promises, hollow words, and bankrupt institutions.
We walk for men torn from their families and homelands, tortured and abused by this nation, still detained without charge or trial after all these years.
We walk because we know that torture is wrong, that the indefinite detention of people without charge is wrong, and that vilification of South Asians and Muslims is wrong.
We walk because we cannot and will not accept injustice, forsake hope, and forget the humanity of the men detained by the United States at Guantanamo, Bagram, and other detention sites.
From June 22-25, 2011, Witness Against Torture will return to our nation's capitol. Please Join us. *
22 June 2011: DAY OF PREPARATION
12-2 vigil @ the Department of Justice
5pm dinner @ St. Stephen's
6:30pm action planning at location TBA
23 June 2011: DAY OF ACTION
11am Solemn procession from the White House to the Department of Justice to the Supreme Court to Congress
24 June 2011: DAY OF FASTING
12pm-2pm vigil @ the Department of Justice
25 June 2011: DAY OF SOLIDARITY
7am-7pm vigil @ the White House with the Torture Abolition Survivor's Support Coalition as part of their week for survivors of torture
Additional information will be posted in the coming weeks at www.witnesstorture.org. You can let us know you are coming by writing to fast@witnesstorture.org. Please DOWNLOAD and distribute our new flier!
"THE ONLY WAY OUT OF GUANTANAMO IS IN A COFFIN"
From Andy Worthington: "The last living prisoner to be released from Guantanamo was Farhi Saeed bin Mohammed, an Algerian who was repatriated against his will in January. Since then, an Afghan prisoner, Awal Gul, died in February, and on last week the US military announced that another Afghan prisoner, Inayatullah, who was 37 years old, "died of an apparent suicide," early on the morning of May 18."
ALSO SEE
- Hunger strikes continue at Guantanamo to protest conditions of confinement and President Obama's indefinite detention order.
- Witness Against Torture's response to the latest Wikilieaks about Guantanamo.
- Witness Against Torture's latest letter (April 7, 2011) to the Department of Justice.
- Read Kathy Kelly's and War Resisters Leagues's statements on the murder of Osama Bin Laden.
SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN
- Buy a Witness Against Torture T-Shirt or Book.
- Donate online or send a check made out to "Witness Against Torture" to Mary House Catholic Worker, 55 E. Third Street, New York, NY 10003.
- Post your local community's anti-torture event to our calendar.
- Spread the word! Forward this e-mail, learn more, or put a button on your website.
- FACEBOOK: Join our cause and group.
Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo.
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