Jan 11th. Call Out to Shut Down Guantanamo on it's 5th. Anniversary

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Saturday December 16, 2006 05:22

by Libre

It is hoped that vigils at Dublin's U.S. Embassy and Shannon Airport will be part of this international effort on the 5th. anniversary of the first prisoners arriving at Guantanamo.

Invite to Jan 11th International Day to Shut Down Guantánamo in Wash DC
& U.S. Embassies or Sites of Significance Throughout the World

On January 11th, 2002, twenty hooded and shackled men shuffled off a
plane from Afghanistan, arriving at the U.S. prison at Guantánamo. In
an attempt to sidestep the Geneva Convention protections for prisoners
of war, the Bush administration created a new category of "enemy
combatant" for these men captured in the "war on terror."

Since that time, more than one thousand men and boys have been
imprisoned at Guantánamo. Accounts of cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment have been condemned by the United Nations, Human Rights
Watch and other reputable bodies. The prisoners have resorted to
hunger strikes as a way of protesting their treatment. Many have
attempted suicide; three men killed themselves on June 10th 2006.
Desperation, fear and frustration mark their confinement.

Five years later, not a single prisoner has been charged, tried or
convicted of any crime. Many have been released because no evidence
has been found against them, but more than 430 men remain in
indefinite detention without hope of release. The United States has
abandoned law and justice.

January 11th, 2007 marks five years of unjust imprisonment, isolation,
beatings, interrogation and abuse for these men. We must say: no more.
We must say: no longer. For our nation of laws, for our democracy, for
our humanity and theirs, we demand small but essential steps to help
return our nation to the best of our own traditions.

We mark January 11, 2007 as a day of national shame. But we can also
mark it as a day of citizen action. How? By acting on behalf of our
fellow human beings in Guantánamo, their bereaved families and all
victims of the "war on terrorism." We declare January 11, 2007 an
International Day of Action to Shut Down Guantánamo.

Schedule of Events on Jan 11th in Wash DC

10am - Press Conference at the US Supreme Court (One First Street, NE)
Hear from Guantánamo Lawyers, family members of prisoners, survivors
of torture and others.

11:30am - "Prisoners of Guantanamo Procession" to the US Federal Court
In this massive street theater performance, hundreds of
"prisoners"--each wearing orange jump suits, black hoods and chains,
and bearing the name of a current detainee--will march in an orderly
silent procession, stopping occasionally to kneel or bow at the beck
and call of "prison guards" who accompany them. We hope to form a
prisoner contingent that will consist of as many people as there are
detainees to evoke a dramatic visual representation of the moral
disgrace that is Guantanamo.

12-5pm Vigil at the Federal Court (intersection of Constitution Ave,
NW and Pennsylvania Ave, NW) Upon arriving at Federal Court, we invite
people to deliver motions on prisoners' behalf to the Court. Those who
do not wish to risk arrest will stay and continue to hold vigil
outside the Court as part of a permitted rally and demonstration.

We encourage people to let us know in advance if they are willing to
participate in either the Prisoners March, Civil Disobedience, or
both.

There will be solidarity demonstrations from Amsterdam to Boise, Idaho
and in Guantánamo, Cuba and a National Call-In Day to Congress. For a
full list of solidarity actions, endorsers, and details of the day of
action, please contact Witness Against Torture
(www.witnesstorture.org)

For more information contact:
Matt Daloisio – Ph 001 201 264-4424

or
Frida Berrigan – Ph 001 347 683-4928

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Jan 11th. Call Out to Shut Down Guantanamo on it's 5th. Anniversary