Close Torture Bay

by pass it on Wed Dec 20, 2006 21:53

Dear Friends,
I have just received a request from Carmen Trotta of the New York Catholic Worker to put out a callout for concerted actions at U.S. embassies (or other relevant sites) outside the U.S. on Januray 11th. '07 the 5th anniversary of the opening of the interrogation centre at Guantanamo. (If you can go to your local cathedral and confront the church's silence on the ssue on Dec 10th. that would be a bonus!)
This is the first attempt to get the Catholic Worker movement and comrades to act in concert in the U.S. and internationally. A mailing has been put out to all CW communities and the hope is to get enough people to washington DC for NVDA to represent every prisoner in Guantanomo (approx 450). The initiative comes from a gathering of 350 Catholic Workers from 55 communites held in Iowa recenlty. It follows the pilgrimage to Guantanamo Bay (Cuban occupied side) last December and sveral NVDA's since.
If you or your friends are considering a vigil at a U.S. embassy or consulate on Jan 11th. Can you let me ciaronx@yahoo.com and Carmen trottacarmen@yahoo.com
know There are relevant resources to downlaod on
www.witnesstorure.org
We will have placards....
"The Church Cannot be Silent While an Illegal Invasion at Shannon!"
"The Church Cannot be Silent While CIA Torture Flights are Refeuled at Shannon!"
We will have Colim in an ornage jumpsuit with a hood over his head etc
On Jan 11th. we will either go to the U.S. Embassy or an Irish institution directliy involved in refueling CIA flights through Shannon.'
1) December 05 Walk to Guantanomo
2) Photos of follow up demonstration at U.S. Embassy to the U.N.
3) Catholic Worker Statement to the Bishops
4) Plans for DC Jan 11th
5) Anti-War Ireland Meeting in Dublin, Wednesday Nov. 29th
1) Last December 05, 25 Catholic Workers flew (illegally to Cuba) and walked to Guantanomo Bay. Some of these folks had attended the Pit Stop Ploughshares trial in Dublin eg Grady sisters, Carmen Trotta see link
www.witnesstorture.org
2) There were follow up demonstrations back in the U.S. see link below for one at U.N. (for ideas on costumes , slogans etc)
http://www.stratecomm.net/~fritz/gallery/nogitmo
3) CW Statement to the Bishops
CATHOLIC WORKER STATEMENT TO U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS
(Longer Version)
We are Catholic Workers from across the US and Europe who have come to
Iowa to celebrate special anniversaries of a number of our houses, to
pray and reflect about what God calls us to at this critical moment in
history, and to recommit ourselves to the Catholic Worker vision of
creating a new society in the shell of the old.
In our various communities we have daily contact with the victims of
our society. Thus, we strive to do the works of mercy and to follow
Jesus' command to be nonviolent witnesses for peace and justice. As we
confront the unrelenting violence and assaults on human life and our
endangered earth, we repent for our own complicity in our culture of
violence, and call on our church and all people of faith and goodwill
to do the same. Taking the Sermon on the Mount as our Christian
manifesto, we
commit ourselves to upholding the sacredness of all life
wherever it is threatened.
As a world community, we find ourselves in a complex and dangerous
moral crisis. Longstanding cultural compulsions have obscured the
basic teachings of Christ. We have become the wealthiest nation on
earth in the history of humankind and the price we have paid is the
collective loss of our souls. The ongoing efforts of militarization
and exploitation of global resources have pushed us to a level of
accepting the unacceptable. Pre-emptive war and the slaughter of
innocents is being carried out in our names and for profit. A creeping
apathy has allowed room for extreme abuses such as torture and the
destruction of whole social fabrics. We are violating our own
spiritual principles and civil laws to attain excessive creature
comforts while others suffer from unimaginable deprivation and
violence. We are a living a lifestyle that demands war and
distracts
from our true calling of loving and caring for one another. Our path
to redemption lies in the repudiation of domination and embracing the
daily need of service to the vulnerable.
Our domestic
and foreign policies have left us a nation without a soul.
We call on our Church to be a prophetic voice, a
sanctuary, and a
source of encouragement to those who want to work together in
community towards peace and justice. To this we recommend:
•Prayer, fasting, vigiling and nonviolent civil resistance to end the
military occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
•That all soldiers refuse to participate in these wars
•That the Church actively support and encourage all conscientious
objectors
•That all U.S. military and private contractors to refuse to engage in
torture
•The closing of Guantanamo and other secret U.S. military prisons
•The eradication of the Military Commissions Act 2006
•Redirect our resources from war making and exploitation to meeting
human needs and saving our planet
•An equitable redistribution of resources by simplifying our
materialistic lifestyle
•All people of faith and goodwill join us for a nonviolent action in
Washington, DC on January 11, 2007, the 5th anniversary of
the first
prisoners arriving at Guantanamo, to call for its closing.
As we approach this season of Advent and Christmas, let us be people
of Light. "The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not
overcome it" (John 1:5).
4) Proposal to foucs on dec 10 and jan 11th for Public Witness against Guantanomo and the War
*WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE*
/A campaign to Shut Down Guantánamo/
To all members of the Catholic Worker family,
*We are writing with an important invitation.*
On January 11^th , 2002, the first prisoners arrived at the American run
interrogation center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. January 11^th , 2007, will
thus mark five years of indefinite detention.
As many of you may know, in December 2005, 25 friends, mostly members of
Catholic Worker communities, walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners
and to decry the morally and legally outlandish policies of our
government: the denial of Habeas Corpus; cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment of prisoners; and torture.
If nothing else, our five-day, around the clock fast and prayer vigil,
often utilizing the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary, has further
animated us to organize to Shut Down Guantánamo.
We are calling for January 11^th , 2007, to be an International Day to
Shut Down Guantánamo.
Presently we are working with the members of the/ Center for
Constitutional Rights, War Resisters League, CodePink, The Declaration
of Peace, Act Against Torture, /and the/ National Campaign for
Nonviolent Resistance/ on a demonstration in Washington, D.C. The day
will include a press conference led by lawyers representing the men at
Guantánamo and family members of those detained.
*We are also hoping to have as many people as there are prisoners,
around 430 at last count, risk arrest in an act of nonviolent civil
resistance, bringing the names of the men from Guantánamo into US courts. *
Obviously this is an ambitious goal. We are hoping that people from the
Catholic Worker community will help spearhead this effort.
It may be unique to issue a call for all of our communities to
participate in a single event, but the gravity of the issues and our
historical moment call for an urgent and unique responsePlease consider both joining us in DC and organizing locally in your own
communities.
Additionally, and as a recruiting mechanism for Jan.11^th *, we are
asking communities to hold vigils outside of their local Cathedrals a
month prior to the D.C. protest. *December 10^th * *is not only
International Human Rights Day, it is also the second Sunday of Advent,
a special day of peace in the liturgical life of the Church. Presently
we have vigils planned at 8 Cathedrals in the northeast.
The deafening silence of the Churches is both a symptom and cause of the
more general political, and ultimately spiritual, malady we face.
As a sign of hope, we should note that the head of the USCCB, Bishop
William S. Skylstad, recently signed the National Religious Campaign
Against Torture statement declaring that, "Any policies that permit
torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.
Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of
our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but
allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions."
Such a statement does not fulfill an obligation, it announces one. We
recommend that groups that intend to demonstrate at their Cathedral
write to their Bishop beforehand and request a meeting at which you can
express your faith and concerns in detail. If you would like the letter
we have used in contacting our Bishops on the East Coast, please contact us.
Regarding the Jan. 11^th demonstration in D.C., if need be, members of
our community may be available beforehand to meet with you in person, or
you can call or e-mail Frida Berrigan or Matt Daloisio for more
information.
Please consider joining this day in any way you can. We ask that you
seriously consider coming to DC to stand on behalf of those men who have
been denied justice for far too long.
Peace-
Frida Berrigan 347.683.4928( c) Matthew W. Daloisio 201.264.4424( c)
Carmen Trotta 212 254 1640
5invite all those interested in helping out to get involved directly in the work of AWI.
In general, we need to build the campaign to demilitarise Shannon airport. The more people involved, the more effective the anti-war movement will be.
Get involved, assist the campaign to demilitarise Shannon airport and end Irish complicity with the US imperialist war machine.
AWI also has branches in Cork and Belfast: email info@antiwarireland.org if you want to be put in contact. We are looking for members and new branches across the island, so please contact us if you wish to get involved!
Care/act
Website: antiwarireland.org
www.peacenikhurler.blogspot.com
www.peaceontrial.com

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