7th. Anniversary of Gitmo Torture Chamber - Shut it Down!

by D.C. Images Jan 11th. Mon Jan 12, 2009 15:25

Images from Jan 11th 09 Shut Down Gitmo in D.C.

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJD5TDm2DoM
* http://www.flickr.com/photos/isisdc/sets/72157612413521543/

by Conor. M - S.E.E.D Mon Jan 12, 2009 20:00

Fair play friends. I wasn't aware of this protest, sorry....

by Center for Constitutional Rights Tue Jan 13, 2009 10:21

LINK-How to Close Guantanamo in 3 Months

http://ccrjustice.org/learn-more/reports/report%3A-clos...e-law

by Tim Hourigan Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:35

I sent this letter to a few newspapers:
--------------------------------------------------------------------

I am glad to hear the the incoming US president plans to close the
torture camp at Guantanamo Bay.
I have in fact met a former inmate, Murat Kurnaz, who came to Ireland
to give a talk about his experience.
On reading his book "Five Years of my life - an innocent man in
Guantanamo" my anger was renewed about the number of people who turned
a blind eye to what the CIA calls 'extraordinary rendition', and what
lawyers would call kidnap and torture.
Mr. Kurnaz spent 5 years in a cage, treated worse than a dog, despite
the fact that his interrogators found out fairly quickly that he had
been sold for a bounty by corrupt police who pulled him off a bus,
while he was studying in Pakistan, rather than captured fighting in
Afghanistan as the 'classified' evidence against him claimed.
The only time he was in Afghanistan was when the Americans flew him to
their 'black prison' site at Bagram airbase, where he describes
horrific abuse, and deaths of inmates by inhuman means, such as
hanging them up for days after beatings.
Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Christino, who retired last after 20 years
in military intelligence, says that President George W Bush and US
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have 'wildly exaggerated' the
intelligence value from 'GITMO'. Christino also disclosed that the
'screening' process in Afghanistan which determined whether detainees
were sent to Guantánamo was 'hopelessly flawed from the
get-go'.According to Christino, most of the approximately 600
detainees at Guantánamo - including four Britons - at worst had
supported the Taliban in the civil war it had been fighting against
the Northern Alliance before the 11 September attacks, but had had no
contact with Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda.
Others have also said that because the vast majority of people there
had been swept up in poorly targetted searches, or turned over for the
3,000 dollar reward the Americans were offering.
Even in the case of Mr. Kurnaz, the false evidence they had against
him, was used as part of the propoganda to 'justify' the war on
terror.
It's worth bearing in mind that the 'intelligience' linking Iraq to Al
Qaeda, was a signed confession from a main who claims he only signed
it so they would stop torturing him. In that case, torture of one man
provided 'proof' that was used to brainwash millions about the
invasion of Iraq and the deaths of so many Iraqis.

The closure of Guantanamo is not enough to prevent these acts of evil.
The US has other sites, where the treatment is often worse, such as
Bagram Air base, and willing 'allies' in places like Cairo, and
Uzbekistan, where people are tortured by means of electric shocks
(Cairo) and slowly being lowered into boiling oil (Uzbekistan). A CIA
plane, which has been to both Cairo and Uzbekistan, carrying either
the victims or the torturers, also passed through Shannon on several
occasions without any hindrance from the Irish state, despite criminal
complaints being made to the Gardaí.

Mr. Kurnaz doesn't know if he passed through Shannon on his way from
the US airbase in Afghanistan. He was blindfolded, shackled to the
floor, and the in-flight entertainment consisted of being kicked
repeatedly by soldiers. There were, however, people who could have
checked the planes, but refused to do so.

If our government wants to stop people going to be tortured in
Guantanamo, and accept them here, they could save time and air-miles,
by checking the CIA planes at Shannon to ensure there's nobody tied up
in the back. Anything less than that is shameful complicity and
hypocrisy.

Tim Hourigan
(etc)

by Hunger Strike Tue Jan 13, 2009 21:42

42 Men on Hunger Strike in Guatanamo - 100 fasting in protest across the U.S.

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/187

by Day 3 Fast Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:16 Washington D.C. U.S.A.

Washington, DC.
January 13th, 2009

Day 3 of the Fast for Justice...

With news breaking of a possible executive order coming from President
Obama on January 21st to close Guantanamo, 30 fasters met @ 7am this
morning for reflection, which began with a poem written from the
Guantanamo Prison. While some have insisted that the work is now done,
Guantanamo will be closed in one year, we are trying to ask ourselves
how it must feel to be one of the 250 men still in prison, learning of
at least another year behind bars. While we are heartened by potential
early steps towards Guantanamo's closure, our work is far from done.

Our vigil today was a procession in jumpsuits and hoods from DuPont
Circle to the Obama transition Headquarters
(http://100dayscampaign.org/photos) and we heard from a reporter later
in the day, that the motorcade we saw (and that saw us) was in fact,
Obama’s.

You can see video’s, and read blogs about the day(s) at:
http://100dayscampaign.org/taxonomy/term/62
Also, go to http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/13 to see an
article by Lindsay Hagerman, one of the "Fasters for Justice."

As over 100 of us join in this fast together, we are keenly aware of the
over 70 men in Guantanamo on hunger strike.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20....html

Peace-
Matt

by Ex Gitmo Guard Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:06

Guardian report
Ex-guard joins freed detainees to expose conditions at camp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/13/guantanamo-...oners

Tour blog
http://guantanamovoices.wordpress.com/about-the-project/

by Day5 D.C.Fast Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:02 Washington D.C. U.S.A.

January 15, 2009
Washington, DC

Day 5 of the Fast for Justice...

Hello all-

Some updates from Washington, DC & the Fast for Justice. There are
currently over 110 people fasting around the country, and 70 men in
Guantanamo on Hunger Strike.

Thursday brought us into Day 5 of the fast. The daily vigil began at
DuPont Circle, and made its way to the Russell Senate Building, where
five members of Witness Against Torture had arrived early in the morning
to get seats for the hearings of Eric Holder for Attorney General. The
five orange jump-suited folks sat in the hearings, carrying the message
that “waterboarding is a crime” & “torture is a crime.” You can see
photos from today’s presence in DC here:
http://www.100dayscampaign.org/photos

On Wednesday, after our daily vigil in DC, Witness Against Torture
participated in "The First 100 Days: Bringing Human Rights Home" press
conference and panel discussion at the National Press Club, put together
by the Center for Constitutional Rights.

You can see the joint statement released by the American Arab Anti
Discrimination Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty
International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the
Constitution Project, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, the
National Lawyers Guild, the Partnership for Civil Justice, the Torture
Abolition Survivors Support Coalition, the US Human Rights Network, and
Witness Against Torture here: http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/194,
and video from the press conference here:
http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/209

Attached is a letter similar to the one that all of the fasters have
been sending to their congressional representatives. Please take a
minute to send it along to your representatives on our behalf. And be
in touch if you want to join us in DC anytime over the next 100 Days!

Peace-
Matt Daloisio

-- Matthew W. Daloisio
New York Catholic Worker - Maryhouse

by redjade Sat Jan 17, 2009 00:52

a small http://Amnesty.hu crew in Budapest have been doing this orange suit protest for more than two years now - let's hope that Regime Change in the US of A will change things.

But remember, GTMO was always an intentional distraction from the unknown number of secret prisons all over the world - Diego Garcia? Ethiopia occupied Somalia? Poland? Romania? Kansas?

photo series and MP3 at http://lmv.hu/node/3426

in front of Hungary's 'GTMO' - the House of Terror

In from of the US Embassy in Budapest

by Day 7 D.C.Fast Sun Jan 18, 2009 15:47

January 17, 2009
Washington, DC

Hello all-

As we end day 7 of our fast, we have heard from others around the
country who have been joining us for a day, for a few days, or for the
duration. There is a great spirit here amongst the fasters in DC, and
we have managed to be a noticeable presence around the city, something
we hope to continue as the fast nears its end and the 100 Days
Campaign begins.

Our daily vigil the last two days took us from DuPont Circle to the
White House. For video of today's presence, click here:
http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/231, and for a photo that appeared
on the CNN political ticker, click here:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/17/protest...gton/

Washington DC is beginning to fill with people pouring into town for
the inauguration. Tonight, we joined a group of grammar school kids
from downtown DC, members of a peace club who wanted us to process
with them on the "Peace Train" to go meet the Obama Train. Photos and
videos will be up soon, but suffice it to say it was a spirited
procession to Union Station and a lively presence inside.

Finally, the AFP published an article online that speculates about the
ending of the military commissions, and is paired with a photo of one
of our DC vigils:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hZ_j...nhLMg

Fasters continue to send in reflections that we are posting to our
website (www.100dayscampaign.org )
and some have been picked up other places. You can see Anna Brown's
latest piece on the fast here:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/16

If you're a Twitter user, you can now keep track of our
moment-to-moment updates here: http://twitter.com/100dayscampaign

We'd love your support of the campaign. Be in touch if you,
individually or as a group, want to come and spend some time with us
in DC. You can also support the work by going to
http://www.100dayscampaign.org/donate.

Peace-

Matthew W. Daloisio
New York Catholic Worker - Maryhouse

by D.C. Mon Jan 19, 2009 19:32 WASHINGTON d.c. usa

VIDLINK-Obama calvacade encircles anti-Gitmo protestersin D.C.

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/241

by D.C.FastDay9 Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:07 Washington D.C. U.S.A.

January 19, 2009
Washington, DC

As we continue to try and make visible the men who are in Guantanamo, over 110 people from around the country will end the nine-day Fast for Justice, and Witness Against Torture will begin the 100 Days Campaign. Those who have come to DC to participate in the fast will gather in McPherson Square at 7am today, share a simple meal, and then head into the inauguration crowds with our jumpsuits, hoods, leaflets and signs.
On Sunday, eight of us in DC joined the throngs of people going to the Inaugural concert on the Mall. Rather than sporting Obama tee shirts, flags and posters, seven of us wore orange jumpsuits and black hoods and one wore a "Shut Guantanamo" tee shirt. The reception from the celebratory crowd was quite positive, and one of the photos from our presence ended up on an AP article about Guantanamo: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/19-7

While some folks were down on the Mall, another group of fasters left the house intending to head to DuPont circle for the daily vigil, only to find the bus wasn't running on that stretch of road. We learned that Obama was attending church up the street, so we waited outside in our jumpsuits and with our signs, again receiving a very positive reception from the crowd that gathered. Some photos of this presence can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike_benedetti/3207447650/ Sunday ended with an evening candlelight vigil at the Key Bridge in Arlington, VA, where nearly 5,000 cars drove by folks wearing jumpsuits, hoods and holding candles, signs and banners.

This morning the fasters went down to the Mall and vigiled at the White House, again encountering a very positive public and interested press. After the vigil, as we got off the bus and were on the sidewalk across from the house where we are all staying, the police started shutting down the street, and sure enough, the Obama motorcade drove by again as we stood on our street corner in an impromptu vigil for the President Elect. Photos and videos will be up soon at http://100dayscampaign.org/

We remain hopeful that President Obama will move quickly on Guantanamo, and we remain committed to seeking justice for the men there. We intend to keep the pressure on now that the fast is ending and the 100 Days beginning. We’would love your participation in and support of the campaign. Be in touch if you, individually or as a group, want to come and spend some time with us in DC. You can also support the work by going to http://www.100dayscampaign.org/donate.

If you’re in DC on Wednesday, January 21^st , Witness Against Torture will be hosting former Guantanamo Bay Muslim Chaplain, James Yee. Details can be found at:
http://100dayscampaign.org/node/19

-- Matthew W. Daloisio

New York Catholic Worker - Maryhouse

by Ciaron - Catholic Worker Thu Jan 22, 2009 13:39

The announcement that it may take up to a year to extract folks from Gitmo, when it only took a couple of days to put them in there, is disappointing. With an overwhelming agreement that Gitmo has been a stuff up and counter productive from the beginning, it may be an opportune time to extract the U.S. military completely from theis part of Cuba. The check for the rental has not been cashed in the last 50 years so it should be time to go.

Even tho Guantanamo has the brand recognition the policy it represents of U.S. detention without charge abounds. Liberals should not be to quick to declare vistory or mission accomplished until the policy is rooted out..........

The overwhelming majority of the prisoners held by the US beyond the rule of law, almost 100 times the dwindling population of Guantánamo, are imprisoned elsewhere – in even darker chambers in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Bosnia, and Kosovo, on military ships, or in the proxy prisons of Jordan and Morocco. That most of us have never heard of Camp Lemoniere, Camp Eagle, or Camp Bondsteel merely illustrates the scope of the challenge ahead.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/gua...house

by D.C. update Fri Jan 23, 2009 13:00 Washington D.C. U.S.A.

Hello friends-

Witness Against Torture applauds President Barack Obama’s executive orders to shut down Guantanamo and the CIA “black sites,” and to end the “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by the CIA at Guantanamo and other prisons. As our friends at the Center for Constitutional Rights point out, “under the previous administration, executive orders became synonymous with secrecy, torture and attempts to override the Constitution. It is genuinely uplifting to see them now used to set things right.”

A full response to President Obama’s Executive orders can be found here: http://100dayscampaign.org/jan22pressrelease

So what does this mean for the 100Days Campaign?

We have always tried to keep a focus on people over policy, and we intend to maintain and expand that focus over the coming days, weeks, and months. We will continue to organize, discuss, educate, and agitate, focusing on;

-a quick timeline for the closure of Guantanamo (for our January 21^ article “Yes, We Can Close Guantanamo! No, We Can’t Wait Another Year!” go to: http://100dayscampaign.org/node/254)
-an expansion of the rights won for the prisoners of Guantanamo to all those held by the United States.
-ending extraordinary rendition and closing legal loopholes that would allow CIA enhanced interrogation.
-accountability, truth and reconciliation for past policies.

Our 100 Days film and speaker series, weekly lobby visits, street theatre and other “creative actions” will continue. We will be poised to react to events as they develop, and we will maintain our daily vigil at the White House - 11am-1pm, Monday thru Friday - keeping watch until justice is truly restored.

Finally, before attempting to visit the prisoners in Guantanamo in December of 2005, many of us began a once a week fast in solidarity with the men there. We will continue with that fast, every Friday until the last man has been released from Guantanamo and the prison is finally closed.

Participate in any way you can. Come to DC. Organize Locally. Join the Friday fast. Share your thoughts and ideas on how we can better do this work, and let us know what you are doing. Donate time, talent, or resources to the campaign. Join us!

Peace-
Matthew W. Daloisio
for Witness Against Torture
New York Catholic Worker - Maryhouse

by d6 dc Free the Uighurs Tue Jan 27, 2009 06:39 Washington D.C. U.S.A.

Free the Uighurs - Vigil outside White House

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/271

by Day 13 Update Tue Feb 03, 2009 00:19

Day 13 Update - 100 days to Close Gitmo in D.C.

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/305

by Free the Uighurs Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:55 washington D.C. U.S.A.

Day 14 of 100 days in D.C. to Close Gitmo - Free the Uighurs

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/309

by Carmen Trotta & Sr. Anne Montgomery Tue Feb 17, 2009 19:14 D.C. U.S.A.

Vid- Carmen Trotta & Sr. Anne Montgomery on Day 25 of 100 Days in D.C. to Shut Gitmo

Carmen Trotta of the New York Catholic Worker came as a solidarity organiser for the 3 Dublin trials of the P{itstop Ploughshares.
Sr. Anne Montgomery one of the original Plowshares 8 has spent many yeras in Iraq, Hebron winessing for peace in conflict zones.
They are some of the folks outside the Whit House for these first 100 days of the Obama administration demanding an immediate closure of Guantanamo.

Check out this interview (8 mins) with them.....

http://www.100dayscampaign.org/node/343

by Ex Gitmo Guards Wed Feb 25, 2009 08:45

Interview (9 mins) with Brandan Neely, ex - U.S. Army Guantanamo Guard
Iraq Veterans Against the War

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29246926

More from Brandan - Iraq Vets Against the War

http://ivaw.org/node/4903

Former Gitmo Guard and Prisoners on Speaking Tour

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/02/420946.html