Shut Down Guantanamo 11.1.11
SHUT DOWN GUANTANAMO – 11.1.11 –
Join us in Witness Against Torture
There is potential for solidarity actions on 1.11.11 around the world!
Initiate one in your town!
The date is set
…just set a time and place asap
…worry about the other details when ya sober up after Christmas!
Ciaron, Gisuppe Conlon House, London Catholic Worker
Administration officials think that they will probably not secure the funding and legal authority from Congress to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and transfer any remaining detainees to the United States…one official said, “Gitmo is going to remain open for…the foreseeable future.”
– Washington Post, November 14th, 2010
CALL TO ACTION – JOIN US ON JANUARY 11th, 2011
This January 11, the prison at Guantanamo will enter its 10th year of operation. The prison is both a site and symbol of a legacy that includes rendition, extralegal detention, and torture. This legacy endures, despite the promise of President Obama to close Guantanamo and break with Bush-era policies. With President Obama’s continued betrayal of his promise and with the Republican gains in Congress, the nightmare draws closer: that the prison at Guantanamo will become permanent. We can’t let this happen! We demand that Guantanamo be closed immediately and that those who designed and carried out torture policies be held to account.
On January 11, 2011 we will gather at the White House for an 11am press conference with a coalition of human rights and grassroots groups and then proceed in a “prisoner procession” to the Department of Justice, where we will engage in nonviolent direct action. There are 174 men still imprisoned at Guantanamo, and we hope to have at least that many people as part of our procession (sign up here). From January 11-22, we will remain in DC and fast, (sign up here) holding daily vigils and demonstrations throughout Washington, haunting the sites of power with the specter of Guantanamo and the stories of the men who remain there.
We invite you to come to Washington and participate, or else join or plan an event in your own community.
January 11 – January 22, 2010
Daily Vigil and Fast for Justice
- SIGN-UP or ENDORSE Witness Against Torture’s January 2011 activities
- RSVP for Jan 11th Event on Facebook
- SIGN-ON organizationally or individually to a letter that will be used in our lobbying, outreach, and education efforts
- READ about Witness Against Torture’s recent interactions with the Department of Justice
- DOWNLOAD a flier for the fast
Additional information will be posted in the coming weeks at www.witnesstorture.org. You can also direct questions to fast@witnesstorture.org.
Trapped in Guantanamo
Read Frida Berrigan’s article in Foreign Policy in Focus about Djamel Ameziane, a man who has been trapped in Guantanamo since February 2002, making him one of the earliest prisoners held at the notorious facility.
WHO WE ARE
In December 2005, Witness Against Torture drew international attention after it walked to Guantánamo to visit the prisoners. Since its return, the group has organized vigils, marches, nonviolent direct actions, and educational events to expose and decry the administration’s lawlessness, build awareness about torture and indefinite detention, and forge human ties with the prisoners at Guantánamo and their families. Last January Witness Against Torture organized the Fast and Vigil to Close Guantánamo with the support of Center for Constitutional Rights, No More Guantánamos, Pax Christi USA, School of the Americas Watch, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International, United for Peace and Justice, the War Resisters League, World Can’t Wait and many others.
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.
- Initiate a demonstration in your town! The date is set…just set a time and place asap