Tomorrow will mark a horrifying anniversary, the beginning of the tenth year of the first prisoners arriving in Guantanamo Bay.
(Reposting of an edited diary from a couple of days ago - with contact information. Please ACT !)
From CNN.com:
Shackled detainees arrive in Guantanamo
CAMP X-RAY
January 11, 2002
Twenty Afghan war detainees arrived here Friday and were led off a C-141 transport plane in shackles by U.S. military personnel.
The prisoners -- the military prefers to call them detainees -- will be held at first in outdoor cells with concrete floors and wooden ceilings surrounded by a chain-link fence until a more permanent facility is ready.
...
All the detainees were being treated as if they were prisoners of war, although the Pentagon has not declared them as POWs under the Geneva Convention.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the captives were considered "unlawful combatants" and have no rights under the convention.
"We do plan to, for the most part, treat them in a manner that is reasonably consistent with the Geneva Conventions, to the extent they are appropriate, and that is exactly what we have been doing," Rumsfeld said.
The detainees were chained to their seats for the 8,000-mile plane trip and even barred from using the toilets, with special provisions being made so they would not have to get up. They were shaved from head to toe for hygiene considerations.
...
Now, ten agonizingly long years later, we know that the prisoners have been abused and tortured.
So, what can you do to mark this awful day ?
I don't represent or necessarily endorse everything these organizations say, but here are some ideas:
From The Center for Constitutional Rights:
Join Rally to Close Guantanamo on Prison's Anniversary (Jan. 11, 2011)
January 11, 2011
On January 11, 2011 @ 10:30AM, join CCR and others for a rally and procession in front of the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave) to demand: Close Guantanamo with Justice Now!
Don't let this grim Jan. 11 anniversary marking the beginning of the 10th year of arbitrary and indefinite detention at Guantanamo slip by silently. Guantanamo is now Obama's prison -- come help us keep up the pressure to close Guantanamo with justice and immediately repatriate or safely resettle the men who have been cleared for release. Spread the word and bring your friends and neighbors.
The details for Jan 11th are:
•10:30am - Gather @ the White House
•11:00am – Rally @ the White House with the Center for Constitutional Rights, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Amnesty International-USA, Witness Against Torture & other Groups
•11:45am – Procession to the Department of Justice (goal of 173 people in jumpsuits)
•12:15pm – Arrive @ the Department of Justice
•12:15pm – 1:00pm - Vigil @ the Department of Justice
From The World Can't Wait:
Protest Guantanamo Events January 2011:
[Edited to delete the events that have passed]
Sunday January 9, 4 pm: World Can’t Wait open house to celebrate the New Year, new office, and to welcome Andy Worthington. Contact World Can't Wait by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 866-973-4463.
Monday January 10, 7 pm: "War Is A Lie" book talk by David Swanson, with Andy Worthington. Cindy Sheehan, Debra Sweet.
Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins Bookstore, 3330 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD War Is A Crime.
Tuesday January 11, 3.30-5 pm: Panel discussion — "Nine Years of Guantánamo: What Now?" with Andy Worthington, Tom Wilner, Morris Davis and Benjamin Wittes. New America Foundation, 1899 L Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C.
Tuesday January 11, 2-3pm in San Francisco. Action in support of DC protest at the 9th Circuit courthouse: silent circle with reading of the names of all the remaining Guantanamo detainees. 95 7th Street, San Francisco.
Wednesday January 12, 12-1.30 pm: Panel discussion on the future of Guantánamo and accountabiity for torture with Andy Worthington, Juan Méndez and Leili Kashani, plus excerpts from "Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo." American University Washington College of Law, JD Lounge, 6th floor, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, January 25, 5:30 pm, Room 341, Lewis Center, DePaul University College of Law, 25 E. Jackson, Chicago by Amnesty International, World Can’t Wait, and DePaul Chapter of The National Lawyers Guild.
M. Cherif Bassiouni is a Distinguished Research Professor Law Emeritus at DePaul University. Candace Gorman is a civil rights/human rights lawyer in Chicago who has represented two Guantánamo detainees pro bono. Debra Sweet is the Director of World Can’t Wait. Ben Meyer is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law and a practicing attorney.
Stay tuned for events in LA
If you can't get to any of these events, please, write to the President, write to your senators, and write to your congressional representative. Let them know that you do care about this issue, and that you do want Guantanamo closed and the prisoners who remain given proper trials.
What are YOU going to do to mark this day, this horribly heartbreaking day?
Please stand up and do the right thing.
Standing for justice and accountability,
For Dan,
Heather
Body
From CNN.com:
Shackled detainees arrive in Guantanamo
CAMP X-RAY
January 11, 2002
Twenty Afghan war detainees arrived here Friday and were led off a C-141 transport plane in shackles by U.S. military personnel.
The prisoners -- the military prefers to call them detainees -- will be held at first in outdoor cells with concrete floors and wooden ceilings surrounded by a chain-link fence until a more permanent facility is ready.
...
All the detainees were being treated as if they were prisoners of war, although the Pentagon has not declared them as POWs under the Geneva Convention.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the captives were considered "unlawful combatants" and have no rights under the convention.
"We do plan to, for the most part, treat them in a manner that is reasonably consistent with the Geneva Conventions, to the extent they are appropriate, and that is exactly what we have been doing," Rumsfeld said.
The detainees were chained to their seats for the 8,000-mile plane trip and even barred from using the toilets, with special provisions being made so they would not have to get up. They were shaved from head to toe for hygiene considerations.
...
Now, ten agonizingly long years later, we know that the prisoners have been abused and tortured.
So, what can you do to mark this awful day ?
I don't represent or necessarily endorse everything these organizations say, but here are some ideas:
From The Center for Constitutional Rights:
Join Rally to Close Guantanamo on Prison's Anniversary (Jan. 11, 2011)
January 11, 2011
On January 11, 2011 @ 10:30AM, join CCR and others for a rally and procession in front of the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave) to demand: Close Guantanamo with Justice Now!
Don't let this grim Jan. 11 anniversary marking the beginning of the 10th year of arbitrary and indefinite detention at Guantanamo slip by silently. Guantanamo is now Obama's prison -- come help us keep up the pressure to close Guantanamo with justice and immediately repatriate or safely resettle the men who have been cleared for release. Spread the word and bring your friends and neighbors.
The details for Jan 11th are:
•10:30am - Gather @ the White House
•11:00am – Rally @ the White House with the Center for Constitutional Rights, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Amnesty International-USA, Witness Against Torture & other Groups
•11:45am – Procession to the Department of Justice (goal of 173 people in jumpsuits)
•12:15pm – Arrive @ the Department of Justice
•12:15pm – 1:00pm - Vigil @ the Department of Justice
From The World Can't Wait:
Protest Guantanamo Events January 2011:
[Edited to delete the events that have passed]
Sunday January 9, 4 pm: World Can’t Wait open house to celebrate the New Year, new office, and to welcome Andy Worthington. Contact World Can't Wait by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 866-973-4463.
Monday January 10, 7 pm: "War Is A Lie" book talk by David Swanson, with Andy Worthington. Cindy Sheehan, Debra Sweet.
Barnes & Noble Johns Hopkins Bookstore, 3330 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD War Is A Crime.
Tuesday January 11, 3.30-5 pm: Panel discussion — "Nine Years of Guantánamo: What Now?" with Andy Worthington, Tom Wilner, Morris Davis and Benjamin Wittes. New America Foundation, 1899 L Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C.
Tuesday January 11, 2-3pm in San Francisco. Action in support of DC protest at the 9th Circuit courthouse: silent circle with reading of the names of all the remaining Guantanamo detainees. 95 7th Street, San Francisco.
Wednesday January 12, 12-1.30 pm: Panel discussion on the future of Guantánamo and accountabiity for torture with Andy Worthington, Juan Méndez and Leili Kashani, plus excerpts from "Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo." American University Washington College of Law, JD Lounge, 6th floor, 4801 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, January 25, 5:30 pm, Room 341, Lewis Center, DePaul University College of Law, 25 E. Jackson, Chicago by Amnesty International, World Can’t Wait, and DePaul Chapter of The National Lawyers Guild.
M. Cherif Bassiouni is a Distinguished Research Professor Law Emeritus at DePaul University. Candace Gorman is a civil rights/human rights lawyer in Chicago who has represented two Guantánamo detainees pro bono. Debra Sweet is the Director of World Can’t Wait. Ben Meyer is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law and a practicing attorney.
Stay tuned for events in LA
If you can't get to any of these events, please, write to the President, write to your senators, and write to your congressional representative. Let them know that you do care about this issue, and that you do want Guantanamo closed and the prisoners who remain given proper trials.
What are YOU going to do to mark this day, this horribly heartbreaking day?
Please stand up and do the right thing.
Standing for justice and accountability,
For Dan,
Heather
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
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Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
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Attorney General Eric Holder's Office
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