[Antiracism] PRESS RELEASE: JANUARY 11 ACTIONS TO SHUT DOWN GUANTANAMO

[Marty Nathan]

DATE: January 2, 2007

FROM: Pioneer Valley Coalition Against Secrecy and Torture

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Marty Nathan 413-584-1079 or martygjf at comcast.net 

 

"Fifth Anniversary of Guantanamo Prison Marked by Local Actions Demanding Its Closure"

 

On Thursday, January 11 the Pioneer Valley Coalition Against Secrecy and Torture (PVCAST) will mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo with a "Shut Down Guantanamo" demonstration from noon to 1 pm on the lawn of First Churches, 129 Main Street, Northampton.



In Amherst the January 11th anniversary will be marked by a candlelight vigil on the Common at 7 pm followed at 7:30 by the showing of a short film at the Unitarian Society of Amherst, 121 North Pleasant Street.  Speaking on the Common and at greater length at the film showing will be Attorney Buz Eisenberg who helped secure the repatriation of a young Saudi detainee in 2004 and currently serves on a legal team seeking habeas corpus rights for many other detainees. The film, produced by Amnesty International, is titled "Outlawed: Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the War on Terror". The Amherst events are sponsored by the local social justice group SAGE and the Amherst group of Amnesty International, in cooperation with PVCAST.



In the past five years more than one thousand men and boys have been imprisoned at Guantanamo. Accounts of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment have been condemned by the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and other reputable bodies. 



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.



Far from shutting down the prison, a permanent prison has recently been built and the Defense Department is claiming the right to build a new courthouse at Guantanamo, without Congressional approval, at an estimated cost of $125 million, in spite of an already existing courtroom. 



PVCAST was formed last year to educate the public about and demand an end to government sanctioned torture, "extraordinary rendition" (abducting foreign nationals for detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons) and domestic surveillance of American citizens. The Coalition held a community forum last spring and is currently circulating a petition asking for the repeal of the Military Commissions Act which further deprives Guantanamo detainees of fair treatment and fair trials.

 

The actions on January 11, 2007 are part of an "International Day to Shut Down Guantanamo." Local endorsers include the Western Mass AFSC, ACLU of Massachusetts, Smith College Group and Groups 76 and 128 Amnesty International, Bill of Rights Defense Committee, Arise for Social Justice, Buddhist Peace Fellowship-Pioneer Valley, Granby / South Hadley Peace and Justice Committee, Justice for Woody, Men's Resource Center, Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq, Out Now, Pioneer Valley Interfaith Coalition for Peace and Justice, Rosenberg Fund for Children, SAGE, and Social Workers for Peace and Justice. 


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