Once again, human rights activists gathered to mark a sad and shameful anniversary in the history of the United States. On January 11th, seven years ago the first planeload of men arrived at Guantanamo-hooded and shackled. Since then, more than 1,000 men have passed through this 21st century penal colony-tortured, abused, told they would be there forever… for five men-those who have died at Guantanamo (four apparently by suicide, and another man of cancer)-it has been forever.
Witness Against Torture Fasters in Washington DC
This is the third time Witness Against Torture has marked this anniversary-in 2007 we were at the Federal Court House, the next year at the U.S. Supreme Court. Each of these actions was an effort to make the men at Guantanamo visible to those in power, to bring the stories and names and humanity of these forgotten, stolen and stigmatized men to those who would decide their fate.
We are working to ensure that this is the last time we come to Washington to mark this date-January 11, 2009 must be the last anniversary of Guantanamo.
After a dramatic street theater depicting the story of how Guantanamo strips men of their humanity, turning them into enemies and how it is our task-through actions and principles-to help them regain their humanity, a crowd of more than 200 people listened to speeches by Michael Macleod-Ball, chief legislative and policy counsel for the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office; Njambi Good, the Campaign Director for Amnesty International’s Counter Terror with Justice project and Valerie Lucznikowska, with September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.
And then, led by large puppets and more than 100 people dressed in the iconic orange jumpsuits and black hoods, the group set off from DuPont Circle Park on a march route designed to make Guantanamo visible in some of Washington’s busier neighborhoods, and returned to the Park after a stop at the ACLU’s Washington office where a 30 foot banner emblazoned with “Close Gitmo and End Military Commissions.”
That assertion and demand, which seemed farfetched just a few years ago, now feels like an attainable goal. Three times, the Supreme Court has rebuked the Bush administration’s abuse of power; judges in federal district court have ordered the release of Guantanamo detainees into the United States. Men have been released, returned to their families, re-membered to the human family. And then on November 6, the people of the U.S. elected Barack Obama– who was quoted in the Washington Post recently, saying: “Under my administration, the United States does not torture. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions… We will uphold our highest values and ideals.”
After returning to DuPont Circle Park, those gathered heard from Orlando Tizon with the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, Linda Gustitus, the President of the National Religious Coalition Against Torture, and Ann Wright, a U.S. Army Colonel and U.S. diplomat who resigned in opposition to the Bush Administration and the war on Iraq.
Anna Brown a professor at St. Peters College and a member of Witness Against Torture was the final speaker, and she spoke about the nine-day fast that nearly 100 activists were beginning. She shared with those gathered that the U.S. Navy-which administers Guantanamo-had just announced that 30 men there were on hunger strike, and all but five are being subjected to force-feeding.
We are here to let the new President know that we have heard him, that we are relieved and heartened by his commitment. We are here to let him know that we stand with him and support him in following through on this pledge.
Even as many of the speakers focused on Barack Obama’s pledges to close Guantanamo, the President-elect appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and said that following through on that pledge within the first 100 of days of his administration would be “more difficult than I think a lot of people realize.” He did not cite the impediments to closing Guantanamo, and fell into the fear mongering rhetoric that has been the hallmark of the Bush administration, saying that many of those at Guantanamo “may be very dangerous” and there are “people who are intent on blowing us up.” Obama did not enumerate some of the biggest roadblocks: elements within the military and intelligence community that are committed to the status quo – perhaps fearful of being held accountable for past conduct; pundits and politicians (Vice President Dick Cheney chief amongst them) who continue to defend torture with the Big Lie that torture keeps us safe.
Those gathered in the cold to mark the seventh anniversary of Guantanamo as a 21st century penal colony pledged that this would be the last January 11 demonstration, pledged to stand with Obama against all of these forces that would see Guantanamo remain open, or continue to function under a different name in another far away country, pledged to the 100 Days Campaign to Close Guantanamo and End Torture.
