#hungerstrike2013

[witnesstorture]

Hunger Strike Day 69: Solidarity NYC

[palinaprasasouk]

Three Things Obama Can Do to Close GTMO

11th anniversary of Guantanamo/White House/Witness Against Torture

May 21, 2009, Protecting Our System and Our Values speech by Obama:

"So going forward, my administration will work with Congress to develop an appropriate legal regime" to handle such detainees "so that our efforts are consistent with our values and our Constitution." 

April 30th, 2013, White House news conference when asked about the hunger strike:

“I’ve asked my team to review everything that’s currently being done in Guantanamo, everything that we can do administratively, and I’m going to re-engage with Congress to try to make the case that this is not something that’s in the best interests of the American people.”

1. He can appoint an official State Department Position responsible for arranging detainee transfers.

In 2009 he issued an executive order to close Guantanamo, however he has never named an official to oversee that effort full-time. He promised a Periodic Review Boards. Instead, in 2012, he closed the office assigned for closing Guantanamo.

2. He can lift the ban on transferring detainees back to Yemen.

Of the 86 detainees cleared for release, 56 are Yemenis. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, tried to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear on a Northwest Airlines plane headed for Detroit in 2009. He received terrorist training in Yemeni and because of this all Yemeni detainees are no longer able to return to Yemen despite the Yemeni government’s demands to repatriate their citizens.

http://www.vice.com/read/yemen-wants-their-guantanamo-detainees-back

3. He can veto the National Defense Authorization Act. Provisions to the bill expire on September 30th, 2013.

Obama declared again to veto all bills by congress blocking the closing of Guantanamo. Despite some restrictions, the National Defense Authorization Act gives authority to the president to resume prisoner transfers without congressional approval through a National Security Waiver. Under this provision, the secretary of defense can approve a transfer if he, the secretary of state and the director of national intelligence, determines that adequate steps are being taken to “substantially mitigate” the potential risk that a former prisoner might engage in future acts of terrorism once home. Yet Obama’s national security team has not granted any waivers.

[witnesstorture]

Save Shaker. Hunger Strike Day 82: NY Times Square

[witnesstorture]

Day 75 Guantanamo Hunger Strike - Arrests at Federal Court in NY

[witnesstorture]

National Day to Close GTMO: Ipswich, MA

[witnesstorture]

Codepink vigil to close GTMO. Photoset by Ted Majdosz

http://photobyted.smugmug.com/CloseGuantanomo/Code-Pink-White-House-Vigil/29267481_bcJ8fV#!i=2495279697&k=ZRrpQq8

[witnesstorture]

100 Days Hunger Strike Global Call to Action

Day 100 of the Guantanamo Hunger Strike 

Dear Friends:

Today marks the 100th Day of a hunger strike by nearly all the detained men at Guantanamo to protest their indefinite detention.  It's life and death for them.  Demonstrations will take place place worldwide, from London, to DC, to Hawaii, to Sydney, to New York.

As of today, Guantanamo has been open for 11 years, 4 months, & 7 days  -- a total of 4145 days.

5,968,800 minutes of indefinite detention.

Please take a few minutes today to call the White House.  If you can’t get through, call again.  And sing with us in NYC, deliver petitions to the White House in DC, march with us in Chicago.  Participate as you can - with a growing community - in any of the activities listed below.

Peace-

Matt Daloisio for Witness Against Torture

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May 17 Global call-in action: Call the White House or the US embassy in your country.  The White House comment line number is 202.456.1111

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Hunger Strike Song Performance in Times Square!

The Peace Poets, Witness Against Torture, and anti-mass incarceration activists are calling on folks to gather on Friday at 5 pm at Times Square at the Military Recruiting center between 43rdand 44th.   We'll take

to the streets with our voices and signs, our outrage and our hope, and do a mass performance of The Hunger Strike Song. (PLEASE POST AND SHARE)

We'll film the performance and send images of our solidarity worldwide!  The demo is also to protest the use of solitary confinement and various forms of torture in US mainland prisons.

====================== White House Protest, Petition Delivery, and Nonviolent Resistance: May 17, 12-1pm We are combining the various petitions (over 300,000 signatures!) calling for Guantanamo to close into one package.  Please sign thispetition if you haven’t already, and if you are in DC, join us at the White House!

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List of Events:

New York City: May 17th and 18th

Join us on Friday, May 17  at 5pm at the Military Recruiting Center at Times Square to do a mass sing along of the Hunger Strike Song.  We may do the song again on May 18 in Union Square and Times Square. Stay tuned!  For details, contact Luke Nephew or Jeremy Varon.

Washington DC: May 17th

Lafayette Square

Noon

We will deliver petitions with more than 350,000 signatures demanding that President Obama take immediate action to restart transfers and at last close Guantánamo.  Flowers for each of the detained men will be placed at the White House gates, while leading activists and human rights organizations address America to denounce the prison.

https://www.facebook.com/events/596154313751037/?fref=ts

Chicago: May 17th at Federal Plaza

Chicago folks will meet at Federal Plaza on May 17 at 4 P.M. for a brief rally and then hold a procession of people in orange jumpsuits and black hoods up State Street to Daley Plaza where they will read poems from Guantanamo prisoners and place the photos at the Eternal Flame.

https://www.facebook.com/events/592988150711229/

Amherst, Massachusetts: May 17th

12-1

Amherst Common Meet across from Hastings & Veracruzana

Woodstock, NY: May 17th

Village Green

4-6pm

Signs will be provided

Seattle, Washington: May 17th

1:30-2:30PDT University of Washington HUB 238

A brownbag discussion with Zeke Johnson, Director of Amnesty International’s Security with Human Rights Campaign. Organized by Amnesty International UW https://www.facebook.com/events/235417693266706/

El Segundo, California: May 17th

4-7PDT Meet at Mariposa station in El Segundo (on the green line)at 3:30pm *or meet downtown to carpool- look for thread below* 

we will be marching a few blocks to the Raytheon and Boeing complex.

https://www.facebook.com/events/457934104291534/

SYDNEY: May 17th

The Justice Campaign is holding a peaceful vigil at the American Consulate in Sydney, Level 59, MLC Centre19-29 Martin Place. We are meeting on Friday at 2pm at the entrance to the MLC building. Organised by Aloysia Brooks

Mexico City, Mexico: May 17th

6PM apoyar a lxs prtesxs de Guant+ànamo en su mya larga huelga de hambre....

k desparezka esa prisiòn global

ealizaremos una reuniòn para informarnos y si es posible planear alguna acciòn

https://www.facebook.com/events/618551264841418/

LONDON: May 18th 

2-4pm, we will hold a solidarity demonstration outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London W1A.

Organized by the London Guantanamo Campaign.

https://www.facebook.com/events/113404248830109/?fref=ts

Boston: May 18th

Arlington Street MBTA station at 11AM. Some may be wearing an orange jumpsuit and black hood, you can definitely bring signs and sidewalk chalk. Please bring cameras to take pics and film.

https://www.facebook.com/events/398200960287815/?notif_t=plan_edited

Atlanta, Georgia: May 18th

11AM Piedmont Park 1320 Monroe DR NE

We'll meet at the Charles Allen (Corner of 10th Street and Charles Allen Dr, across from Grady High School) entrance to Piedmont Park to pass out information on why this is a must. Organized by Amnesty Atlanta.

https://www.facebook.com/events/380947602017749/

Albany, New York: May 16th-20th

373 Central Ave. Thursday, May 16th-Monday, May 20th we are joining Code Pink's Global Hunger Strike: Justice for Guantanamo prisoners. We are inviting our Capital Region friends to join us. Organized by Capital Region. RSVP http://fastforjusticegitmo.eventbrite.com/

https://www.facebook.com/events/508626949186944/

Hawaii: May 19th

Action to shut down Guantanamo on Sunday, May 19th at 11am-12noon at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival.  Join a vigil in orange jump suits and leaflet the crowd.  [Leafleters wearing orange jump suits will be circulating in the crowd throughout Saturday and Sunday.]   For more information go to:  http://www.worldcantwait.blogspot.com.    

Organized by World Can’t Wait-Hawai`i.

Toledo, OH: May 19th 

From noon — 1:30 p.m. at the corner of Secor and Central for a Special Demo to support the hunger strikers and say CLOSE GITMO and end all acts of war and “intervention”, and to demand just policies that support real peace.

Forward photos and to let us know you are planning a vigil contact witnesstorture@gmail.com

If you are organizing a vigil or event please contact  witnesstorture@gmail.com

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On Twitter? 

Win Without War has teamed up with Amnesty to launch a Thunderclap to coincide with the White House petition drop. 

You can sign up to participate here: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/2192-i-support-closing-guantanamo

Signing up means that on Friday, May 17th at noon, your twitter or facebook feed will automatically send out the following message: 

“Tell #BarackObama keep your promise to #CloseGitmo! http://thndr.it/1626SCl”

 You can also Tweet-In to the White House on your own: @BarackObama @WhiteHouse keep your promise to #CloseGitmo.

 And then, on May 17 & 18 – Tweet to SNL / Kanyewest: 100 days, 100+ men on #GitmoHungerStrike. Let's get @kanyewest to say #closegitmo on SNL this Saturday.

[witnesstorture]

James Yee, former GTMO chaplain who believes detainees have little to no information on Osama Bin Laden or Al-Qaeda. He underwent intense interrogation and solitary confinement himself after U.S. customs found a list of detainees with his belongings. 

Photo by; Palina Prasasouk/Witness Against Torture

[witnesstorture]

National Day of Action to Close GTMO: Albany, NY

Albany-On a busy street corner in Albany, New York, just before Victoria Brittain's Talk about her new book "Shadow Lives:The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror" at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, four women held signs, stood on a busy corner, urging attention and immediate action listed on leaflets.  "Support the Guantanamo Hunger Strikers, Close Guantanamo NOW!" they implored to pedestrians, raising  life-threatening concerns of the men, most of them illegally imprisoned for over 11 years and half of them officially "cleared for release" by the US government,   

The weather turned suddenly to freezing temperatures-a damp mist started to fall. Four of the women sought the comfort of food and heated buildings, while the anonymous "prisoner" stood, then knelt, waiting, waiting, praying for a long overdue just freedom and just resettlement for 166 inhumanely treated,  tortured and indefinitely detained Muslim men, held out of sight (but not out of heart and mind) in Guantanamo. For more information:www.witnesstorture.orgvvSubmitted by WAT activist, Beth Adams eadams333@gmail.com

[witnesstorture]

5/17/2013 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 17, 2013 CONTACT: Gabe Cahn, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications gabe@rabinowitz-dorf.com, office: 202-265-3000, cell: 425-269-5541 Human Rights Groups Organize Vigil at White House to Mark 100th Day of Hunger Strike at Guantanamo Activists in D.C. deliver more than 360,000 petition signatures, pressure Obama to keep his promise to close the detention facility WASHINGTON – Today, on the 100th day of the hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, and amid growing pressure on the Obama Administration to close the facility once and for all, activists held a vigil outside the White House to bring awareness to the injustice of more than 11 years of unlawful and indefinite detention. Coalition events also were held in London, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit and London. In addition to protesters in orange jumpsuits, speakers, and a social media storm, more than 360,000 petition signatures were delivered to President Obama, urging him to take the necessary actions to close Guantanamo. The cover letter and more information about the petitions can be found below. The participants in the Day 100 Vigil called on President Obama to fulfill his promise to close Guantanamo and to: •       Move forward with transferring cleared detainees out of the detention facility under the certification process and waiver provision put in place by Congress •       Appoint a high level official in the White House to lead the effort to close the detention facility •       Make the case to Congress and the American people for removing the remaining transfer restrictions and closing the detention facility •       Ensure that all detainees are either charged and fairly tried in federal court, or released to countries that will respect their human rights A non-partisan coalition of independent human rights and civil liberties organizations united during today’s gathering, including Amnesty International, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Center for Constitutional Rights and Witness Against Torture. “Amnesty International USA activists protested outside the White House on Day 100 of the hunger strike to send the message that President Obama needs to close Guantanamo now,” said Jiva Manske, field organizer for Amnesty International USA, Mid-Atlantic, from Amnesty’s Washington, D.C. office. “The detainees’ situation must urgently be resolved, in a manner that respects their dignity and human rights. Death shouldn’t be the only way out of Guantanamo.” As part of the national Day 100 Vigil for Guantanamo, the coalition called for all detainees either to be charged and fairly tried in federal court, or to be transferred to countries that will respect their human rights. The groups argued that both President Obama and Congress have an important role to play in meeting the U.S. government’s human rights obligations. “Years of detention without charge or trial have created a sense of desperation and hopelessness among the men at Guantanamo that has led over 100 of them to join a hunger strike,” said Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. “The human crisis in Guantanamo is a moral one that needs to end immediately. The faith community calls on the President to close Guantanamo. It is the right thing to do.” Omar Farah, staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “As the hunger strike at Guantanamo passes its 100th day, my clients’ bodies are breaking down, but their resolve and spirit have never been stronger. When I met with Tariq Ba Odah on April 30, he told me: ‘We have nothing left to lose, but I have never seen such high morale in the prisoners. We will endure anything to be free.’ That same day, President Obama vowed again to close Guantanamo. Words are not enough. After 11 years of indefinite detention without charge or trial, Tariq and the others trapped at the prison cannot wait any longer. The president must use every tool at his disposal to release the prisoners he will not try in a fair court and finally shutter Guantanamo, once and for all. Every day he delays tempts an awful fate.” Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink and author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, added, “The hunger strikers in Guantanamo have unleashed an avalanche of sympathy around the world, and disgust for the Obama administration’s policy. It’s time for Obama—the commander-in-chief and the most powerful man in the world—to stop blaming Congress and muster the moral courage to close the prison and end this shameful chapter in U.S. history.” ###   Petition Cover Letter Amnesty International USA 5 Penn Plaza – 16th Floor New York, NY 10001 May 17, 2013 President Obama, On April 30, you recommitted to closing the Guantanamo detention facility. Since then, over 360,000 people have signed the enclosed petitions calling on you to get the job done, including by: •       Immediately transferring those cleared to leave •       Appointing a high level White House official to lead the effort to close the detention facility •       Ensuring that all held at Guantanamo are released unless fairly tried in federal court We, the undersigned, look forward to your response. Sincerely, Col. Morris Davis (Ret.), former chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay Amnesty International USA Coalition for an Ethical Psychology Center for Constitutional Rights CloseGuantanamo.org CodePink Colonel Morris Davis (Retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay) Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Defending Dissent Foundation Interfaith Action for Human Rights International Justice Network (IJN) Massachusetts Campaign Against Torture (MACAT) National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) No More Guantanamos Peace Action Psychologists for Social Responsibility September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Torture Abolition & Survivor Support Coalition T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights Veterans for Peace - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN Win Without War Witness Against Torture Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)

[witnesstorture]

Day of Action in Solidarity with Shaker Aamer

When:                  Monday, April 29, 2013 4-5:30pm (& dawn to dusk fasting – info below) Where:                 Times Square, NYC What:                    Day of Action in Solidarity with Shaker Aamer

Over 100 on Hunger Strike - 21 being force fed (including Shaker Aamer)- 5 in the hospital

Dear Friends--

Please consider joining tomorrow, April 29, an International Fast in Solidarity with Shaker Aamer and the Guantanamo Hunger Strikers, initiated by our friends at Save Shaker in the U.K.  If you decide to join the dawn to dusk fast, please send a note to witnesstorture@gmail.com as we are keeping a tally of folks in WAT who participate.  You can also join the event at Save Shaker on Facebook.

Peace-

Matt

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FAST IN SOLIDARITY WITH SHAKER AAMER AND THE GUANTANAMO HUNGER STRIKERS

International Day of Action - Monday 29th April Save Shaker is calling on all people of conscience around the world to fast next Monday 29 April 2013 in solidarity with Shaker Aamer and the other detainees on hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay. More than 130 of the prisoners have been on hunger strike (100 according to the latest US military statistics) for over 11 weeks now and are close to death. 

Shaker is now one of 20 prisoners being force-fed, a process which the World Medical Association and international officials have clearly identified as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

By fasting from dawn to dusk on Monday, people from all over the world will be demonstrating their solidarity with the hunger strikers and showing that they have not been forgotten. It is an opportunity to show the world that we are all united with the detainees and share their pain and suffering. It will be a day that our own hunger and thirst will ensure that the detainees are continuously in our thoughts and prayers, especially at the time of breaking the fast.

Save Shaker encourages people to do the following:

  1. Fast from dawn to dusk on Monday 29 April 2013 in solidarity with the hunger strikers.

2. Encourage as many of your friends and families to do the same.

3. Write to your local and national newspapers informing them of the fast.

4. Organize a gathering for people to break their fast together in your home, a restaurant or in a community hall or campus.

5. Invite a journalist to cover the story.

6. Remember the detainees in your thoughts and prayers throughout the day especially at the time of breaking the fast. 7. Call the White House (202-456-1111, 202-456-1414), U.S. Southern Command (305-437-1213) and Department of Defense (703-571-3343) to express concern over the hunger strike and insist on Guantanamo’s closing.

8. Join the Witness Against Torture rolling fast http://witnesstorture.org/blog/2013/04/22/new-wat-rolling-fast-participation-1/

  http://www.saveshaker.org/fast-in-solidarity-with-shaker-aamer-and-the-guantanamo-hunger-strikers/295

  ======================

SAVE THE DATE / UPCOMING EVENTS

May 17 will mark the Day 100 of the Guantanamo Hunger Strike.  We are working in a coalition with many other groups and will be announcing plans for May 17 / 18 very soon.  We are also working with Change.org on a petition authored by Col. Morris Davis (former chief prosecutor at Guantanamo) that we will be asking folks to sign and circulate.

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WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE SOCIAL MEDIA

Our Facebook page has been getting more and more traffic, and some weeks has reached over 100,000 people.  This is only possible when people like, share, and comment on posts.  Please ‘like’ us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/witnesstorture & Follow Us on Twitter:https://twitter.com/witnesstorture

Post any pictures of your local activities to http://www.flickr.com/groups/witnesstorture/, and we will help spread the word onhttp://witnesstorture.tumblr.com/

[palinaprasasouk]

A group of young artists and lawyers for The Blue Lantern Group dropped a banner inside the Met in New York City. There are currently 164 men, 84 that are cleared for release and 14 men entering the 9th month of a hunger strike, all of whom are being force-fed.  The following mic check was presented: We hope you’re enjoying this beautiful art and culture. Tragically, America also has a culture of torture at Guantanamo Bay. 164 men are detained without end, most have never been charged with a crime. The torture continues here in US prisons, where 80,000 people waste away in solitary confinement. Brothers and sisters are torture in our name.  Let’s unite to demand justice now! Thank you for your time, and please join us in the struggle for human rights. Song: We who believe in Freedom can not rest, We who believe in Freedom can not rest until it comes! We gotta’ close Guantanamo today, We gotta’ close Guantanamo today, stop torture now! www.witnesstorture.org www.CloseGitmo.net

[palinaprasasouk]

Keeping Guantánamo on American minds

On Friday, September 6, 2013 dozens witnessed in front of the White House, a live force-feed of 52-year-old Andres Conteris on his 61st day of a water-only hunger strike. Thousands more would watch from home via live stream, RT and Huffington Post. Conteris began a hunger strike on July 8, 2013 in solidarity with Guantánamo Bay and the California prison, Pelican Bay. Among the dozens of witnesses was a crowd of international press covering the event. American press was absent with the exception of Ryan J. Reilly, a justice reporter for The Huffington Post who earlier this spring, traveled to Guantánamo.

   I had been working with Conteris on a new web site called CloseGitmo.net. In my first online conversation with Conteris on July 3rd, 2013, he tells me he's going on a hunger strike. 

  (11:12:42 PM) Andres Thomas Conteris: starting July 8

(11:12:49 PM) Andres Thomas Conteris: water-only

(11:13:36 PM) Andres Thomas Conteris: will go several months... and when i cant go any longer.. then the only way to surviive will be "enteral feeding"

(11:13:48 PM) Palina Prasasouk: whaat 

  After this conversation, I had met Conteris twice and had no idea what I was in for when I agreed to help him or that the "enteral feeding" was to take place in front of the White House. 

  The demonstration began with a vigil lead by Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Art Laffin. The Dorothy Day house has been holding vigils in front of the White House every Friday since 1998, with a focus on Guantánamo since the hunger strike began there six months ago. After the vigil concluded Medea Benjamin introduced speakers such as Colonel Morris Davis , former Chief Prosecutor of the Guantánamo military commissions. 

  “It feels like endless agony. Any motion is painful, it feels like I’m drowning," said Conteris under his breath during the force-feed. Similar words used by Samir Moqbel, a Guantanamo Bay hunger striker, in his Op-Ed to the NYTimes “Gitmo Is Killing Me” 

  There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before.

On July 8th, 2013, on the same day that Conteris and Pelican Bay started their hunger strikes, the human rights group Reprieve launched their campaign Stand for Justice by releasing a video of Mos Def being force-fed. Some viewers believed he was exaggerating since Mos Def is a well-known actor.

I would not be surprised if people start accusing Conteris of seeking fame. I saw fear in eyes, agony, and then he went to a place where we take ourselves when we are in tremendous pain. It's where we sit still waiting for it to be over.

A day after the procedure Conteris tells me that he is ready to do it again. He did not feel any more strength and nutrition from the can ofEnsure that was pumped into his stomach. He stated that there was still some residue from the NG tube being in his throat. 

The very visceral reality of this torment makes it impossible to imagine that I would repeat this ... and yet, I am tormented even more knowing that U.S. taxpayers are paying for this torture to happen.  The victims are already those who have lived the torture of indefinite detention and long-term solitary confinement, not to mention knowing that 84 of them are cleared to be released and they linger in limbo for years, yet another form of psychological abuse. 

And so I ask myself, how could I end the fast knowing now ... in my blood and in my bones and in my breath ... that they endure this acute and sadistic treatment not just daily ... but twice-daily? 

A friend of his writes, " I am concerned that your intention to continue fasting may not be the best one at this time.  May I suggest that you gather together a clearness committee to help you navigate forward rather than drift." 

I too am extremely concerned for the future of his health, however headlines of the Guantánamo Bay hunger strike have diminished, and I fear the remaining 164 will be forgotten once again. In President Obama's second promise to close the prison, nearly four months ago, he stated that he would appoint an envoy at the Pentagon to work with a counterpart at the state department on Guantánamo transfers. According to, Todd Breasseale, a Pentagon spokes person, "The department has nothing yet to announce on this issue." 

On September 6th, 2013, the same day as the live force-feed, two Algerians, Nabil Hadjarab and Motai Sayyab were released from judicial interrogation and returned home on probation. This comes in time for the one year anniversary of the death of Adnan Latif, found unresponsive in his cell on September 8th, 2012.  As of September 13th, 2013, 19 detainees enter 218 days of hunger strike with 18 being force-fed. If the Obama administration continues releasing two detainees every six months, forty-one years would have passed and so will a majority of the detainees.

Left: Andres Conteris, August 8th, 2013 Right: September 6th, 2013 water-only fast 61 days, 52 lbs lost (25% of body mass)

[witnesstorture]

Letter from rolling faster.

Pat -- Solidarity hunger striker 

On Wednesday, July 31, three local women carried their 24-hour fast to the streets of downtown Greenfield to show their solidarity with the  Muslim men stuck indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay Prison.  Of the 166  men still  incarcerated there, 106 have participated in a hunger strike, some since February 11,  as their only means of  protesting their indefinite detention without any sign of relief.  As of this date,  66 men are starving themselves, and 44 of these are being force fed, which is considered torture under international law.

Suzanne Carlson of Greenfield, Sherrill Hogen of Conway and Ellen Kaufmann of Buckland are members of the national Witness Against Torture (WAT), which has been demonstrating and lobbying to close Guantanamo since 2005.  WAT has organized a “rolling fast” wherein every day of the past 4 months individuals all over the country and abroad have foregone food for a 24 hour period to show support for the detainees on hunger strike who are suffering from the nightmare of never knowing when or IF they will ever be released.

Aside from the moral and constitutional issues involved in holding prisoners without charges for over 11 years,  tax payers should be aware that it costs $1.6 million to house one prisoner at Guantanamo for a year, compared to $35,000 per  prisoner in a federal prison. It is estimated by the Pentagon that Guantanamo will cost $450 million in 2013.

President Obama has taken note of the hunger strike and renewed efforts to transfer prisoners out of Guantanamo.  Two Algerians are to be sent home soon, according to White House spokesman, Jay Carney.  Obama has appointed a State Department envoy, Clifford Sloan, to investigate closing the facility, and he was to have discussed the issue with the President of Yemen during a state visit last week. The majority of the men who have been cleared for release are from Yemen, but Congress has blocked their repatriation since the “Christmas Bomber” of 2009 was from that country.

Buz Eisenberg, attorney for two Guantanamo detainees will speak on this subject  on August 13, 7 P.M., at Northampton Friends, 43 Center Street, Northampton.  For further information please visit www.closegitmo.net  

Sherrill Hogen, Conway resident and activist for peace and justice.

[witnesstorture]

Rolling fast reflections

Dear friends,  I have just called the White House and Southern Command to ask that they act quickly to transfer the 86 (of 166) detainees cleared for transfer from Gitmo.  Over 100 prisoners have been on hunger strike since February and March to protest their detention without trial and subhuman conditions there.  I got choked up talking to the woman at Southern Command when I said if it were our children down there we would do whatever we could to get them out.  These are somebody's children.  I'm sure you know something about all of this, but if you want to know more, go to www.witnesstorture.org  We are continuing to take turns fasting in solidarity with these captives.  You can join us for a day if you'd like, or make a call.  I just read James Carroll's article in the Boston Globe from May

 http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/05/05/americans-must-take-responsibility-for-guantanamo-and-here-how/a3FJrRz3RhhSgJgX2eCxwJ/story.html     It was very well written.  At the time he invited us to join the change.org petition that had over 100,000 signatures on it; now it had 229,000 or thereabouts.

https://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-close-detention-facility-at-guantanamo-bay-3

I asked my daughter to get me Poems from Guantanamo.  I'll share one with you here and attach it in case you want to forward it on to someone in that format.  It's written by Abdullah Thani Faris Al Anazi.  If you would like to know a little about him, let me know and I'll send you the biography from the book.

To My Father

  Two years have passed in far-away prisons,

Two years my eyes untouched by kohl, 

Two years my heart sending out messages

To the homes where my family dwells,

Where lavender cotton sprouts

For grazing herds that leave well fed.

  O Flaij, explain to those who visit our home

How I used to live.

I know your thoughts are swirled as in a whirlwind,

When you hear the voice of my anguished soul.

Send sweet peace and greetings to Bu'mair; 

Kiss him on his forehead, for he is my father.

Fate has divided us, like the parting of a parent from a newborn.

  O Father, this is a prison of injustice.

Its iniquity makes the mountains weep.

I have committed no crime and am guilty of no offense.

Curved claws have I, 

But I have been sold like a fattened sheep.

  I have no fellows but the Truth.

They told me to confess, but I am guiltless;

My deeds are all honorable and need no apology.

They tempted me to turn away from the lofty summit of

 integrity,

To exchange this cage for a pleasant life.

By God, if they were to bind my body in chains, 

If all Arabs were to sell their faith, I would not sell mine

I have composed these lines

For the day when your children have grown old.

  O God - who governs creation with providence,

Who is one, singular and self-subsisting,

Who brings comfort and happy tidings,

Whom we worship-

Grant serenity to a heart that beats with oppression,

And release this prisoner from the tight bonds of

  confinement.

    Blessings, thanks for whatever you can do, whatever prayer you can offer, peace,  Mary Kate

Today is the Jewish holiday of Tisha b'Av.  It is easy for me to fast today. But it has been particularly meaningful fast since I have had the intention of supporting the Gitmo detainees and have held them in my mind.  It seems a double tragedy that they are not able to act their conscious AND fast for their holiday of Ramadan as well.  As I break my fast tonight, I will think of them and work to get US elected officials to ACT to end this travesty.  I am 70 years old, and I believe torture is not the answer to finding truth. - Muriel

[witnesstorture]

June 26, 2013: Day 140 International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in Summary

Compiled by Palina Prasasouk

Photo by Erica Miller

Saratoga Springs, New York — Veterans for Peace member Joe Kulin, who served in the military from 1962 to 1964, led “prisoners” throughout downtown Saratoga Springs Wednesday as part of a protest calling for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/06/27/news/doc51cb93a2ef496318049677.txt

Portland, Oregon — The Portland group including solidarity long-term faster, S. Brian Willson have been holding vigils outside Portland City Hall during rush hour. On June 26 they performed force-feeding street theatre. Videos can be viewed here provided from Jacob Dean through Filter Free Radio.

Vid 1 |Vid 2 | Vid 3 | Vid 4 

Interview of S. Brian Willson 

Interview of Veterans For Peace member Joe Walsh

      Photo by Mary Dean

Chicago — Outside of Obama's house, the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo where a man repeatedly drove by pointing a finger gun and yelling such rhetoric as, "They should all die." Later in the evening members of Witness Against Torture joined Amnesty International for a summer concert on human rights with a table on Guantanamo and a projection of actions from WAT. Attendees enjoyed music, spoken word, wrote letters to detainees and signed a solidarity wall. The crowd also learned Hunger Strike Song from the Peace Poets. Photos of the concert from Palina Prasasouk here. 

In addition to Wednesdays action the Chicago Coalition to Shut Down Guantanamo also held protests on Saturday on Michigan Ave. Photos courtesy of FJJ.

London Guantanamo Campaign 

  Two rallies were held in London's Trafalgar Square on 26 June to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, one by the Baluch community and one by the LGC. More photos here and here. LGC newsletter.

      Photo by Steve Rhoads

  San Francisco — Codepink

    Photo by Matthew Daloisio

  Washington DC —  Activists from the CloseGitmo.net alliance which includes, Veterans For Peace, Code Pink, and Witness Against Torture, etc... gathered in front of the White House with the names of the 86 detainees cleared for release.

Among them are solidarity hunger striker, former Army medic, member of VFP and co-founder of Codepink on her 57th day of fast. Tighe Barry of Codepink performs a force-feeding to create a diversion, with the help of two other protesters she climbs onto the other side of the fence. She then lays down on the ground to show she is not a threat and then taken into custody. She broke her fast on the following day. Twenty-three other protesters were arrested in front of The White House. Solidarity hunger striker, Elliott Adams and Code Pink Co-founder, Medea Benjamin were also detaineed at the scene and later released.

  Photos courtesy of: 

Ellen Davidson, Ted Majdosz, Matthew Daloisio, and Bill Hughes

  Videos:

Diane climbing the fence. Video courtesy of Telesur. 

Diane before the action

Arrests at The White House by Bill Hughes and interviews.

Videos from Popular Resistance 

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/diane-wilson-jumped-white-house-fence_n_3505330.html

http://jehovahjonesoccupy.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/rocking-the-boat/

Photo courtesy of Charles Deharapak. 86 names of the cleared for release on The White House lawn.

  In addition to protests and vigils the city of Northhampton passes resolution condemning Guantanamo Bay.

"The City of Northampton went on record to oppose the continued operation of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. In the final reading of the “Resolution Calling for Justice in Guantánamo Bay”, the City Council voted 7-1 that it “opposes the continued existence of the Guantánamo Bay detention center and the violation of rule of law that it represents, and calls for all its prisoners to be charged or released.”

  Please contact Jeff Napolitano (AFSC of Western Mass.) or Nancy Talanian of No More Guantanamos if your local group wants to ask your city council or town meeting to pass such a resolution.

  ntalanian@gmail.com

http://afscwm.org/2013/06/20/resolution-to-call-for-closure-of-gitmo/

The resolution was introduced by Councilor Owen Freeman-Daniels, and in part written by the American Friends Service Committee and local activist Nancy Talanian, a founder of the “No More Gitmos” group.

Originally introduced on Thursday, June 20, the resolution was spoken of by Northampton resident Paki Wieland. On Tuesday, Ms. Wieland was arrested in Washington D.C. at a broad act of civil disobedience protesting the continued existence of the prison. Ms. Wieland concurred with City Councilor President Bill Dwight’s description of the facility as an “obscenity” that stains the character of the United States.