jeudi 7 janvier 2010

8 years of Guantanamo, 8 ans déjà




Devenu le symbole de la mondialisation de l'état d'urgence, de la détention arbitraire sans frontière, des prisons free zone et des commissions militaires, Guantanamo est désormais l'expression d'un système qui favorise l'état de non-droit en ce début du 21ème siècle.
La fermeture de Guantanamo signifie le freinage d'un état d'exception qui risque de devenir chronique avec la culture de la peur.
Pour mettre fin au système Guantanamo, une dizaine d'ONG ayant milité depuis des années pour la fermeture du camp de la honte vous invite à une soirée débat avec la participation, entres autres, de:
Anne- Marie Lizin, sénatrice indépendante Belge et Représentante spéciale pour Guantanamo-OSCE
William Bourdon, Président de Sherpa et avocat des ex-détenus à Guantanamo
Violette Daguerre, Présidente de la Commission arabe des droits humains
Sami el Haj, cameraman d’Aljazeera détenu pendant 6 ans à Guantanamo, directeur du département des droits humains à Aljazeera.
Haytham Manna, Porte parole d'ACHR, ancien porte parole de Global Coordination against Guantanamo.
Cette rencontre se déroulera en présence de la délégation euro-américaine des ONG pour la fermeture de Guantanamo et de personnalités concernées  comme d’anciens détenus. Nous vous y attendons.
12 janvier 2010 de 18h30 à 21h30
A la salle Polyvalente de la  maison de la vie associative
26, rue Victor Hugo – 92240 Malakoff
Métro Malakoff-Plateau de Vanves

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WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE
Press Advisory: For Immediate Release

January 5, 2010
Contact:         Frida Berrigan, 347-683-4928          Jeremy Varon, 732-979-3119
                        frida.berrigan@gmail.com                  jvaron@aol.com

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AND DETAINEE LAWYERS TO HOLD MARCH, RALLY AND BRIEFING ON 8TH GUANTÁNAMO ANNIVERSARY
ALL CALL ON OBAMA TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO, END INDEFINITE DETENTION, AND RESTORE THE RULE OF LAW

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight years ago next Monday, the Guantanamo prison opened for “war on terror” detainees. Activists and detainee lawyers will mark the anniversary, Monday, January 11, by demanding that President Obama make good on his pledge to close the prison and declaring their opposition to any plan for holding prisoners without charge or trial in the U.S.
Schedule, January 11, 2010

When
What
Where
11:45am
Demonstration with street theater, signs, and speakers, announcement of 12 day fast.
White House Plaza, between Lafayette Park and “picture postcard” zone
12:30pm
Begin prisoner procession, a silent walk of more than 40 jumpsuited “detainees”

1:00pm
Press Briefing with the Center for Constitutional Rights
National Press Club, 529 14th Street
Murrow Room
Members of Witness Against Torture will rally in front of the White House at 11:45 a.m. to protest the lack of progress toward justice for detainees since Obama took office and demand from the administration true change.  Speakers will announce a 12-Day Fast for Justice in Washington DC, ending on January 22-- the Obama administration’s self-declared, and now-voided, deadline for closing Guantanamo.
“Obama promised to break with the Bush administration,” says Matt Daloisio of Witness Against Torture. “But in so many areas-- from the continued use of rendition, to the ongoing detention of innocent men at Guantanamo, to the refusal to prosecute alleged torturers-- he has sustained the policies of his predecessor. As fear of terrorism again grips the nation, we need to stand more firmly on the principles of justice and the rule of law, and not go further down the disastrous path of the last eight years.”
After the demonstration, activists will stage a Guantanamo prisoner procession to the National Press Club. There, they will join the Center for Constitutional Rights for a press briefing featuring detainee lawyers and human rights activists. The briefing, led by CCR Executive Director Vince Warren, will include the reading of letters from released and exonerated Guantanamo detainees calling for the prison’s closure and justice for all detainees.
Witness Against Torture
is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo.
To learn more visit www.witnesstorture.org