Guantanamo Has Got to Go: Protesting Ten Years of Indefinite Detention

[marmar]

from Dissent magazine:



Guantanamo Has Got to Go: Protesting Ten Years of Indefinite Detention
Mark Engler - January 12, 2012 10:05 am



“Prisoners of Guantanamo turn right,” yelled the marshal. “Prisoners forward!”

In response to the call, several hundred people dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods turned in unison, faced east on Pennsylvania Avenue, and began a slow march toward the U.S. Capitol building.

Wednesday was the tenth anniversary of the first transfer of prisoners to Guantanamo Bay as part of the “War on Terror.” To mark the date, a coalition of human rights groups—including Witness Against Torture, Code Pink, Amnesty International, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture—held a protest in Washington, DC. The solemn procession of orange-clad demonstrators stretched for blocks, making the event the largest protest on the issue since the start of the Obama administration.

“Guantanamo is a full-system failure,” a speaker announced as the march commenced. Reflecting this distribution of blame, the procession snaked past the White House and Congress, passing near the Department of Justice, before ending at the Supreme Court. Organizers aimed to have at least 171 marchers in hoods and jumpsuits—one for each detainee still being held at Guantanamo—and they passed out well over a hundred coveralls to facilitate this. But many more people showed up with their own orange suits, adding to the line. Moreover, the silent “prisoners” were followed by a crowd of hundreds more protesters, who carried banners and chanted. Taking advantage of the extra rhyme that this issue lends to the old protest standard, they called out, “Hey, hey. Ho, ho. Guantanamo has got to go!” .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.dissentmagazine.org/atw.php?id=649

[Magoo48]

1. This prison is a melanoma on the surface of the earth.

[morningfog]

2. I read in a thread here yesterday that the NDAA forbids the funding to close GITMO.

So, that makes it permanent, right?

It should have closed long ago. My fear is that as long as it remains, the potential to bring in more detainees does as well.

[PETRUS]

3. Personal accounts

Individual stories that are coming out are stomach turning. Everything Guantanamo represents is disgusting.