Dear Friends,
There will not be a Clarification of Thought talk in January at the DDCW. Instead, we are encouraging everyone to support and participate in the Witness Against Torture Fast for Justice.
From January 4-12 the Witness Against Torture community will fast, reflect and lift the voices of the men unjustly detained at Guantanamo Bay Prison in the streets of Washington, DC. January 11, 2016 marks 14 years of torture and indefinite detention at the prison, as well as President Obama’s 8th year of broken promises. This is our final chance to hold his administration accountable to their promise to release those unjustly detained and close the prison. Right now 107 men remain detained, 48 of whom have been cleared for release and are held without charge or trial.
During the Fast for Justice, there are several events that we especially invite you to attend. Please see below. Here is the link for the entire schedule for the Fast for Justice: http://www.witnesstorture.org/events/
We hope to see you at one or more of these events.
With hope for the New Year,
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
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Saturday, January 9th Panel
Panel: Less Than Human: Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo North and the Criminalization of Muslims in the War on Terror
When: 7 to 9 PM
Where:
First Trinity Lutheran Church
501 4th Street NW (entrance on 4th St)
Washington ,DC 20001 (4th and E Sts NW)
(Judiciary Square Metro)
This panel will examine the physical confinement and conditions under which the Muslim body has been held in the War on terror. Further, the discussion will focus on the ways in which Muslims have been criminalized by virtue of their religious and racialized identity and subjected to a separate system of justice. Using specific examples, panelists will speak both to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and Communication Management Units, two prisons that are notorious for their treatment of Muslim prisoners. Underscoring all of these issues, the panel will also interrogate the degree to which state violence has become law.
Panelists:
- Major Raashid Williams, Counsel of Ammar Al-Baluchi
- Abdul Ali (Avon Twitty), Current leader of Dar At-Tawhid Masjid and Former Communication Management Unit prisoner
- Dr. Maha Hilal, Executive Director, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms
Moderator: Darakshan Raja, Program Manager and Helga Herz Organizing Fellow
There will be artwork available for purchase by Mohammed Shnewer, Muslim prisoner of the Fort DIx Five Case.
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Sunday, January 10th Concert
Visions of Homecoming: Close Guantanamo!
When: 5pm to 7pm.
Where: Impact Hub DC
419 7th Street NW 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20004
Join us for music, poetry, and movement building with The Peace Poets.
As January 11, 2016 will mark 15 years of indefinite detention and torture in Guantanamo, musicians, poets and activists will come together to work towards a world where human beings are no longer locked in prisons cells. During our recent trip to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, we witness the impact on the Cuba people being denied their home by the continued occupation of the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo and confronted the reality of the men that have had years of their lives stolen away from loved one and families. Join us, as we dream of homecomings for the Cuban people and those locked away in Guantanamo and domestic prisons.
The Peace Poets will perform.
Witness Against Torture and Code Pink will discuss their most recent trip to Guantanamo bay, Cuba.
The Center of Constitutional Rights will share the stories of the men they represent in Guantanamo.
Brought to you by Witness Against Torture, Code Pink, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, Center for Constitutional Rights and The Peace Poets
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Monday, January 11th– White House Prayer Service and Rally
Where: White House (North Side)
What: Interfaith Prayer Service: 12:00 noon
Rally: 12:30
Last Chance for Leadership: Close Guantánamo
President Obama has just one year left to fulfill his first-term promise by closing Guantánamo and ending indefinite detention. Doing so will demonstrate leadership and fidelity to the principles on which he campaigned and won office.
On January 11, 2016, the prison at Guantánamo will enter its 15th year of operation. More than 100 men remain there, the vast majority of whom will never be charged with crimes. Dozens of prisoners are cleared for transfer. Some remain on hunger strike and are force-fed, and a handful are facing charges in unfair trials. There has been no accountability for the torture that many detainees have suffered.
Though Congress has placed obstacles to closing Guantánamo, President Obama can and should make significant progress towards reducing the population and shuttering the prison. He must order the Secretary of Defense to expedite transfers and accelerate the Periodic Review Board process, and tell the Justice Department not to reflexively oppose habeas petitions in federal court. He must also reject a policy of indefinite detention, and formally try or release all detainees.
In addition, President Obama should order all relevant agencies to read the full Senate torture report. Refusing to read the report, more than a year after receiving it, reflects the “bury your head in the sand” mentality that will prevent the country from adequately learning from its past and permanently ending torture. Further, the Obama administration should prompt the Department of Justice to open a new, comprehensive investigation into the clear acts of criminality described in the report.
Now is the time for Obama to accomplish a central goal of his administration by closing Guantánamo. There is today a renewed climate of fear and hate reminiscent of the post-September 11 mindset that led to torture and indefinite detention in the first place. Guantánamo is the bitter legacy of a politics of fear, which must be rejected.
This is the President’s last chance to keep his promise and close Guantánamo. If he does not do so, there is a real chance that the current detainees will die there, and that more detainees will join them.
We cannot let that happen. Close Guantánamo now.
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Tuesday, January 12th–Peoples State of the Union Action
When: 1:30pm
Where: In front of the U.S. Supreme Court on First Street, NE across
from the U.S. Capitol
President Obama will give his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016 and the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance is calling on people to join us in speaking out and delivering our State of the Union petition to President Obama and the U.S. Congress.
PETITION TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: WE URGE YOU TO CHANGE YOUR POLICIES, AND TO USE THE STATE OF THE UNION SPEECH TO RENOUNCE INEQUALITY, MILITARISM AND ECOCIDE.
The Risk of the Cross
Swords into Plowshares
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
Democracy Now!
Common Dreams
Winter Soldier 2008
The Story of Stuff
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Washington, D.C. 