Activists Rally to Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention as Part of Global Day of Action — Protests in 40+ Cities Worldwide |
MEDIA ADVISORY - May 21, 2014
Media Contacts: Medea Benjamin, medea.benjamin@gmail.com, 415-235-6517 Chris Knestrick, cknest11@gmail.com, 216-496-2637.
Activists Rally to Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention as Part of Global Day of Action — Protests in 40+ Cities Worldwide Protests come exactly one year after President Obama recommitted to close down the detention facility WHAT: Global Day of Action to Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention WHERE: Washington, NYC, Chicago, Raleigh, London, Sydney, Toronto, and other cities. WHEN: Friday, May 23, 2014 (see tumblr link above for details) WHO: Human Rights and Anti-Torture activists Washington, D.C. — On Friday, May 23, one year after President Obama once again promised to close the detention facility at Guantanamo in a speech at the National Defense University, Witness Against Torture, Code Pink, The Center for Constitutional Rights, World Can’t Wait, and more than 30 other groups are banding together to say “Not Another Broken Promise!” They are calling on President Obama make good on his commitment to close the prison this year. The President’s pledge last May came amidst a mass hunger strike at the prison by men protesting their indefinite detention. Since then only a handful of men have been released from Guantanamo, where hungers strikes and brutal forced-feedings continue. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, says: “When I interrupted Obama's 2013 speech to say that he had the power to free those Guantanamo prisoners already cleared for release, the President said my voice was worth listening to. With most of the prisoners still trapped in the hell of Guantanamo, I wish the President would listen to his own words and close the prison.” “There is no excuse for keeping Guantanamo open,” says Jerica Arents from Chicago. “The President has the power to shutter the prison and needs to do it, or his promise is meaningless.” Demonstrations will be held in Washington, D.C. (at the
White House, 11 am); in New York City (Times Square, noon); in
Chicago (Water Tower Park, 4:30 pm); San Francisco
(Powell/Market 4:30 PST); and in 40 other cities in 8 countries,
including England, Australia, and Germany. A Full list, with time and
place info, is at: http://witnesstorture.tumblr. “In big cities and small towns, the outpouring of support for the Global Day of Action has been amazing,” says Witness Against Torture organizer Chris Knestrick. “Guantanamo continues to shock the conscience. The people of the world want it closed.” At the protests, activists will wear black hoods and orange jumpsuits, update the situation at Guantanamo, and perform theatre to dramatize the ongoing abuses at Guantanamo. |
