[torture] U.S. Christians Vigil at Guantánamo; Call Bush & Rumsfeld!

[announcement-only list for witness against torture]

Dear friends and supporters,

The group of US Christians marching from Santiago de Cuba to the US  
Naval
Base at Guantanamo Bay have completed their 5 day, 50 mile march and  
are now
waiting for permission to enter the US base. They hope to be allowed to
visit the prisoners, something that should be a simple act and one  
that is
rooted in their religious tradition. In the Gospel of Matthew, 25:36,
Christians are charged to perform the Works of Mercy. Among these  
works is
the visitation of prisoners.

The group now sit at the gates, 9 miles from the detention camps,  
fasting
and praying while awaiting permission to enter the US base. So far  
the US
government has not responded to our request. We ask that you join us in
pressuring the Bush Administration to let us in. Please call  
President Bush
at 202.456.1414 and Donald Rumsfeld at 703.692.7100 and request that  
they
respond to our request for access. You can contact the US Naval Base  
itself
at pao at usnbgtmo.navy.mil.

The visit should be easy. On June 20, President Bush said that those
concerned with the situation in Guantanamo "Are welcome to go down
yourself... and take a look at the conditions." But his offer was
disingenuous. Even an group of experts from the UN Commission on Human
Rights was not allowed to meet with the detainees. In the context of the
'War on Terror' simply trying to visit prisoners has become an act of
resistance. The Bush administration believes it can act outside of  
the law,
both domestic and international, and classify the prisoners in such a  
way
that they are deprived of human rights. The question of their  
humanity is
central. The interrogators use techniques explicitly meant to  
dehumanize the
prisoners, 'to make them feel like dogs' in the words of a former  
Guantanamo
commander. Witness Against Torture marches, prays and fasts in  
defiance of
this dehumanization.

The group is also deeply concerned about the threat of execution of  
the four
Christian Peacemakers in Iraq. Two of the marchers, Danny Burns and  
Sister
Anne Montgomery, are Christian Peacemaker members that have recently  
served
in Iraq. “Tom Fox's last communication before he was kidnapped said that
love is the only thing that can overcome dehumanization,” Sister  
Montgomery
observed. “We feel that what is happening in Guantánamo represents the
dehumanization of the prisoners, the guards and those that make war.  
We pray
at the gates of Guantánamo that love will overcome this dehumanization.”

Again, please join us in our call to the Bush administration to grant us
access.

Updates, photos, blogs and news can be found at
http://www.witnesstorture.org.

Thank you,
Witness Against Torture