From The Daily Californian, 9/20/06
One political activist group hopes the provocative recreation of
the infamous Abu Ghraib photograph draws attention to an equally
provocative message-that President George W. Bush is a war criminal.
A handful of UC Berkeley students were among about 40 people
who attended a protest, organized by The World Can’t Wait! Drive Out
the Bush Regime!, of what they call government-sanctioned torture by
the U.S. military.
Several activists denounced the allegedly abusive treatment of
prisoners at facilities like Guantanamo Bay, while others displayed
signs with political slogans and sold T-shirts.
“My distinction, fellow citizens, is that I am a citizen of a
country that practices torture,” said Joanna Macy, who also teaches at
Bay Area graduate schools. “That is my woeful distinction.”
The speakers followed a smaller event earlier yesterday
morning, when about 10 people spoke using a bullhorn and entered the
Boalt Hall lobby to protest the political stance of UC Berkeley law
professor John Yoo.
While serving as deputy assistant attorney general during
Bush’s first term, Yoo authored memos that defined “torture” very
strictly, which some activists said left room for abusive treatment of
Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib.
During a similar event last year, protesters entered and disrupted Yoo’s classroom.
The protesters yesterday made no attempt to leave the law
school lobby, said UCPD Lt. Doug Wing. A “sufficient” number of
officers policed the event, he said.
Yoo said that while he does not mind demonstrators outside his
classroom, he thinks their efforts will have little effect on national
politics.
“I think if they really believe (Bush is a war criminal), they should try to change that at the ballot box,” Yoo said.
Many people who attended the protest, however, said the group’s activism is necessary.
Carlos Mauricio, who was kidnapped and tortured by the army of
his home country of El Salvador in 1983, said torture is an ineffective
intelligence-gathering technique.
Mauricio, who now teaches math in Oakland, said prisoners will
say virtually anything to end their pain. He also worried the
government will torture prisoners at more locations.
“The next step is torture in U.S. cities,” he said.
Event organizers said the protest was held in conjunction with
other demonstrations across the country to mark “Bush Crimes Day.” The
day was designated in a The World Can’t Wait report by a five-person
panel that “convicted” Bush of numerous crimes.
Some onlookers, like Boalt student Jesse Geraci, did not share the enthusiasm of the activists.
“It strikes me as odd that they’re speaking here, where 99 percent of people agree with them anyway,” he said.