by Debra Sweet
Crimes are crimes and must be denounced whoever commits them. This government has passed yet another bar for disregarding the rule of law and the basic rights of people with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and many of you are rightfully angry about that.
Mounting meaningful, mass actions against the completely unjust and illegitimate continuation of indefinite detention and the prison camps at Guantanamo and Bagram this January is ALSO a meaningful response to the outrageously unjust NDAA. We have been planning for months, with a number of other groups including Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International, for mass protest on the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo. What better way to send a message to this government and everyone around the world against military detention on U.S. soil than to refuse to accept the moral outrage of sending people from other countries into the "legal black holes" of Guantanamo and Bagram?
Whether you are in an area that has an event planned or not, you can help get youth on buses to DC
January 11 to participate in a human chain stretching from the White House to the Capitol, representing each and every one of the people still locked away without rights in Guantanamo or Bagram. $30 gets one person more on the bus!
This action will be the first national-level action that will bring into focus and highlight the terrible situation thousands of men imprisoned at Bagram in Afghanistan face: a legal black hole that manages to surpass Guantanamo in many ways.
No human being deserves to be detained indefinitely without trial or tortured. And with your support, we will mobilize a significant and diverse showing of people determined to bring that message to bear on this terrible tenth anniversary next month.
Thoughts on this Movement from Supporters Like You
Humanity & the Planet Come First T-Shirts
Front: Humanity & the Planet Come First – Stop the Crimes of Our Government Start the new year off right with this message! Click to enlarge. Order some for your protester friends. |
Rosemary Candelario, a long-time friend and supporter, recently wrote on her blog:
For many people, the Occupy Movement was exactly what they’ve been waiting for: an activist mobilization not focused on lobbying elected officials, that takes a stand against – and for – myriad issues that impact our daily lives.
I like to think that The World Can’t Wait has been part of laying the groundwork for something like Occupy to happen. They’ve been relentlessly standing up and speaking out on Guantanamo, war crimes, the multiple US wars, attacks on reproductive rights, and more since 2005.
In her end of the year fundraising letter, my good friend WCW director Debra Sweet writes, "We go after the cutting edge issues, dig through the lies and cover-ups to speak the truth. We find substantive and visible ways to encourage people to act on what their consciences tell them is true, opening up space for people to take principled stands of resistance. And we support them when they do."
World Can’t Wait supports us…and we need to support them. Their all-volunteer national office puts every donation straight to work on campaigns like the We are Not Your Soldiers speaking tour, defending abortion providers, War Criminals Watch, and more.
Donate today!
Some of you have recently written on our Facebook Causes page (which allows you to donate to World Can’t Wait through Facebook and share this cause with friends):
Donya Lucas: Time is running out for the social, economic and ecological changes that need to happen. The people of the world need to be heard in ONE LOUD VOICE.
Dennis Trainor Jr: Because the world can’t wait for US Foreign policy to make a 180 degree turn away from from the blowback inducing, homicidal bull in a geopolitcal china shop that it currently is.
Andy Worthington: The World Can’t Wait focuses on the crimes of the US government, beyond party bias, including parasitic recruiting for wars and a war economy, and the arbitrary detention of prisoners at Guantanamo, who are about to mark the 10th anniversary of their imprisonment, for the most part without charge or trial.
More than 6,000 of you are fans of World Can’t Wait on Facebook, and regularly share comments and discuss what’s happening in the world on our page there. Sharing links from our page, or suggesting friends join you in "liking" our page is another way you can help spread this message!
Join in Local Actions
On December 10, Human Rights Day, the Chicago Chapter of World Can’t Wait (right) held a creative action against torture and indefinite detention, marching to Obama’s campaign HQ, where "the King of Norway" ceremoniously revoked Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Did you know there are local chapters of World Can’t Wait around the country? If you’re in or near a major U.S. city, chances are there are other activists nearby for you to link up with and events you’d like to know about. In January, there will be multiple anti-torture events around the country, including appearances by Andy Worthington in NYC, DC, San Francisco and Chicago.
Sign up for local e-newsletters here. You’re already subscribed to my national messages, but don’t miss out on anything happening in your area – be sure to check the box next to the local chapter you’d like to stay in touch with.
Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can’t Wait
P.S. Here’s the link to share this message on Facebook, Twitter, etc.