We're Going to #CloseGitmo!

closegitmoAnother January 11th  Guantanamo  anniversary has come and gone, and still 198 men are detained at the facility (and hundreds more at Bagram). Over the last year there has been some progress, but not with the kind of momentum that we had hoped for last January.  Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the Executive Order that President Obama drafted to have the Guantanamo Detention Facility closed within a year, but unfortunately, the detention facility is still open.  The military commissions process continues. And some in the Obama Administration seem to be flirting with the idea of indefinite detention (just in a US-based facility vs. Gitmo). The failed Bush-era policies on torture and indefinite and illegal detention sadly continue to linger on.  And thus the need for our important human rights work continues!

Last week on January 11th, we launched 10,000 Against Torture, a project to demonstrate to the White House and Congress, that Americans want both security AND respect for the rule of law. Over the next weeks, we’ll be doing weekly actions calling for the closure of Gitmo (in a way that respects human rights!) and accountability for these failed policies on torture and indefinite detention.

To mark the missed deadline tomorrow, we’ll be joining MoveOn, ACLU, Human Rights Watch and artists like Coldplay, Tom Morello, and others, by using Twitter and Facebook to get everyone online talking about closing Guantánamo.

Join us by taking action online today, January 21 and tomorrow, January 22:

  • Tweet messages with the “#closegitmo” hashtag (if you follow the  Amnesty USA, you can re-tweet messages that we will be posting)
  • Spread the word! Our goal is to make #closegitmo a top trending topic, and our success depends on reaching many people in a short amount of time to jump-start the conversation. Help us deliver this important message by asking others to join us (especially those with large followings online!)

Written by Njambi Good, Director of Counter Terror with Justice (CTWJ) campaign for Amnesty International USA

AIUSA welcomes a lively and courteous discussion that follow our Community Guidelines. Comments are not pre-screened before they post but AIUSA reserves the right to remove any comments violating our guidelines.

13 thoughts on “We're Going to #CloseGitmo!

  1. Okay, I don't belong here anymore. I thought Amnesty international was focused on saving and preserving life and liberty, not encouraging terrorist combatants to continue their campaigns in US courts. When KSM speeks at his trials in New York, instead of Guantanamo, he should be able to recruit some to his cause, more than likely, Amnesty members.

    You've done so well exposing China, and other countries without civil rights, but giving rights to some one holding a gun and pointing it at US soldiers is like saying it's okay to point that gun at your son or daughter. Would you give those rights to this person if your children were in another country that was invaded suddenly, and members of an opposing army were shooting at them? What if you shot back, injured one, sent him to an American court, and he was free again – free to tell everyone the great ideas he has? Goodbye Amnesty, I'm removing myself from your mailings, you've gone beyond your charter, and just want attention like the terrorists.

  2. Okay, I don’t belong here anymore. I thought Amnesty international was focused on saving and preserving life and liberty, not encouraging terrorist combatants to continue their campaigns in US courts. When KSM speeks at his trials in New York, instead of Guantanamo, he should be able to recruit some to his cause, more than likely, Amnesty members.

    You’ve done so well exposing China, and other countries without civil rights, but giving rights to some one holding a gun and pointing it at US soldiers is like saying it’s okay to point that gun at your son or daughter. Would you give those rights to this person if your children were in another country that was invaded suddenly, and members of an opposing army were shooting at them? What if you shot back, injured one, sent him to an American court, and he was free again – free to tell everyone the great ideas he has? Goodbye Amnesty, I’m removing myself from your mailings, you’ve gone beyond your charter, and just want attention like the terrorists.

  3. Though I support many of your causes I do have a problem with your stand on the Guantanamo prisoners. What are we to do with them if the base is closed? You do not offer a reasonable solution. I'd gladly let them all go as soon as they swear to Allah never to take up arms against the U.S. and never to target civilians of any country. The fact are that many who have been freed go right back to their evil ways. When it comes to their rights or the lives of innocent people, I'll have to side with denying them their rights until we can come up with a better solution that protects innocent civilians. The civilians in the WTC or those killed by car bombs at the market place were denied their rights and lives. I have little sympathy for the prisoners.

  4. Which philosopher said "There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong." Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  5. Though I support many of your causes I do have a problem with your stand on the Guantanamo prisoners. What are we to do with them if the base is closed? You do not offer a reasonable solution. I’d gladly let them all go as soon as they swear to Allah never to take up arms against the U.S. and never to target civilians of any country. The fact are that many who have been freed go right back to their evil ways. When it comes to their rights or the lives of innocent people, I’ll have to side with denying them their rights until we can come up with a better solution that protects innocent civilians. The civilians in the WTC or those killed by car bombs at the market place were denied their rights and lives. I have little sympathy for the prisoners.

  6. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  7. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  8. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  9. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  10. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  11. Which philosopher said “There is no problem for which there is not an answer that is simple, straight forward and wrong.” Besides you, I mean.
    Will continue to support you but you are off the deep end on this one

  12. We should follow the Geneva Convention! These guys were caught out of uniform fighting us on the battlefield…they should be executed (sooneer rather than later…)

  13. We should follow the Geneva Convention! These guys were caught out of uniform fighting us on the battlefield…they should be executed (sooneer rather than later…)

Comments are closed.