(With Max Obuszewski)
Today, Thursday, June 25, 2009, has been designated Torture Accountability Action Day by a large coalition of human rights groups planning rallies and marches in major U.S. cities, including a rally in Washington, D.C.'s John Marshall Park at 11 a.m., followed by a march to the Department of Justice (DOJ), where some participants will risk arrest in nonviolent protest if a special prosecutor for torture is not appointed. Thirty-six groups have signed on to the rally and protest including Veterans for Peace, Amnesty International, Indict Bush Now and Code Pink.
It is hoped that DOJ officials will agree to meet with the activists and give serious consideration to the appointment of a special prosecutor. However, a letter which the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (NCNR) sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on May 11, 2009, has never been answered (no surprise there despite the political rhetoric of Obama's presidential campaign). It is unlikely DOJ officials will even meet with NCNR representatives. DOJ is a lot like the Schenectady school board in that regard; they think nothing of blowing you off. Government by, for and of the people has little meaning for our government for quite some time now.
In 2008, NCNR sent a letter to then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey calling for the indictment of members of the Bush-Cheney administration. Since there was no response to the letter (again no surprise), members of NCNR went to the DOJ on Nov. 11, 2008, to demand a meeting (two local people, Jeffrey Halpern and myself, were part of that group). When rebuffed, 15 activists engaged in a die-in on the Constitution Avenue side of the building. The police did not arrest anyone during the hour die-in, so the activists then marched to the White House. While George W. Bush was meeting with President-elect Barack Obama, the demonstrators continued their call for the indictment of Bush administration officials. NCNR intends to continue to pressure the DOJ to hold the Bush administration officials accountable for engaging in an illegal war, using torture and widespread spying on dissidents.
I was all set to be part of the group but an illness flared up and prevented me from taking part. I will be holding them in prayer while they try to hold the government accountable.
Here is their statement of purpose:
The highest officials in our government have trampled on our traditional ideals of making America a nation of laws, not of men, by illegally narrowing the scope of torture and authorizing water boarding, walling, and other inhumane interrogation techniques. In doing so, they have violated the Anti-Torture Act, the War Crimes Act, the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment.
In order to enforce our laws and restore the free society that our forefathers envisioned, citizens must demand accountability for abuses of the laws pertaining to torture. In the tradition of the Civil Rights movement, change will not occur unless citizens stand up for their rights under the law.
Makes me proud to know them let alone act with them.
