Miami Protest at U.S. Southern Command to Demand Guantanamo Bay be Closed |
MEDIA ADVISORY: 12/18/2013 For more information contact: Victor Agosto 786.506.4874 victor.m.agosto@gmail.com Sandy Davies 305.336.1934 peacetopower@aol.com Cecelia O’Brien 561.236. Linda Belgrave 305.801.0245 lindaannie@gmail.com [Florida] Miami Protest at U.S. Southern Command to Demand Guantanamo Bay be Closed Miami, FL – January 11, 2014
will mark the twelfth year since the first detainees were sent to the
US prison facilities in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since then, 779 men have
been sent to Guantanamo Bay without trial and have been jailed without
ever having been officially charged with any crime. As of November 2013,
over 160 prisoners remain locked up. In
December 2013, the General responsible for opening the prison wrote a
column calling for its immediate closure. US Marine Major General
Michael Lehnert called the whole strategy wrong and a mistake that did
nothing but "help our enemies." Meanwhile, Senate is set to vote on the
National Defense Authorization Act and which would ease restrictions on
transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay to other countries. This bill
is not a solution but a small first step in the direction of finally
closing the prison down and ending the torture of its prisoners. Those interested can follow the live tweets using #closegitmo and #MIAProtestGitmo, or follow @powirsoflo. WHO:
People's Opposition to War, Imperialism, and Racism (POWIR),
CODEPINK-Miami, Veterans for Peace-Miami, Committee to Stop FBI
Repression, Amnesty International Chapter 248, Miami for Peace &
Justice, Progressive Democrats of America-Miami, SJP @ FAU, Broward
County Green Party WHAT: Miami Protest to Close Guantanamo Bay WHEN: Saturday, January 11th at 2pm – 4pm WHERE: Starting point is NW 36th Street and NW 87th Ave at 2PM followed by a march to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) 9301 NW 33rd Street, Doral, FL 33172 Demands: 1. Close Guantanamo Bay now 2. End torture of prisoners 3. Stop force-feeding hunger strikers 4. Release detainees who have not been charged with crimes 5. Transfer cases to Federal Court if legitimate evidence exists 6. Repatriate freed detainees or provide asylum for those who need it. The
permitted march will be followed by a rally in front of SOUTHCOM.
Artwork by the internationally renowned artist and activist Huong to be included in the demonstration. |