Forum Post: Via Justice Party 2013

WE NEED JUSTICE!! AND IF YOU THINK WE DONT...............

AFTER 11 YEARS, GUANTANAMO TO REMAIN OPEN

Friday January 11 marked the eleventh anniversary of the first prisoners arriving at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a facility that has become the worldwide symbol of the immoral, ineffective and illegal US policy on torture and disregard for basic notions of due process. Anti-torture protestors held rallies and marches in five US cities, including Washington D.C. and London, calling on President Obama to keep his promise, made five years age, to close the camp.

Obama reauthorized the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) when he signed the bill on December 31, 2013. He attached a signing statement, but still enshrined in the law is the ability to detain any person, including Americans on American soil, for the rest of their lives without charges, trial, right of habeas corpus or legal assistance. A section that prohibits the authorization of funds to move the prisoners to US soil makes it virtually impossible to close the camp. 166 prisoners are currently incarcerated at Guantanamo. Remarkably, one half of them have been cleared for release but still remain imprisoned.

Why can we not release the 83 prisoners who have been cleared? And, why can’t we prosecute the remaining prisoners in a court of law?

When our government chose to act outside the law, it created pandemonium in the courts, Congress, and public opinion. For resolution, we need only return to the rule of law, and we should do so soon, as the issue of the Guantanamo detention camp becomes more complicated and more egregious with every passing day.

The US became a great nation because of our commitment to the rule of the law: that no person, including in government, is above the law. When we adhered to the rule of law, we proudly held the moral high ground. That ground has been ceded by allowing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to remain open.

Through our movement building efforts and electoral campaigns, the Justice Party seeks to uphold the rule of law and ensure the equal application of it. Let us know how you wish to help out here.

The efforts of the Justice Party depend on the financial contributions of our supporters. Please contribute at least $30.00 today. Your financial assistance is essential to the continuation of our vital work.

Justice for all,

The Justice Party National Steering Committee