by “Stop The War Brigade”
Call for an international Delegation to converge on Guantanamo to protest and expose The USA`s hypocritical and criminal posture vid-a-vis the treatment of prisoners, adherence to international treaties and the right to self-determination among Peoples and Nations.
Let`s go to Guantanamo – Shut “Camp X-ray” down ! !
“For the past few days the US Military has been transporting suspected members of the Taliban & Al Queada from a military prison in Kandahar Afghanistan to another prison on the island of Cuba at the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay.(That) was leased to the US Government by the new Cuban Government installed after the war between the US & Spain in 1898 which ended hundreds of years Spanish colonial rule in the Caribbean & South Pacific(Guam & the Philippines in particular) and with the loss of their stolen treasures to the US. I watched as the military guards paraded their captives in front of the TV cameras at Kandahar, bragging openly that they had been sedated and shackled like animals. They then dragged them along blindfolded like slaves to Auction. They were forced unto the plane and believe me this was no charter flight to Mallorca. A few buckets were set among the prisoners to serve as toilets. It was outrageousà‰.. I couldn`t escape the irony of the situation. Brown and black bodies being brought to Cuba again. This island used to be the biggest breeding station of slaves in the New World and once more they`re being brought by their white masters, the protectors of the “Holy Grail “, to sit somewhere and rot.
I sat there and thought of my own experiences for I too was once a prisoner of the US Military. I know first hand how brutal they are. I saw them use the same tactics against their own soldiers at the notorious Army Prison in Long Binh Viet Nam, LBJJ (Long Binh Jail), where I was a held captive in 1968, the first and worst of several such places I would experience. The Daily Beatings, Torture & Terror, there`s no other way to explain it. I resisted, I was beaten. I was one among thousands of American soldiers who had experienced this same form of Justice and Democracy. The spectacle of it all, the deceit, the arrogance, the cold-blooded murder. The utter disregard for human dignity……….. “
Darnell S. Summers, Cologne-Comedia Colonia 13.01.02
The “VVAW-AI” & “Stop The War Brigade” are calling on evreyone to support a delegation to Cuba to protest at the concentration camp at Guantananmo As part of a this delegation the STWB can give first-hand testimony to the history of America`s treatment of prisoners of war and in particular the inhumane treatment of tens of thousands of GIs who were thrown into US military prisons around the world as a result of their opposition to both the Viet Nam War and the Gulf War a generation later.
While in the Army, Dave Blalock was a prisoner the Fort Jackson stockade before being sent to Vietnam. After his year in Vietnam he became extremely active in the GI anti war movement when he was imprisoned again. he was jailed several times after his military service as a result of his anti war activities and his opposition to fascist Flag Protection law of 1989.(Dave Blalock-right- holding statement signed by G.I.`s opposed to the Viet Nam published in the N.Y Times in 1969)
Darnell S. Summers was a prisoner at LBJ(Long Binh Jail)in Viet Nam before being extradited to the US to face fabricated murder charges for allegedly shooting a member of a secret police unit(The Red Squad) in Michigan He was also detained at “The Presidio” in California and Ft. Wayne in Detroit, Michigan. Many detention facilities continue to exist and American soldiers are still subjected to similar conditions.
We call on all those who are opposed to this war to join in the effort. We are asking Peace groups, vets organizations, churches, synagogues, mosques etc. to send a representative to the delegation and to support the delegation in whatever way possible. If people are looking for a way to immediately impact on the situation then this is one way. We want to bring world-wide attention to this flagrant and brutal breach of human rights.
We cannot just look on and watch as this travesty is perpetrated and tolerated by most of the so-called civilized world. The People who have come up with this scheme are perpetuating the tortured history of the region and the exploitation of its peoples. People streaming in from all over the world to protest this crime will send a message to those who are responsible for the deplorable conditions at the camp and to the entire world.
You can compare the cramped living conditions of the “detainees” with those of the slaves who came to the new world in tightly packed slave-ships centuries before. Millions died enroute never setting foot in the Americas. Most of the inhabitants of the Caribbean are direct descendants of African slaves.
The U.S were in effect “No-Shows” at Kyoto, Japan and Durban, South Africa and now they are showing their true face to the whole world. One supporter said that the prisoners were being held in what he could only describe as “dog cages”. We want to go as soon as possible. Enough is enough. No matter how many official fact-finding missions they send it`s up to us to make the difference.
Source: Vietnam Veterans Against the War-AI (Germany) & Stop The War Brigade
