Prosecuting people of conscience.

Lets show some solidarity with our brother this Friday, folks. Hook up with me for a ride.

Peg

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Let's gather in community with Josh the night before the court appearance for his November arrest at Ft. Huachuca, for music, refreshments and a roundtable discussion on why we need to continue to protest torture - April 22 at 7 p.m. at Southside Presbyterian Church (address below).  And if you're able, please come to court as well -

Ft. Huachuca protester Joshua Harris, from Santa Barbara, California, will appear on Friday, April 23 at 9:30 a.m. in U.S. District Court, Tucson, Arizona.  He intends to enter a change of plea and expects to be sentenced that day.

Josh was one of five protesters who entered Fort Huachuca (home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center where interrogators are trained) on November 15, 2009 with a message for military personnel and civilian employees.  They carried a statement (see below) opposing the cruel treatment and abuse of detainees from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and calling for the civilian oversight of all military interrogation practices.  The statement also condemned the used of armed drones in warfare.

All five protesters were given a formal letter barring them from entering the base for a year.  Because Josh initially refused to identify himself, instead saying he was there representing a victim of torture, he was also charged with trespass and refusing to provide a truthful name.

Please join us:

Thursday evening, April 22 at 7 p.m.

Southside Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Hall

317 W. 23rd Street, Tucson, Arizona

Let's gather in community with Josh the night before his court appearance

Friday morning, April 23 at 8:30 a.m.

DeConcini U.S. Federal Courthouse, plaza in front of courthouse

405 W. Congress, Tucson, Arizona

Join Josh for an 8:30 a.m. circle of support before his 9:30 a.m. court appearance

Please note that you need a photo I.D. to get into the courthouse.  Cameras, pocketknives, etc. are not allowed in the courthouse.

For more information about past and future protests at Ft. Huachuca, please visit http://tortureontrial.org and http://southwestwitness.org/

The annual Ft. Huachuca demonstration will take place on Sunday, November 14, 2010.

STATEMENT CARRIED INTO FORT HUACHUCA, November 15, 2009

We return to Fort Huachuca to call for an end to torture.

We are here because we desire dialogue with soldiers and commanders engaged in interrogation training. We are here because we still question whether soldiers are provided with adequate training about international human rights law so they would know to refuse illegal orders and other pressure to torture captives (including a guarantee that speaking out would not lead to retaliation or punishment). We are here in the hope that healing can take place--healing for the victims of torture, as well as the men and women who have been involved in carrying out torture.

Because the Obama administration has failed to close Guantanamo and the U.S. continues to imprison and interrogate thousands of captives at military prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and places unknown, we renew our call for civilian, human-rights centered oversight of all interrogation training and practice.

Ft. Huachuca is also implicated in the rapidly expanding, legally questionable and morally reprehensible use of remotely-piloted aircraft, or drones, as a weapon of war. We're told that currently the Army only trains for the operation and maintenance of reconnaissance and surveillance drones at Ft. Huachuca. But we also know that the Army plans to weaponize some of these same drones.

Drone attacks have killed many more innocent civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere, than alleged terrorists. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions has asked whether the use of drones in targeting terrorists to be killed constitutes "arbitrary extrajudicial executions," or rogue assassinations in violation of international law. We are here today to call for an end to the use of armed drones in warfare. We believe this terrorizing and killing generates deep resentment in the region that incites hatred for the U.S., boosts recruitment for Taliban, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, and may spawn decades of retaliation.

We act in solidarity with the campaign to close the School of the Americas/Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where the testimony of torture survivors has informed our outrage and moved us to action. We also act in solidarity with people in New York protesting the presence of Reaper drones at a NY Air National Guard base outside of Syracuse today.

Rogue assassinations and torture have damaged the soul of our nation and tarnished our image around the world. We know that a world without torture, without violence and without war is possible. We invite you to help us create that world.

Weekend of Witness: "Love begins where violence ends."

SOUTHWEST WEEKEND OF WITNESS TO END TORTURE, NOVEMBER 14-15, 2009

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14

 

1 ­ 4 p.m.       Workshop/Teach-in on Human Rights

Teach-in will be led by Prof. Randall Amster from Prescott College and Russell Crawford with NAU Peace and Justice

 

Held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 E. 23rd St., Tucson, AZ -One block south of 10th Ave and 22nd St. in Tucson, AZ

 

4-6:30 p.m.             Sign-making and Community-building Event

Simple supper served for donation

Also held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 E. 23rd St., Tucson, AZ

 

7 ­ 8 p.m.                  Healing Ritual and Music

Music provided by Ted Warmbrand and Francisco Herrera

Held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 E. 23rd St., Tucson, AZ

 

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Note:  For those who wish, carpooling has been organized to leave from Borderlinks (620 S. 6th Ave, Tucson) at 10:15 to allow at least 90 minutes for the trip to Sierra Vista, which is 72 miles southeast of Tucson (east on I-10, then south on Hwy. 90, then east on Fry Blvd.  Hwy. 90 is also called Buffalo Soldier Trail.)

 

Noon - 3 p.m.  No to Torture Rally, followed by a Procession and Presence at the Ft. Huachuca Main Gate

Rally is at Len Roberts Park at E. Theater Dr. and N. Carmichael Ave. in Sierra Vista, AZ (from the main gate of Ft. Huachuca take Fry Blvd east to N. Canyon Dr and go north to Theater Dr.)

 

Speakers, musicians

 

Bring brown bag or picnic lunch, beverages, hat, sunscreen, folding chair, appropriate signs, and walking shoes if you will be in the procession.

 

The park has restrooms and some parking but carpooling is encouraged. There are fast food and cafe options all along Fry Blvd.

 

No to Torture Procession Note: A Vigil of Presence across from Ft. Huachuca's main gate on the east side of Buffalo Soldiers Trail and Fry Blvd. follows the park Rally. We will also have a presence at one of the private contractor's office nearby.  (Please note that we are no longer allowed to be in the empty lot where vigils have taken place in past years.  We will need to vigil in the sidewalk area.)

 

The gate is a little less than a mile from Len Roberts Park. Counter-demonstrators are expected and peacekeepers will be aiding us in our procession. We will allow a half-hour for the transition from the park to the gate. Those not walking may drive near the gate and park in the neighborhood east of the gate.

 

All these events are sponsored by Southwest Witness, Tucson SOA Watch, and Torture on Trial in solidarity with SOA Watch and their annual Vigil & Action at Ft. Benning, Georgia on November 20-22 (see http://soaw.org/)

More information: http://southwestwitness.org/ and http://tortureontrial.org/ or 520. 820-7784

WHY WE PROTEST AT FT. HUACHUCA

A Statement of Southwest Witness Against Torture - www.southwestwitness.org

October 2009

Gandhi teaches us that nonviolence needs to be practiced in places of institutionalized violence.

We practice nonviolence at Ft. Huachuca--headquarters of U.S. Army military intelligence training--to protest the policy of cruelty our country has carried out against  captives in the so-called ³War on Terror.²

We practice nonviolence at Ft. Huachuca to open dialogue with soldiers and commanders about their rights and obligations to report cases of torture and cruel treatment. We call on enlisted personnel to speak publicly about their training and any abuses they have observed.

We practice nonviolence at Ft. Huachuca to protest our government¹s increasing use of private contractors--with little to no oversight or accountability--both as instructors and as part of interrogation teams in the field.

We practice nonviolence at Ft. Huachuca to call for civilian, human-rights centered oversight of all interrogation training and practice, which must include absolute prohibition of cruel treatment and command responsibility for any violation of this prohibition.

Our nonviolent presence joins growing, deepening movements throughout the world calling for an end to war and torture everywhere. We act in solidarity with the campaign to close the School of the Americas/Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where the testimony of torture survivors has informed our outrage and moved us to action. We know that torture diminishes the humanity of both perpetrator and those who are tortured. It damages the very soul of our country.

We are told that basic training in military interrogation at Ft. Huachuca respects the Geneva Conventions and follows the U.S. Army Field Manual. Yet, despite the efforts of many honorable soldiers and commanders who respect human rights, this training has been inadequate to prevent abuses of prisoners in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other military prisons and secret detention centers around the world.

What is being taught in the field and in advanced courses about interrogation? What is happening in this dark space between training and the field? Has the policy of cruelty practiced by some U.S. military, CIA, FBI, and private agencies been integrated into military doctrine and advanced training?  Does such activity take place at Ft. Huachuca?

We understand that secrecy and deception are part of the nature of military intelligence. We challenge this institutionalized silence, because torture and cruelty betray not only the Constitution of the United States, but who we are as a people. In a democratic society, such silence must not prevail.
 
To break this silence, interrogators and all other personnel (including private contractors) must be taught when and how to resist illegal orders that violate the laws of war, the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. They must be taught their obligation to speak out against such orders, and to report abuses to their superiors. And they must receive guarantees that speaking out will not lead to retaliation or punishment.

Ft. Huachuca¹s role in past military involvement in torture training must also be brought to light. Such involvement includes the creation of notorious manuals used at the School of the Americas to teach Latin American military personnel how to torture. Undoubtedly, records about past and contemporary use of torture exist at Ft. Huachuca. We call for the release of all such information, both past and present.

It is time for a light to shine on the darkness that has been hidden behind the walls of Ft. Huachuca.  

Monsignor Oscar Romero of El Salvador said, "Love begins where violence ends."  To end the violence of torture and war we will stand at the gates of Ft. Huachuca.   Together let¹s build a world without torture.