Why we are demonstrating to Shut Down Guantanamo Now

Join us at the White House on Saturday, May 18 at 5pm

May 2, 2013

The Obama administration continues to incarcerate and torture (i.e., force feed) prisoners at Guantanamo who are conducting a hunger strike that has entered its third month.

It is a demagogic ploy by the president to again publicly call for the eventual closing of the Guantanamo torture center while not using his presidential authority to act now.

The hunger strikers have been held for more than a decade without trial. They prefer death to indefinite detention after years of brutal treatment and torture.

Of the 166 prisoners at Guantanamo, 86 were cleared for release by the president’s own interagency Task Force as of January 2010. But the president hasn’t released them so they can join their families after this decade-long nightmare.

Instead, the Obama administration resorts to brutal force feeding techniques to keep the prisoners alive. This is political too. The administration won’t close Guantanamo but wants to avoid the embarrassment of more suicides at the world’s most notorious torture chamber.

What's new

	Picket at the White House demands: Close Guantanamo! Protesters converged on the White House May 18 for a spirited picket to support the hunger strikers in the Guantanamo Bay prison and demand the immediate closure of the facility

	Reports from countrywide actions May 14 -- Obama: Hands off the Morning-After Pill! May 14 marked the first day of a countrywide Week of Action organized by WORD, National Women's Liberation and others to demand access to emergency contraception without restrictions or ID requirements and at an affordable cost

	Protest at White House Commemorates Nakba Day On May 15, dozens of Palestinians, activists and supporters gathered at the White House to commemorate "Nakba Day," or the 1948 occupation of Palestine by Zionist military forces.

	Mass Rally for Bradley Manning Join us at Fort Meade in support of Bradley Manning. By the time his court martial begins in June, he will have spent more then 3 years in prison.

	ALICE WALKER: Sister Assata: This Is What American History Looks Like Alice Walker speaks out for Assata Shakur

	Obama, Israel and the new phase of the war on Syria The massive Israeli air strikes on May 5 near Damascus mark a new phase in the imperialist-led campaign to overthrow the Syrian government.

	Assata Shakur: Understanding the politics behind the FBI's new attack Because Assata Shakur remains a symbol of resistance, and is unrepentant in her politics, the government will never stop their attempts to smear, kidnap or kill her. But millions of people know the truth.

	"Five Days for the Five" set for Washington, DC As the Cuban Five approach 15 years of unjust imprisonment, supporters from across the world will converge on Washington, D.C., from May 30 to June 5 for a week-long series of events called "Five Days for the Five."

	Why we are demonstrating to Shut Down Guantanamo Now On May 18, 2013, people all over the world are taking part in an international fast in solidarity with the hunger strikers at Guantanamo. People will be rallying at the White House to demand that Guantanamo be shut down now! Tell your friends, family members and neighbors to take a stand and join us that day.