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The Irish Anti-War Movement

Guantanamo Bay – Protest at Dáil, Thursday 1.00pm, 23 May

IAWM PRESS RELEASE – 22 May 2013

– Guantanamo Bay – Protest at Dáil, Thursday 1.00pm, 23 May
– Obama’s shame – Close Guantanamo Now!
– 11 years – where’s the justice? Stop the torture!
– Irish Government complicit in torture
– US military and rendition flights out of Shannon Airport

The Irish Anti-war Movement (IAWM) announced that it is holding a protest at Dáil Eireann at 1.00pm on Thursday 23 May 2013 regarding the continued incarceration and torture of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. The protest has been called to coincide with a speech that Barack Obama is due to make on the issue on 23 May. See attached leaflet.

The IAWM statement noted that this will be a colourful protest that will highlight the conditions that the prisoners are forced to endure. Several supportive TDs and Senators have been invited to attend.

The statement quoted the following information from www.avaaz.org, which has organised an online petition to Barack Obama:

IAWM PRESS RELEASE – 22 May 2013

– Guantanamo Bay – Protest at Dáil, Thursday 1.00pm, 23 May
– Obama’s shame – Close Guantanamo Now!
– 11 years – where’s the justice? Stop the torture!
– Irish Government complicit in torture
– US military and rendition flights out of Shannon Airport

The Irish Anti-war Movement (IAWM) announced that it is holding a protest at Dáil Eireann at 1.00pm on Thursday 23 May 2013 regarding the continued incarceration and torture of inmates at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. The protest has been called to coincide with a speech that Barack Obama is due to make on the issue on 23 May. See attached leaflet.

The IAWM statement noted that this will be a colourful protest that will highlight the conditions that the prisoners are forced to endure. Several supportive TDs and Senators have been invited to attend.

The statement quoted the following information from www.avaaz.org, which has organised an online petition to Barack Obama:

1) Detainees in Guantanamo now: 166
2) Detainees facing active charges: 6
3) Detainees cleared for immediate release, but stuck in the camp: 86
4) Guantanamo inmates on hunger strike: 103
5) Hunger strikers strapped down and force fed: 30
6) Prisoners who have died in custody: 9
7) Children the US has held at Guantanamo: 21
8) Detainees tried in civilian court: 1
9) "Unreleasable" detainees who can’t be tried for lack of evidence or torture: 50
10) Prisoners released by the Bush administration: 500+
11) Prisoners released by the Obama administration: 72
12) Current annual cost to US taxpayers: $150 million
13) Days since Obama first pledged to close Gitmo: 1579
14) Days since first prisoners arrived at Guantanamo: 11 years, 4 months, 11 days

IAWM PRO, Jim Roche, said:

“It is truly shocking that the Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre is still open and that 166 detainees, almost all of them innocent, remain incarcerated there. Only 6 detainees are facing charges. It is such a dark stain on Barack Obama’s presidency considering that he promised to close it before he got elected for his first term five years ago. It is even more galling that now over 100 of the detainees are on hunger strike and as many as 30 are being force fed which is just torture plain and simple.”

He continued:

“It is also galling that the Irish Government has been so silent on this issue given that Shannon Airport was clearly used by aeroplanes involved in the illegal rendition programme. We are having this protest at Dáil Eireann to show solidarity with the Guantanamo Prisoners and to call on the Irish Government to press Barack Obama to close down the facility once and for all and to release those prisoners who have not been charged.”

END

For more information:

Jim Roche, PRO Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 6472737
Lola Hynes, Secretary, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 822 8795

Website – www.irishantiwar.org

@IrishAntiWarMvt <https://twitter.com/#!/IrishAntiWarMvt>

Find us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/groups/25608030879/>

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