Time to put Guantánamo back on the agenda

Almost 17 years on, 40 prisoners remain at Guantánamo Bay, largely without charge. The few trials and convictions that proceed rely on evidence obtained through the use of torture. 

Although interest fell after Barack Obama failed to deliver on his promise to close Guantánamo in 2010, the London Guantánamo Campaign has continued to hold regular demonstrations outside the US Embassy in London – in Mayfair and now in Nine Elms – in solidarity with the remaining prisoners for the past 12 years. 

 

The new US Embassy in Nine Elms is designed to provide a hostile environment for protest. Its architecture deliberately renders protesters invisible, remote and irrelevant.

In November, the US will vote in the midterm elections, the first opportunity the US public will have to challenge Donald Trump’s policies at the ballot box. Ahead of this election, we are asking YOU to make an effort to join us, for a part or all of our demonstration, to send a strong message that Guantánamo is not a forgotten issue and closing Guantánamo must be put back on the political agenda.

Although Trump has not delivered on his executive order to send new prisoners to Guantánamo, recent appointments of officials linked to the torture and enduring ordeal of Guantánamo prisoners, such as CIA chief Gina Haspel and current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh show a worrying trend towards entrenching the policies of his predecessors. 

Please help us to make these protests larger and louder than usual.

 

Our demonstrations take place on the first Thursday of every month at 12-2pm outside the US Embassy. For the next few months, the dates (and details) are as follow:

Thursday 6 September https://www.facebook.com/events/474337159719373/

Thursday 4 October https://www.facebook.com/events/2148850955370083/

Thursday 1 November https://www.facebook.com/events/235710460476481/   

(a few days before the 6 November election).

Monthly "Shut Guantánamo!" Protests to Resume at US Embassy Nine Elms (8th March)

Ahead of our first demonstration there, here is a video showcasing 12 years
of dedicated peaceful protest action against Guantánamo outside the US Embassy in
Grosvenor Square:

The London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) held regular campaigns outside the US Embassy

in London’s Grosvenor Square for 12 years (2006-2018). Since February 2007, the

LGC held weekly (until August 2008), and monthly demonstrations since calling

for the closure of Guantánamo and justice and solidarity with the remaining

prisoners. We will continue our protests until Guantánamo closes.

On Thursday 8^th March*, the LGC will hold its first

demonstration, and first Shut Guantánamo! monthly demonstration outside the new

US Embassy venue (since January 2018) in Nine Elms.

Please join us between 12 and 2pm at the US Embassy, 33
Nine Elms Ln, London SW11 7US

Transport: underground: Vauxhall / bus: 156, 344, or 436
(Stop E)

https://www.facebook.com/events/975903689224552/

* This event has been rescheduled from the regular first Thursday of the month due to adverse weather conditions

11 January 2018: Candlelight Vigil to Mark 16 Years of Guantánamo

https://www.facebook.com/events/133351624119249/
Please bring candles and banners with your messages to President Trump to our vigil to mark the 16th anniversary of Guantánamo, and possibly our last large demonstration outside the iconic Grosvenor Square building - solidarity and protest!

The Only Place That Needs a Muslim Ban is Guantánamo Bay

10 years of regular LGC Shut Guantánamo! protests outside the US Embassy: Thursday 2 February: 12-1pm outside the US Embassy London & 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park (opposite Marble Arch)

In February 2007, inspired by the late Brian Haw’s permanent peaceful vigil opposite Parliament against the Iraq War, the LGC started regular protests outside the US Embassy in London to remind the people inside that the whole world had not forgotten about the plight of the prisoners at Guantánamo. First on a weekly basis, from February 2007 to August 2008, and monthly ever since, the LGC has had a regular presence outside the US Embassy come rain or shine, transport strike or snowfall. 

The first protest in February 2007

The LGC did not fail to see the prejudiced and discriminatory nature of the US’ post-9/11 policies: all the men held at Guantánamo are Muslim and non-American. There has been just a handful of prosecutions after 15 years out of the almost 800 prisoners held there. Of the 41 men who remain, none were captured by the US military or in Afghanistan: they were predominantly kidnapped or arrested by foreign intelligence and military forces and sold to the US, as were up to 90% of the Guantánamo prisoners in total.

We have used these regular protests to show solidarity with other prisoners of the war on terror as well – Dr Aafia Siddiqui, Palestinian-American prisoner in Iraq Shawki Ahmed Omar, extradited Britons Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan, Chelsea Manning – as well as other US prisoners such as Mumia Abu Jamal and the hunger strikers at maximum security prisons in California in 2013. 

2012, marking our 5th anniversary, the Guantánamo prisoners were not forgotten by us

When Barack Obama failed to close Guantánamo Bay by 2010 and interest in the issue died down, even though over 200 prisoners remained there, the LGC’s regular demos were one of the few reminders anywhere of what was happening at Guantánamo. With similar protests held outside US Embassies by prisoners’ family members in countries like Kuwait, it was an honour to be a part of the small but persistent circle that never gave up. 

2014 protest

On 2 February, we will mark the tenth anniversary of this regular action. Over the past few years, on the first Thursday of each month, the protest has consisted of an hour (12-1pm) outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square and an hour (1.15-2.15pm) outside Speaker’s Corner, Hyde Park (opposite Marble Arch), where there are more passers-by and tourists who are receptive and welcoming of our cause. This action is also our first demonstration under the Trump administration, which is continuing the policies of its predecessors at Guantánamo. Please join us https://www.facebook.com/events/706025256245152/

The LGC will also join the Stop The War Coalition’s Stop Trump’s Muslim Ban protest starting at 11am on Saturday 4 February at the US Embassy to march to Downing. If you can help us hand out leaflets to raise awareness or draw attention to this ongoing injustice by three US administrations, please get in touch.

MEDIA RELEASE: London Guantánamo Campaign Comment on Inauguration of New US President Donald Trump

For release: Thursday, 19 January 2017 

The London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will join protests planned in London on Friday 20 January [2] and Saturday 21 January [3] to call on the new US president to close the Guantánamo Bay extra-legal prison facility [4].

Aisha Maniar, spokesperson for the London Guantánamo Campaign, says: “Regardless of who is the president of the United States, the fact that the Guantánamo Bay prison camp remains open after 15 years with over 40 prisoners is an indelible stain on the reputation of the US. It is a demonstration of US disdain for international law and human rights standards, and its proclaimed values of freedom and justice. The US appears only to uphold these values when it comes to the actions of non-allied states.

“We call on Donald Trump to close the Guantánamo Bay prison camp and release all prisoners held there without charge or trial. It would be unacceptable to transfer these prisoners to indefinite detention elsewhere, a solution proposed by his predecessor.

“Nonetheless, in view of Donald Trump’s recent comments on the use of torture and the Guantánamo Bay prisoners, the outlook does not appear positive and we can only hope he keeps his pledges on Guantánamo as well as his predecessor. The closure of Guantánamo is long overdue and is a continuing financial and moral liability for the US.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The London Guantánamo Campaign was set up in 2006 and campaigns for justice for all prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, for the closure of this and other secret prisons, and an end to the practice of extraordinary rendition. http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com   

2. http://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/2016/11/no-trumps-racism-protest-inauguration/ 

3. https://www.womensmarchlondon.com/

4. 780 prisoners have been held at Guantánamo. There are currently around 40 prisoners remaining. https://ccrjustice.org/home/get-involved/tools-resources/fact-sheets-and-faqs/guant-namo-numbers