Pax-salon Mailing List: Sat-Sun 6/26,27 Torture Awareness Month events

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Patty Guerrero  pattypax [at] earthlink.net posted the information below.
It was re-posted by Fred, the list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
after reformatting.
--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------


Saturday, June 26, 11am-1pm:The Center for Victims of Torture honors
torture survivors on UN International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture. 717 E. River Parkway, Minneapolis (outdoors)

Saturday, June 26, 7:00-10:00pm: screening and discussion of the film
"Torturing Democracy" by Sherry Jones, Walker Community Church, 16th
Ave S and 31st St E, Minneapolis 55407

Sunday, June 27, 9am and 11am: Capt. James Yee speaks at services at
St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 4537 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis

Sunday June 27, 3:00-5:00pm
EDUCATIONAL FORUM ON TORTURE
Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Ave S (at Franklin), Mpls
Marjorie Cohn, immediate past president of the National Lawyers Guild
Captain James Yee, former Army Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo
Ellen Kennedy, PhD, Interim Director, Center for Holocaust and Genocide
   Studies, Univ. of MN, Exec Dir, World Without Genocide
   ( http://www.worldwithoutgenocide.org )
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Associate Professor of Peace and Justice Studies,
   Univ. of St. Thomas, and MN Senatorial candidate (2008)

Co-sponsored by :
Amnesty International
Minneapolis and St. Paul chapters of Amnesty International

Endorsed by:
The Center for Victims of Torture
Veterans for Peace


From calendar produced by Tackling Torture At The Top (T3), a
committee of W.A.M.M. We are formed to call for investigations and
prosecutions of those who have authorized torture in the name of the
USA. We also work to educate the public on this crucial issue and keep
it in the public consciousness
Women Against Military Madness
310 East 38th Street, Suite 222, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55409
Phone: 612-827-5364 -- 612-827-6433
http://www.worldwidewamm.org -- wamm [at] mtn.org
(Note, earlier events not included here)


Torture is not a partisan issue. It...

Endangers our soldiers
Breaks the law
Destroys the torturer"
Creates more enemies
Diminishes our credibility on human rights
Decreases cooperation from our allies
Sets a dangerous precedent
Creates false leads
Emboldens the enemy
Promotes disrespect for law
Weakens our treaties
Results in blowback
Dries up intelligence sources
Corrupts the torturing country


High officials in our government have confirmed that our
country has engaged in torture. Judge Susan Crawford, the
convening authority of the Guantanamo Military Commissions, refused
to allow a prosecution to go forward because she said we tortured the
detainee. Major General Antonio Taguba said, "the Commander-in-
Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture."
Former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora has written that approved
interrogation techniques "could produce effects reaching the level of tor-
ture" and "almost certainly...[constituted unlawful] ʻcruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment.'"

Yet few have been held accountable. Some lower level people have
been convicted, but no one who ordered torture, no one who authorized
torture as policy, and no one who "legalized" it for those seeking a
golden shield. Since the Federal Torture Statute was passed in 1994,
only one person has been charged and convicted under it--and that was
for torture committed in the name of the government of Liberia. His
name was Chuckie Taylor. He was the son of the President of Liberia,
Charles Taylor, and he tortured people as part of that country's Anti-
Terrorism Unit. Sounds too familiar, doesn't it?

Former Vice-President Mondale says the danger of these abuses of
power is that they remain as precedents "like a loaded pistol that you
leave on the dining room table." But even he is loathe to hold people
accountable through prosecutions. He has said, "I'm not talking about
prosecuting anybody, but the people at the management level, who
made these policies surely should be subject to a hearing. We should
have a clear record of what they did. Beyond that, I've got trouble with
prosecuting people. I think it would just tear us apart."
And so the loaded pistol just sits there. In fact, torture now is almost
legal. Our local U.S. Attorney's office claims the Executive Branch has
made a policy decision not to prosecute for torture. Unfortunately, that
is not their choice to make. Other governments are now asserting their
rights under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction. A Spanish judge is
investigating high Bush administration officials for torture. And last year,
an Italian court convicted in absentia 23 Americans for kidnapping a
suspect and transferring him to a country that practices torture.

Join us in our efforts to seek accountability for the torture commit-
ted in our names. TacklingTorture [at] gmail.com