12 Years Later, GITMO Still Open

by Anne Meador

Several dozen protestors braved pouring rain to mark the twelfth anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Prison. In front of the White House, they called on President Obama to use his executive powers to close the prison now. They then marched to the National Museum of American History and filled the second floor lobby, some of them dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods.

“Stop torture now! Close GITMO now!” they chanted. They also sang, “We gonna build a nation that don’t torture no more, but it’s gonna take courage, that change to come.” Many museum visitors watched approvingly, while a few booed.

A line-up of people dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods represented Guantánamo prisoners. They called it a “new exhibit” for the museum.

“We are here to make Guantánamo history, to never forget injustice,” said one speaker. Witness Against Torture, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CODEPINK and Amnesty International planned the event.

One hundred and fifty-five men remain at the prison, which President Obama vowed to close during his 2008 campaign. On January 22, 2009, he signed an executive order to close the facility within a year, yet this promise was abandoned in April 2011 when Attorney General Eric Holder sent Khalid Sheik Mohammed to Guantánamo for trial.

The prison is accused of torturing and maltreating inmates. Nine prisoners have died in custody, seven of them apparent suicides. Despair prompted a hunger strike, which at its height last summer involved 106 prisoners.

Only a handful of inmates have been charged with crimes, and 77 remain in custody even though they have been cleared for release. Seven military prosecutors have resigned or requested reassignment because of concerns about the handling of military commissions.