[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Press release on the "National Day of Witness for a Presidential Order Banning Torture"

[Barbara kessel]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: National Religious Campaign Against Torture <nrcatlist at nrcat.org>
Date: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Subject: Press release on the "National Day of Witness for a Presidential
Order Banning Torture"
To: barkes at gmail.com


      TORTURE IS A MORAL ISSUE



   Dear Friends;

There has a great deal of press coverage throughout the country about the
"National Day of Witness for a Presidential Order Banning Torture". Below my
name is a press release on the event.  Please share it far and wide.

Please also send me links to stories in newspapers and publications that you
read.

My personal thanks to all of you across the country who worked so hard to
make this happen. You know that the work is not done, but all of us by
working hand in hand have made a difference.

Sincerely,

Richard L. Killmer
Executive Director

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************



*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*NATIONAL RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE*


*Religious Community Holds "National Day of Witness;" Leaders Urge
President-Elect Obama to Make Executive Order Banning Torture One of His
First Official Acts*

  *Representatives from dozens of congregations conduct public witness in
front of White House while more than 50 delegations of religious leaders
descend on congressional offices around the country*

*** Recording of telephone press conference available
here<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=61APtDYS2UvWfAHNWHjgXxStE2AWplh%2B>.
***

For more information contact John Humphries, 860-236-5175 or Rev. Richard
Killmer 202-547-1920.

WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, November 12, the National Religious Campaign
Against Torture (NRCAT) held a "National Day of Witness for a Presidential
Executive Order to Ban Torture".  Participants in the day's events seek to
persuade President-elect Barack Obama to sign an Executive Order banning
torture as one of his first official actions in office and to urge Members
of Congress to establish a Select Committee to investigate the use of
torture since 9/11.

As part of this Day of Witness, more than 50 delegations of religious
leaders, spanning states and districts across the country, held meetings
with their Members of Congress.  In addition, representatives from more than
30 religious institutions participated in a moving procession and public
witness in front of the White House.  The participants carried anti-torture
banners that have been displayed outside their places of worship over the
past few months.

"We are thrilled that so many religious leaders and institutions
participated in today's events," said Linda Gustitus, president of NRCAT.
"Collectively, we have sent a powerful message that torture has no place in
U.S. policy.  President-elect Obama has a unique opportunity.  With just one
stroke of his pen -- by issuing an Executive Order governing the Executive
Branch -- he can end this shameful chapter in our history and reclaim our
moral values."

At the public witness in front of the White House, a number of religious
leaders offered remarks, including Rabbi Gerry Serotta, Chair of Rabbis for
Human Rights.

"Torture as well as other cruel and inhumane treatment degrades everyone
involved: not just victims, but also the perpetrators and the policymakers,"
Serotta said.  "Rabbis for Human Rights calls for a complete repudiation and
prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for
any purpose, in any instance. At this moment of hope we call audaciously for
moral leadership that will be welcomed throughout the world as the U.S.
government and our people resume our aspiration to be 'guided through the
night with a light from above.'"

During the meetings around the country, religious leaders are asking Members
of Congress to support NRCAT's call for a Select Committee on Torture to
conduct a full investigation into the use of "enhanced interrogation
techniques" by U.S. personnel since 9/11.  They are also asking the Members
of Congress to use their influence to urge the newly elected President to
issue an Executive Order when he assumes office in January to dismantle the
torture infrastructure created by the current Administration.

After meeting with one such religious delegation last week, U.S.
Representative Rush Holt, Chairman of the Select Intelligence Oversight
Panel, issued a statement this morning in support of the NRCAT campaign and
expressly endorsing the tenets contained in its "Declaration of Principles."


"Torture tarnishes our nation's values and damages our credibility," Holt
wrote.  "I have worked for years to end our government's use of torture.
While an Executive Order will not remove the need for legislation on the
issue, it is a way for President-elect Obama to put an immediate halt to our
government's use of torture during interrogations and to put an end to the
practice of secret detentions. By exercising his authority and acting
quickly, he will begin to restore our moral leadership on the issue and
repair some of the harm that has been done to our international reputation."

Today's events were launched in the morning with a national telephone press
conference, where NRCAT leaders were joined by Rabbi Serotta; Dr. Ingrid
Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America; Rev. Dr. John Thomas,
President and General Minister, United Church of Christ; and Dr. Stephen
Colecchi, Director, Office of International Justice and Peace, Department of
Justice, Peace and Human Development, United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops.

"The use of torture by the United States in recent years, and our refusal to
renounce its use, has diminished us as a nation not only in the eyes of our
own citizens, but in the eyes of the world," declared Rev. Dr. Thomas.  "We
have squandered the good will bestowed upon us after 9/11, and we have
forfeited our role as a moral leader in the community of nations.  There
could be no clearer signal of our intention to reclaim the religious and
moral values that have historically informed our nation's character than for
President-elect Barack Obama to make as one of his first acts the issuing of
an Executive Order declaring that 'the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment against prisons is immoral, unwise, and un-American.'"

"According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the
Convention Against Torture, we as an international community long ago
established that every person in the world, regardless of their race,
religion or socioeconomic status has the right to be free from torture and
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," added Dr. Mattson.  "As religious
leaders in America, it is our moral obligation to stand up for human rights
and call upon our government to ensure that the United States continues to
uphold the standards set forth by these international treaties and
conventions."

"Torture is about the rights of victims, but it is also about who we are as
a people," offered Dr. Colecchi.  "In a statement on Forming Consciences for
Faithful Citizenship, issued in preparation for our recent national
elections, the bishops reminded Catholics that torture is 'intrinsically
evil' and 'can never be justified.' There are some things we must never do.
We must never take the lives of innocent people.  We must never torture
other human beings."

For more information about the campaign, including a list of more than 200
religious, military, and government leaders who have endorsed its
"Declaration of Principles"

Click "Tell the President: Ban Torture!" at www.tortureisamoralissue.org

###

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing
membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and
cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006,
more than 240 religious groups have joined NRCAT, including representatives
from the Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant,
Unitarian, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Sikh
communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups,
regional organizations and local congregations.

#  #  #  END  #  #  #


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