NCC Sponsors Rally for Guantanamo Bay Prisoners' Rights
At 6 pm EST, the group will attend a Guantanamo Due Process Interfaith Prayer/Reflection Service
Following several months of prayer and preparation, the National Council of Churches, in conjunction with the Center for Constitutional Rights, Fellowship of Reconciliation, American Civil Liberties Union and the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission, began their activities to support the prisoners currently detained at Guantanamo, Cuba, March 8, 2004.
The day began with a press conference in Washington D.C., which was lead by the Rev. Dr. Robert W Edgar, General Secretary for the NCC USA. Following the press briefing, several prominent church-heads led the Guatanamo Due Process Deputation on the walk to the White House to deliver letters to urge due process for the Guantanamo detainees.
Afterward, the group held a Due Process Deputation Press Conference, focusing on the Guantanamo prisoners’ families and the faith-based groups that support them. Speakers included Terry Waite, former advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury and former Beirut hostage detained for more than 1,700 days by Hezbollah.
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At 6pm (EST), the group will attend a Guantanamo Due Process Interfaith Prayer/Reflection Service, led by the Rev. Roger J Gench, Pastor, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA.
Participants include: Nadine Strossen, President of ACLU; Ron Daniels, Executive Director of the CCR; Gareth Peirce, Senior UK Human rights lawyer; Corin Redgrave, Founder of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission and actor; Rabbi David Goldberg, Massoud Shadjareh, Islamic Human Rights Commission; Vanessa Redgrave, co-founder of the Guantanamo Human Rights Commission; Margaret Drabble, UK-based author. Music by Peter Yarrow with Bethany Yarrow, and the InKlein Quartet.
The Guantanamo Human Rights Commission and their supporters have campgainged for the rights of the prisoners that are held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Commission is asking for the ensured rights of the prisoners, as specified by American and International law, for a due process for the prisoners to argue their innocence.
For more information on the rally, which is slated to last through Wednesday, please visit www.nccusa.org.
