Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Shut Guantánamo - candlelight vigil

london.gtmo [at] gmail.com (London Guantánamo Campaign) | 05.02.2012 14:55 | London

Braving sub-zero temperatures on Friday evening in the capital, around two dozen human rights activists joined the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) outside the US Embassy in Mayfair, London, for a candlelight vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the campaign's regular "Shut Down Guantánamo!" demonstrations outside the Embassy. Performances were also given by Actors for Human Rights and poet Sergio Amigo

Braving sub-zero temperatures on Friday evening in the capital, around two dozen human rights activists joined the London Guantánamo Campaign (LGC) outside the US Embassy in Mayfair, London, for a candlelight vigil to mark the fifth anniversary of the campaign's regular "Shut Down Guantánamo!" demonstrations outside the Embassy.

The LGC has held a regular protest outside the US Embassy in London, first on a weekly basis, until August 2008 and on a monthly basis since then, ever since February 2007 (report of the first ever demo: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/362319.html). The purpose of the protest is simple enough:  shut down Guantánamo Bay and other similar prisons, return the British residents to the UK and ensure justice for the remaining prisoners, of whom there are currently 171. During that time, 6 of the 8 remaining British residents held prisoner there have been released. Only Shaker Aamer, a Saudi national with a British family in south London http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/shakeraamer/ and Ahmed Belbacha, an Algerian national who once resided in Bournemouth http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/ahmedbelbacha/  remain, both without charge or trial for over a decade.

In that period, activists have been joined by other groups, including local Amnesty International and Stop The War groups as well as visitors to the capital. The regular demonstration has included special actions held in solidarity with accused Wikileaks whistleblower Private Bradley Manning and other US prisoners, with Canadian child soldier Omar Khadr during his military tribunal, and to mark the tenth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan.

To mark the fifth anniversary, activists were joined by performances by actor and poet Sergio Amigo reading poems by Guantánamo prisoners http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCDC81P5i58&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL and actor Naoufal Ousellam from Actors for Human Rights (www.iceandfire.co.uk) provided a reading of the Binyam Mohamed verbatim passage from The Rendition Monologues http://iceandfire.co.uk/outreach/scripts/rendition-monologues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8deBsuyd95A&feature=plcp&context=C35265eeUDOEgsToPDskIOSFz_VuukEXo2doUOMrnX

Binyam Mohamed, a British resident from Ethiopia, returned to the UK in February 2009 after a seven year nightmare. Prior to his release, the London Guantánamo Campaign held a large campaign calling for his return, including a six day continuous vigil outside the US Embassy in London and a 30th "birthday party" for Binyam opposite Downing Street: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/07/404536.html?c=on#c200488

171 prisoners remain at Guantánamo Bay after 10 years, many without charge or trial. The campaign to close Guantánamo Bay and end its regime of torture and arbitrary detention without trial will continue. Please join the LGC at the next monthly demonstration on Thursday 1st March 2012 at 12-1pm outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1A 1AE and then 1.15-2.15pm outside Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park, opposite Marble Arch.

Other actions coming up:

11th February: Guantánamo Chain Gang: Free Shaker Aamer (to mark Shaker's 10th year in Guantánamo): ASSEMBLE 12 NOON outside NORTHCOTE RD BAPTIST CHURCH, NORTHCOTE RD, LONDON SW11 6DB - organised by the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign

Walking slowly in chains through the streets of Battersea and Clapham Junction to a rally at the Battersea Islamic Culture and Education Centre, Falcon Road, SW11 2PF 

14th February: Guantánamo Chain Gang at the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, W1A, 2pm - organised by the Save Shaker Aamer Campaign

On Tuesday 14 February, Shaker will have been in Guantanamo for 10 years. Please join us at the US Embassy, London, to hand in cards and petitions for President Obama.

Banners, drums and noise welcome.

More details: ssac.contact[at]gmail.com www.saveshaker.org

More media on the 3 February vigil:

http://www.demotix.com/news/1033393/london-guant-namo-campaign-candlelit-vigil

http://lenebarbephotography.blogspot.com/2012/02/london-guantanamo-campaigners-outside.html

http://www.demotix.com/news/1032593/shut-down-guantanamo-candlelight-vigil-london

http://www.demotix.com/news/1032594/london-guant-namo-campaigners-outside-american-embassy

 

London Guantánamo Campaign

http://londonguantanamocampaign.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Guant%C3%A1namo-Campaign/114010671973111

http://twitter.com/shutguantanamo

 









london.gtmo [at] gmail.com (London Guantánamo Campaign)
- Original article on IMC London: http://london.indymedia.org/articles/11611

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech