[CIMC-work] Enemy Combatant protest 4/28 and planning meeting 4/20

[donald goldhamer]

HEADS UP
--Don
                ---------------

From: "Lou D" <lou.downey at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Enemy Combatant protest
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 2004 17:51:38 -0500

R&R! is calling an action on April 28th (the day the Supreme Court hears
the Padilla and Yaser Hamdi cases).  Time is short, but something needs
to happen here. And once the SC hearings begin, this issue will be on
many people's radar screens (or should be!). 

Along with the Patriot Act, Bush's enemy combatant order is one of the
poster childs of the police state.  Hopefully, protsts around the SC
hearings can launch a campaign of education and protest leading up to the
SC decision (expected in June).  A lawyers press conference is set for next
Tuesday (April 20th), the day the Guantanamo cases will be argued.  

We're calling a meeting also next Tue. (20th) at New World Resource Center,
6:30p.m. to plan for the April 28th protest. We plan to use the national
statement (below) as a basic political unity.  Let me know your thoughts
and if you can come Tuesday.  I'll get an email about this posted to ccclr
list soon.  

--Lou

Can the Rights of People Simply Disappear by Presidential Order?  What
does it mean when the President of the United States can on his own
designate a citizen in the U.S. as an "enemy combatant," and order the
military to hold that person incommunicado, indefinitely, and without
charges? The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding whether the courts even
have the right to question the President's action.

What does it mean when the U.S. military internationally can literally
snatch people off the street, designate them as "enemy combatants," and
assert that they are beyond the reach of either U.S. or international
law? Many are transported to a facility under total U.S. control and
funded by Congressional appropriations, where they are held
incommunicado, indefinitely, without charges and some are threatened
with trials before a military commission that falls short of basic
standards of justice.

If the Supreme Court upholds these actions, it will condone the
President's claim of virtually unlimited "wartime powers" without a
formal declaration of war by the Congress, and with no or extremely
limited oversight by the courts or the Congress.

On April 20 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the
President's alleged right to create a "law free zone" at the Guantanamo
detention center in Cuba. And on April 28, the Court will hear oral
arguments on the President's asserted right to designate citizens as
"enemy combatants," hold them at the U.S. Navy base in Charleston, SC,
and deny them the ability to challenge the lawfulness of their
detention.

We believe that the President cannot be allowed to create a "legal Black
Hole" into which people are dropped with no recourse to the courts or to
international law. Among us we hold many varied views on how and why
this situation has arisen and what is ultimately needed to ensure
justice. But we all agree that this dangerous new
presidentially-designated category of "enemy combatants" who have no
legal rights is unjust, illegal, and immoral, and cannot be allowed to
stand.

The silence over this perilous issue must be broken, and public
opposition must be manifested. Join us in front of the U.S. Supreme
Court on April 20 and April 28 to declare a resounding NO!  Legally
permitted, non-violent demonstrations will occur on both days from 9:30
am to 12:30 pm with a program of speakers beginning at 11:am.

Our future and the future of hundreds of anonymous detainees now hang in
the balance. This is a watershed event in history. What is at stake is
just how much the President will be allowed to get away with. Your
silence will be taken as assent.

[national and international organizations]
  Amnesty International USA
  Bill of Rights Defense Committee
  Blue Triangle Network
  First Amendment Foundation
  Guantanamo Human Rights Commission
  National Committee Against Repressive Legislation (NCARL)
  National Lawyers Guild
  Refuse & Resist!
  Solidarity USA

[regional and local organizations]
  Communities United Against Police Brutality (Minneapolis)
  Greensboro Justice Fund

[individuals]
  Elaine Cassel, Civil Liberties Watch
  Stephen Rohde, civil liberties lawyer

Website: http://www.nlg.org/eccases/
To endorse, email eccases at nlg.org.