FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2013
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Religious Leaders Issue Renewed Call on Senate to Close Guantanamo
Washington, D.C. – Forty-three prominent faith leaders wrote to senators today to ask them to support provisions that would allow the U.S. government to take practical steps toward drawing down the prisoner population at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and eventually closing the detention center for good. The key provisions are contained in the current Senate version of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and are likely to be voted on before the end of this year. The text of the letter and the names of the signers are below.
In the letter, the religious leaders tell senators that “these are practical, common sense provisions which place our great nation on the path toward solving the seemingly intractable problems posed by Guantanamo. In an era of austerity, they also provide good stewardship of taxpayer dollars by helping to eliminate wasteful spending. More importantly, they begin to address a serious moral dilemma – our nation cannot be a beacon of liberty and justice while continuing to operate an offshore prison which disregards the rule of law. It is time for us to end this moral crisis.”
Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, which coordinated the letter, and one of the letter’s signatories, noted, “As a minister, I understand the power of symbols. Guantanamo is a symbol of torture and indefinite detention. It is a place that was created to exist outside the basic values of our nation. Guantanamo should have never been opened, and we should move to close it as soon as reasonably possible.”
Matt Hawthorne, Policy Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, added, “The letter shows that the faith community believes that it is past time to close Guantanamo. A vote in favor of these provisions is a vote in favor of common sense, fiscal discipline, and American values.”
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 325 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.
www.nrcat.org
November 18, 2013
The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Leader
317 Russell Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
cc: Members of the U.S. Senate
Dear Senator,
The undersigned leaders of various faith backgrounds ask you to support sections 1031, 1032, and 1033 of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of S. 1197 (the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act). These provisions, while still restrictive, would allow our government to take practical steps toward drawing down the prisoner population in Guantanamo Bay and eventually closing the detention center.
Although we are of many faiths, we share common convictions which lead us to support closing Guantanamo. First, we believe that torture is morally wrong. Second, both as people of faith and as Americans, we believe that indefinite detention without charge or trial is contrary to the founding values of our country. Guantanamo is a place where prisoners were tortured and where the vast majority of the detainees continue to be held indefinitely without charge or trial. Closing it is the right thing to do.
More than half of the prisoners in Guantanamo have been held there for years despite having been cleared for transfer. Section 1031 would simplify the process of transferring detainees if they are not a threat to the United States or if their transfer is in the national security interest of the United States. It also provides a process for transferring prisoners who, in the future, are determined to no longer pose any threat to the United States. These are reasonable changes and should be supported.
Many of the detainees in Guantanamo face serious threats to their health. Section 1032 allows for temporary transfers for medical treatment when that treatment is necessary to prevent death or imminent significant injury or harm, and it would be excessively costly to treat the detainee in Guantanamo. This is an important humanitarian provision that will also save our country money and should be supported.
The right to a trial is a core American value. Many of the detainees in Guantanamo have been there for over a decade, yet still have no real prospect of facing trial or justice. So far, military commissions have encountered seemingly endless delays and have produced seven convictions at a cost of nearly $600 million. Section 1033 gives the government the option of trying detainees in federal courts when doing so is in the national security interest of the United States. This is a reasonable provision that may finally lead to the trial of many Guantanamo detainees. It should be supported.
Though limited, these are practical, common sense provisions which place our great nation on the path toward solving the seemingly intractable problems posed by Guantanamo. In an era of austerity, they also provide good stewardship of taxpayer dollars by helping to eliminate wasteful spending. More importantly, they begin to address a serious moral dilemma – our nation cannot be a beacon of liberty and justice while continuing to operate an offshore prison which disregards the rule of law. It is time for us to end this moral crisis.
Please support Sections 1031, 1032, and 1033 of the Senate Armed Services Committee version of S. 1197.
Sincerely,
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Bishop Rosemarie Wenner
President, The Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
General Secretary
American Baptist Churches USA
Kavneet Singh
General Secretary
World Sikh Council - America Region
Archbishop Vicken Aykazian
Legate
Armenian Church of America
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Joel Boot
Executive Director
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Rev. Peter Morales
President
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Stanley J. Noffsinger
General Secretary
Church of the Brethren
Rev. Dr. Tom De Vries
General Secretary
Reformed Church in America
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director of Interfaith & Community Alliances
Islamic Society of North America
Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Executive Director
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz
President and CEO
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Diane Randall
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Jim Winkler
General Secretary
United Methodist General Board of Church and Society
Rev. Richard Killmer
Executive Director
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Barbara Weinstein
Director
Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
Sandy Sorensen
Director of Washington Office
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Sr. Simone Campbell
Executive Director
NETWORK: A Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Sr. Patricia J. Chappell
Executive Director
Pax Christi USA
Shan Cretin
General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee
Rabbi Robert Dobrusin
Co-Chair
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Very Rev. John Edmunds, S.T.
President
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Patrick Carolan
Executive Director
Franciscan Action Network
Dr. Craig M. Watts
Co-Moderator
Disciples Peace Fellowship
Gerry Lee
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Rev. Laura Everett
Executive Director
Massachusetts Council of Churches
Rev. Steve Copley
Director
Arkansas Interfaith Alliance
Rev. J. George Reed
Executive Director
North Carolina Council of Churches
Adrian Miller
Executive Director
Colorado Council of Churches
David Leslie
Executive Director
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Rev. Scott Anderson
Executive Director
Wisconsin Council of Churches
Rev. Dr. Russ Meyer
Executive Director
Florida Council of Churches
Rev. William Barter
Executive Director
Maine Council of Churches
Linda Lee Snyder
Interim Executive Director
New Hampshire Council of Churches
Joan Diefenbach
Executive Director
New Jersey Council of Churches
Rev. Sandra L. Strauss
Director of Public Advocacy
Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Rev. Canon Peg Chemberlin
Executive Director
Minnesota Council of Churches
Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Rev. Brian McLaren
Author/Speaker
Rev. Dr. Jerry D. Campbell
President
Claremont Lincoln University
