Torture: A Moral Issue

On this page, the Maine Council of Churches will post a variety of announcements and materials that help us all to understand and to address key peace and justice issues of our time.

Note: "MCC's Board President, The Rev. H. Roy Partridge, faculty member at Bowdoin College, has been involved in organizing this major educational initiative for Native American students."

INDIAN ISLAND , Maine - A meeting between tribal leaders and educators has sealed a partnership that will unlock opportunities for Native students and educators and for American Indian studies at three of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country.....

July 27, 2007 - NATIONAL RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE (NRCAT) Decries President Bush's Executive Order Governing CIA Treatment of Detainees

The following is a statement from Linda Gustitus, President, Board of Directors, National Religious Campaign Against Torture:

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, a coalition of more than 125 religious organizations committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees without exception, announced today its deep disappointment at the President's recently released Executive Order on the "alternative interrogation techniques" by the Central Intelligence Agency.

At the same time the Executive Order says it prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, it allows the CIA to continue to use undefined and undisclosed "alternative interrogation techniques," thereby calling into question whether the prohibition is real. In addition, the Executive Order does not close secret prisons nor prohibit sending
detainees to countries which have been known to use torture in interrogation (rendition to torture), nor assure that every detainee has access to the International Red Cross.

With the President's Executive Order and the accompanying statements of the President and the Director of the CIA, the United States Government is reaffirming its policy of treating some human beings as outside the protection of any law and of using -- in the name of national security -- techniques that push (and may in fact exceed) the limits of the definition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The U.S. government should be doing just the opposite -- affirming the right of every human being to be protected by the laws of civilized society and decrying any treatment that comes close to the edge of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The issuance of this Executive Order is another shameful step in the U.S. treatment of detainees in the "war on terror." As people of faith -- who value our common humanity and our religious responsibility to treat all people with decency and the due process protections of civilized law -- we urge the President immediately to stop the use of interrogation techniques that are cruel and inhuman, to disclose what the “alternative interrogation techniques” are, to close all secret prisons, to stop rendition to countries that torture and to give the International Red Cross access to detainees held in U.S. custody. We call on Congress to prohibit the use of any CIA funds for programs or activities that fail to treat all persons detained with decency and the protections of due process.

Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice," in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2007

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is joining the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights to sponsor a rally and lobby-day, "Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice," in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2007. You can find a flyer for the rally here.

Two to three thousand people will gather for an 11:30 a.m. rally on Capitol Hill. In the afternoon, participants will lobby their Members of Congress to end torture and secret prisons, to restore due process and fairness to our treatment of detainees, and to reform the abuses of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) by enacting the Restoring the Constitution Act (RCA). We anticipate a strong turnout by the press.

1. We ask that all NRCAT participants in the Day of Action register online with NRCAT at www.tortureisamoralissue.org. Urge your members to attend the 11:30 a.m. rally and to visit the offices of their Members of Congress between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

2. Tell your members that free bus transportation is being offered by the ACLU from certain points along the East Coast and from several cities in the Midwest. See www.juneaction.org. If you have members interested in free bus transportation, please have them register at www.juneaction.org.

3. Everyone attending must make their own appointments to meet with their Members of Congress between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. NRCAT will have materials available at the rally to use for these visits, and the materials will also be posted on our web site.

4. In addition, two or three representatives from the participating and endorsing members of NRCAT who come to D.C. for the rally and lobby-day, are invited to join us for a debriefing of the day, especially the visits with Members of the Congress, at 5:30 p.m. Clergy from your organization are invited to be present for the press conference as well. We will let you know the location of both events.

NRCAT has been invited to select four senior religious leaders of various faiths to speak at the rally. These leaders will be the primary speakers at the press conference at 10:30, will visit key Members of Congress, and will participate in the debriefing.

On April 20 the Board of Directors of the Maine Council of Churches (MCC) approved a letter to the Governor, Department of Corrections, the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and the Sheriff's Association to address issues related to the overcrowding of the state's jails and prisons. The MCC Board of Directors opposes a proposal that would transfer 125 inmates to out-of-state facilities in an effort to ease prison overcrowding. Go here to read the Board of Directors' concerns and their suggestions for alternative actions.

Maine's "Special Delivery" Campaign to Bring the Troops Home (April 18, 2007)

Win Without War coalition members and allies in Maine are planning a public campaign to send a clear message to Senators Snowe and Collins - It is time to start voting in favor of a safe, orderly and rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

The campaign is simple - an open letter from the people of Maine to our US Senators. The letter is below. Our mission is to try and get as many Mainers to sign the letter as possible.

Win Without War has a web page (www.standupcongress.org/maine) that provides all the information that volunteers need to participate in the campaign. You can find it on www.StandUpCongress.org/Maine. People will also be able to sign online at this address. The website where you will find the Maine page was designed to provide updated information on Congress and how we can impact it on the war in Iraq. It includes the "Anti-War Room" - a weekly discussion of the latest developments in Congress and advocacy strategies to end the war. You can also learn more about the Win Without War coalition and its members by going to www.winthoutwarus.org.

This is an update to the earlier announcement on this web page (January, see below). To sign onto the statement Torture is a Moral Issue, please visit the NRCAT website, www.tortureisamoralissue.org to read and sign the statement. More than 15,000 people of faith have signed, so far.

NRCAT now has 105 religious organizations (including the Maine Council of Churches) that joined in its first year of existence. NRCAT welcomes all religious organizations to join as Endorsing or Participating Members. Secular organizations are also welcome as Adjunct Members.

Please click here to go to an updated (April 2007) page to read about NRCAT's effort, and to consider signing on as an individual, a congregation (or social justice outreach group of a church) or bringing this to your denominational/judicatory group to endorse. (In September, 2006, the Maine Conference of the UCC became an endorsing member by vote of its Annual Meeting).

Torture (January 2007) In March, 2006, the MCC became one of the first ecumenical groups nationwide to endorse members of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. The NRCAT has resources available to your church group such as Bible study, and here at MCC we have a 27 minute videotape on "extraordinary renditions" and related issues (suitable for adults and college age students and mature high school students).

Now, NRCAT is looking to increase its impact in the national debate on the tactics used in the "war on terror" by increasing its endorsing membership to 50,000 in 2007. Please click here to go to an updated (April 2007) page to read about NRCAT's effort, and to consider signing on as an individual, a congregation (or social justice outreach group of a church) or bringing this to your denominational/judicatory group to endorse. (In September, 2006, the Maine Conference of the UCC became an endorsing member by vote of its Annual Meeting).

Thank you for participating in this prophetic witness for justice in our time.

Your Help is Needed to Reach 50,000 Endorsements of the Statement of Conscience of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture by January 15, 2007

Amnesty International USA
For Immediate Release
November 30, 2006

EU Must Oppose Further Complicity with U.S. Rendition Program According to Amnesty International

(Washington, DC) Amnesty International will continue to press the Council of the European Union (EU) to publicly and unequivocally oppose any further complicity in the U.S.-led rendition program within the EU. Member states must act to ensure accountability for the grave human rights violations that have already occurred including illegal transfers, torture or ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and enforced “disappearance.” The EU must call on the U.S. government to cease the current practices of rendition and illegal detention and bring to justice those who have been involved in these practices.

The need to end participation in the rendition program is underscored by the recently released findings of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee investigation into renditions and secret detention.

“The EU is playing a game of ‘hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil’ by not only refusing to acknowledge its participation in this deplorable mission but also failing to rebuke the United States for the program’s mere existence,” said Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA Executive Director. “As far as Amnesty International is concerned, silence equals endorsement.”

In the words of the committee’s rapporteur, Claudio Fava, the EU must stress that “the appropriate legal framework for governing the international fight against terrorism is criminal law and international human rights” ... “the protection of fundamental rights must never be compromised.” The draft report supports and elaborates on Amnesty International’s findings of the involvement and complicity of EU member states, candidate and associate countries, in the U.S. rendition program.

The report details evidence of direct complicity in rendition cases by security services and other authorities in Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Furthermore, it highlights that security forces of the UK, Germany, and Turkey took advantage of the situation by interrogating individuals who had been subjected to rendition.

The Temporary Committee also found evidence of at least 1245 flights by CIA aircraft that stopped over on European territory. These included 336 stopovers in Germany, 170 in UK, 147 in Ireland, 91 in Portugal, 68 in Spain, 64 in Greece, 57 in Cyprus, 21 in Romania and 11 in Poland. Out of those, several flights had the U.S. detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba as their origin or destination, including flights that stopped over in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Poland.

In light of the evidence found by Amnesty International, the EU, the media and others, each and every government must investigate the crimes that have occurred in and through European territory. While investigations have been undertaken in Spain, Germany, Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina into the renditions program and the authorities’ alleged role therein, many governments, notably Austria, Poland, Macedonia and Romania, have failed to initiate such thorough, independent and impartial investigations.

“Make no mistake, human rights violations occurred in the renditions program,” said Cox. “The lack of transparency shown by the EU Council and its bodies, including failing to fully cooperate with the Temporary Committee’s investigation, makes one wonder what other horrendous abuses may be happening in the context of the war on terror.”

The draft report supports the proposal of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to draft principles and guidelines to enhance control over the activities of domestic and foreign security services on the territory of member states; better safeguards and controls over air traffic transiting through European states; and ending impunity for the perpetrators of serious human rights violations.

The draft report makes a number of other recommendations including the call for the closure of Guantánamo Bay and for European countries to accept the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by U.S. authorities.

In addition to these recommendations, Amnesty International continues to urge all EU member sl continue to press the Council of the European Union (EU) to publicly and unequivocally oppose any further complicity in the U.S.-led rendition program within the EU. Member states must act to ensure accountability for the grave human rights violations that have already occurred including illegal transfers, torture or ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and enforced “disappearance.” The EU must call on the U.S. government to cease the current practices of rendition and illegal detention and bring to justice those who have been involved in these practices.

The need to end participation in the rendition program is underscored by the recently released findings of the European Parliament’s Temporary Committee investigation into renditions and secret detention.

“The EU is playing a game of ‘hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil’ by not only refusing to acknowledge its participation in this deplorable mission but also failing to rebuke the United States for the program’s mere existence,” said Larry Cox, Amnesty International USA Executive Director. “As far as Amnesty International is concerned, silence equals endorsement.”

In the words of the committee’s rapporteur, Claudio Fava, the EU must stress that “the appropriate legal framework for governing the international fight against terrorism is criminal law and international human rights” ... “the protection of fundamental rights must never be compromised.” The draft report supports and elaborates on Amnesty International’s findings of the involvement and complicity of EU member states, candidate and associate countries, in the U.S. rendition program.

The report details evidence of direct complicity in rendition cases by security services and other authorities in Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Furthermore, it highlights that security forces of the UK, Germany, and Turkey took advantage of the situation by interrogating individuals who had been subjected to rendition.

The Temporary Committee also found evidence of at least 1245 flights by CIA aircraft that stopped over on European territory. These included 336 stopovers in Germany, 170 in UK, 147 in Ireland, 91 in Portugal, 68 in Spain, 64 in Greece, 57 in Cyprus, 21 in Romania and 11 in Poland. Out of those, several flights had the U.S. detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba as their origin or destination, including flights that stopped over in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Poland.

In light of the evidence found by Amnesty International, the EU, the media and others, each and every government must investigate the crimes that have occurred in and through European territory. While investigations have been undertaken in Spain, Germany, Italy and Bosnia-Herzegovina into the renditions program and the authorities’ alleged role therein, many governments, notably Austria, Poland, Macedonia and Romania, have failed to initiate such thorough, independent and impartial investigations.

“Make no mistake, human rights violations occurred in the renditions program,” said Cox. “The lack of transparency shown by the EU Council and its bodies, including failing to fully cooperate with the Temporary Committee’s investigation, makes one wonder what other horrendous abuses may be happening in the context of the war on terror.”

The draft report supports the proposal of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to draft principles and guidelines to enhance control over the activities of domestic and foreign security services on the territory of member states; better safeguards and controls over air traffic transiting through European states; and ending impunity for the perpetrators of serious human rights violations.

The draft report makes a number of other recommendations including the call for the closure of Guantánamo Bay and for European countries to accept the return of their citizens and residents who are being held illegally by U.S. authorities.

In addition to these recommendations, Amnesty International continues to urge all EU member states, candidates and associate countries to ensure the accountability of intelligence agencies and make sure all countries' full cooperation with ongoing national and international investigations on rendition and secret detention, including by providing them with access to all relevant people and information.

Amnesty International has issued several reports on renditions, (see below) and the organization will continue to monitor and press for appropriate accountability at all levels.

For a copy of the reports below, please contact the AIUSA press at 202.544.0200 x302.

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AIUSA Media Contact: Sharon Singh
202.544.0200 x289