Dear friends,
Let's find out the truth! Sign the petition for an independent investigation into Bush’s War on Terror.
Sign the petition hereThis week, the US Senate is taking its tentative first steps towards establishing an independent commission into Bush’s War on Terror -- an open investigation into torture, detention, wiretapping and illegal transfers to secret prisons across the globe. This is a major development, but as expected there are very nervous and powerful interests who want to bury it. A Commission of Inquiry is essential to unravel the full extent of eight years of cover-ups, to hold those responsible to account and to prevent such injustice from happening again. It would send a powerful message that the US wants to repair the damage done to human rights by the Bush years, while strengthening the fight against terrorism. But without a massive global and US show of support, champion US Senators may not rally the numbers needed to have this commission established. Sign the petition -- which will be presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee before they make their decision this week -- and help get an inquiry with real teeth over the line: http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror After 8 damaging years, this campaign for justice has a lot to unearth. The hearing this week will begin a process throughout 2009, and as this petition grows, our voices will be submitted to decision makers at every opportunity. But it all starts with a thorough and unflinching Commission of Inquiry - not just to end impunity, but to make sure that the abductions, deaths and disappearances of Guantanamo are never repeated. Worryingly, the so-called War on Terror is not yet over. Last week the Obama’s Department of Justice argued, as they had under Bush, that detainees at the US facility in Bagram, Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their detention. Conversely, in a major turnaround it was separately announced that the only remaining ‘enemy combatant’ on US soil is finally to be tried by a US civilian court. These conflicting decisions reveal an Administration still making up its mind. Now is the time to draw a line in the sand with a bi-partisan Commission that puts the past behind us and empowers an Administration committed to human rights, definitively rejecting torture, refusing to arbitrarily detain and championing the rule of law in its fight against terrorism and in all its global dealings. http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror As long as the wrongdoing of the Bush years is kept secret and those practices unaccounted for or allowed to continue, mistrust and violence between nations will flourish. Let's plant a seed of hope, understanding a shared commitment by reading this dark page in history before we turn it. With hope, Brett, Alice, Pascal, Ricken, Paula, Ben, Graziela, Luis, Paul, Iain, Milena, Veronique - and the entire Avaaz team More information on the Commission of Inquiry:http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-25-voa58.cfm What Amnesty says about a Commission: Investigation, prosecution, remedyhttp://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/151/2008/en Some options for the Administrationhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/weekinreview/22shane.html More about the Senate Judiciary Committeehttp://judiciary.senate.gov/
Let's find out the truth! Sign the petition for an independent investigation into Bush’s War on Terror.
Sign the petition hereThis week, the US Senate is taking its tentative first steps towards establishing an independent commission into Bush’s War on Terror -- an open investigation into torture, detention, wiretapping and illegal transfers to secret prisons across the globe. This is a major development, but as expected there are very nervous and powerful interests who want to bury it. A Commission of Inquiry is essential to unravel the full extent of eight years of cover-ups, to hold those responsible to account and to prevent such injustice from happening again. It would send a powerful message that the US wants to repair the damage done to human rights by the Bush years, while strengthening the fight against terrorism. But without a massive global and US show of support, champion US Senators may not rally the numbers needed to have this commission established. Sign the petition -- which will be presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee before they make their decision this week -- and help get an inquiry with real teeth over the line: http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror After 8 damaging years, this campaign for justice has a lot to unearth. The hearing this week will begin a process throughout 2009, and as this petition grows, our voices will be submitted to decision makers at every opportunity. But it all starts with a thorough and unflinching Commission of Inquiry - not just to end impunity, but to make sure that the abductions, deaths and disappearances of Guantanamo are never repeated. Worryingly, the so-called War on Terror is not yet over. Last week the Obama’s Department of Justice argued, as they had under Bush, that detainees at the US facility in Bagram, Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their detention. Conversely, in a major turnaround it was separately announced that the only remaining ‘enemy combatant’ on US soil is finally to be tried by a US civilian court. These conflicting decisions reveal an Administration still making up its mind. Now is the time to draw a line in the sand with a bi-partisan Commission that puts the past behind us and empowers an Administration committed to human rights, definitively rejecting torture, refusing to arbitrarily detain and championing the rule of law in its fight against terrorism and in all its global dealings. http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror As long as the wrongdoing of the Bush years is kept secret and those practices unaccounted for or allowed to continue, mistrust and violence between nations will flourish. Let's plant a seed of hope, understanding a shared commitment by reading this dark page in history before we turn it. With hope, Brett, Alice, Pascal, Ricken, Paula, Ben, Graziela, Luis, Paul, Iain, Milena, Veronique - and the entire Avaaz team More information on the Commission of Inquiry:http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-25-voa58.cfm What Amnesty says about a Commission: Investigation, prosecution, remedyhttp://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/151/2008/en Some options for the Administrationhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/weekinreview/22shane.html More about the Senate Judiciary Committeehttp://judiciary.senate.gov/
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