American Anti-War Activists March in Cuba

By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
Wed Dec 7,11:54 PM ET


HAVANA - American anti-war activists marched Wednesday from the eastern Cuban city of Santiago toward the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay to protest treatment of terror suspects there.


The 25 members of the Witness Against Torture group had hoped to begin their daylong march a day earlier, but spent Tuesday negotiating with Cuban communist officials about how close they could get to the American military installation, the protesters said by telephone.

Cuba and the United States have had no diplomatic relations for more than four decades, and the American base is surrounded by a miles-wide Cuban military zone peppered with mines.

It seemed unlikely that the marchers would be allowed to cross the military zone to reach the U.S. base's gate and demand that American sentries let them visit the prisoners, as they initially had planned.

"We're really saddened and horrified by what's going on in Guantanamo and the other prisons" where the U.S. military holds terror suspects, said marcher Susan Crane of Baltimore. "Our hope is to get as close as we can (to the base)."

"We want the prisoners to know we care about them," she added.

Most of the marchers arrived Monday in Santiago, about 50 miles southwest of Guantanamo, from the Dominican Republic. Among them was Frida Berrigan, daughter of the late Phil Berrigan, a former Roman Catholic priest whose fight against the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons helped ignite a generation of anti-war dissent.

The United States holds about 500 terror suspects at the remote base in Guantanamo. The U.S. government says they are enemy combatants, not prisoners of war, and are not entitled to the same rights afforded under the Geneva Conventions.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051208/...N5bnN1YmNhdA--

Originally Posted by Gilligan

25 people? In high school we had more people marching out of my class during fire drills lol.

Well, to be fair you didn't have to first fly through canada or mexico to get outside during a fire drill.

Originally Posted by Gilligan

^ how about this

We had more than 25 people go with us to europe in high school.
We also had alot more than 25 go to cancun when i graduated.

The point is 25 people doing anything doesnt really warrent newst coverage, its kind of reaching imo.

IDK, 25 people blowning themselves up in a crowded mall is news.
And the fact that they are American citizens in Cuba protesting is a new angle.
You weren't facing any prosecution for going to cancun or europe either (I assume, i don't know what you did there).

I hope they find the time to protest on behalf of Cuba's political prisoners while there are there. But I doubt it.

Start caring about the behaviour of the government you have a civic obligation to hold to account, PB and perhaps youll gain an ounce of credibility for your rabid figer pointing everywhere else.

More of the same blind schoolyard "but look at them" whining only highlights your intellectual dishonesty.

You'd do well to turn that indictment on PB. Its not a matter of my beliefs but rather simple rational scrutiny of moral relativity and nationalistic excuses he, and you apparently, are all to ready to make for Washington whilst pointing the finger everywhere else.

Grow up gil, elementary school evasions of our nation's flagrant abrogation of international law and human rights is no way to hold our government to account.

I hope they find the time to protest on behalf of Cuba's political prisoners while there are there.

Of course they won't protest over the imprisonment of "Cubans" funded by the United States with the aim of destabilizing Cuba.