"Does America value human rights anymore? I question it. I look at Guantanamo Bay where the U.S. has held many people without charge or trial and treated detainees inhumanely. I look at the U.S. program of extraordinary rendition, where people not charged or tried with anything are flown to countries that we know use torture. I look at the President asking Congress on national television to codify an illegal secret prison regime. I look at all of this, and I question whether America respects human rights.
The America I believe in does not use torture. The America I believe in would close Guantanamo Bay. The America I believe in does not ‘disappear’ people into secret prisons. The America I believe in leads the world on human rights. Our first action is to hit newspapers all over the country with letters to the editor written by activists like you."
Please write your letter to the editor now.Why not an easy action, or a quick petition? Because if ever there was a time to pull out all stops, it would be now. A published letter to the editor makes a huge impact. Thousands read the letters page, including Senators, Representatives and other decision makers.
Here are three easy steps to getting a letter published:
1) Find your newspaper’s contact information by using our media directory.
media directory2) Write a letter using your own words, emphasizing these points
or use our sample letter :
- The Supreme Court’s Hamdan v. Rumsfeld ruling upheld fundamental due process protections that are found in the Geneva Conventions and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The Court also affirmed the prohibition on torture and other cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment for all those in U.S. custody or control.
- In response, the Administration has asked Congress to write into law its failed policies allowing unfair trials and secret detentions and providing immunity from prosecution for violations of the War Crimes Act.
- Anyone responsible for committing human rights violations must be held accountable. Trials and detentions must be carried out in accordance with US commitments under domestic and international law.
3)
Send us a copy of your letter . We’ll keep an eye out for your published letter.
Finally, we realize we ask a lot from our activists, and we ask often. Thank you for staying with us through this fight. We’re renewed everyday by your actions. Together, we’re slowly but steadily making a difference.
Respectfully,
Suha Dabbouseh for "The America I Believe In" campaign.
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