MN Rep Keith Ellison to speak at Town Hall form on Torture Accountability 8/13

[annm4peace]

(the anniversary was Aug 1st)

on Aug 3 Rep Keith Ellison released a press release comment on the 10th Anniversary of the torture memo's. although it is more than other Reps have released. It is far less than what many "progressive" democrats have campaigned on. The progressive community has pressured Ellison on what is his position is on the criminality of US authoring and ordering torture.

Here is Rep Ellison's comment on Aug 3, 2012.

MINNEAPOLIS—On the 10th anniversary of the Bush Administration’s “torture memos,” which authorized the use of “enhanced” interrogation techniques, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) reaffirmed that U.S. law should uphold human rights and never allow torture.

“Torture is always wrong,” he said. “We are a nation of laws, and those who break them should be held accountable. I am grateful that President Obama outlawed U.S.-sanctioned torture so soon after his inauguration, finally ending a dark chapter in American history.”

Reports of cruel and inhumane detainee treatment at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prison rattled the nation after Bush Administration officials authorized interrogation techniques widely regarded as torture on August 1, 2002. Despite legislative efforts to end the practice, detainees such as Maher Arar were still tortured through U.S. extraordinary rendition.

“At a time when the world is focused on human rights violations in countries such as Syria and North Korea, it is crucial for the United States to lead by example and uphold the dignity of all people,” Ellison said. “As Americans and responsible world citizens, we should acknowledge the legacy of the torture memos so we may set high standards. We should recommit ourselves to making sure these violations never happen again.”



We hope his participation in the forum is stronger in calling for accountability. If this is the best our "progressive" Democrat leaders will do then it won't be the Democrats that restore justice.


Town Hall Forum: “Ending Torture Now: Moving Forward by Looking Back wards”

Monday, August 13, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Mayflower Church United Church of Christ (UCC), 106 East Diamond Lake Road (Near 35W and East 54th Street), Minneapolis. Free off street parking.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison will join with Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program at UMN, and Doug Johnson, former executive director of the Center for Victims of Torture for a discussion around the 10th anniversary of the Bush Justice Department's so-called "torture memos," written by former Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay Bybee on August 1, 2002.

In reference to the so-called torture memos, Gary King, spokesperson for Amnesty International, said, "The memos were written to provide a legal fig leaf to hide horrible and often deadly abuses of prisoners, including water-boarding. When they became public, some were rescinded by the Bush administration. But to this day," King continued, "Bush administration officials are bragging about our journey into war crimes, and offering to do it again. President Obama has said we did in fact torture people, but none of the policy makers, no one who authorized or ordered torture, has been held accountable. And some of the Bush administration tactics—for example, secret prisons and rendering prisoners to countries that torture—may well be continuing under the Obama Administration."

Free and open to the public. Organized by: Amnesty International and WAMM’s Tackling Torture at the Top (T3) Committee.