1. Call Your Representative Today to Close the SOA/WHINSEC!

SOA Watch has received confirmation that this week Congress will vote on an amendment to close the School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/ WHINSEC). Representatives Jim McGovern and John Lewis will introduce an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill to cut funding for the school!

It’s been a year since our last vote in Congress, and the work of thousands of people like you across the Americas who care about justice has gotten us to where we are today. Let's seize this opportunity to make history in the defense for human rights!

We expect a close vote in the House this week, and we need as many people as possible flooding the offices of Members of Congress with calls in support of a YES vote on the amendment! We need you to call, email and fax Congress every day until the vote happens. Tell your family and friends to do the same!

Please take the time to call the DC office of your Representative through the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant.

Suggested Message: "I am calling Representative ________ to urge her/him to vote YES on the McGovern amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. This amendment is a cut in funding for the School of the Americas/ WHINSEC. New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. The governments of Costa Rica, Argentina and Uruguay have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Voting YES on this amendment sends a positive human rights message to Latin America and will help to improve the U.S. image abroad. As an elected official in Washington D.C., I hope you will represent me and vote YES on any amendment in the House that would cut funding for the school."

In 1997 the COB officially called for a close to the school: “THEREFORE be it resolved that the Church of the Brethren General Board calls upon our government to close the US Army School of the Americas. Human rights abuses such as murder, torture, and false imprisonment, as well as political instability and lack of criminal accountability, are all part of the school's dubious history. The US government must take a leadership role in bringing foreign diplomacy into the open, fostering an honest dialogue between all nations of the earth. We stand with those who have fallen victim to the acts of violence committed by School of the Americas graduates, and call for those who are responsible to be brought into accountability. As people who take seriously Christ's call to peacemaking, we must oppose our government's facilitation of these activities so contrary to God's greatest commandment "love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself" - Luke 10:27.” (GB Statement, 1997)

2. "Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice"- June 26, 2007

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) 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 at:

http://action.aclu.org/site/DocServer/flyer-v2_sm_a.pdf?docID=1361

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.

This is an important NRCAT project, and we hope that each member religious organization will participate and invite their members to attend. Here are the details:

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.

The Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office has joined our ecumenical partners and other communities of faith and faith-based organizations in endorsing the following statement by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT):

Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions.

3. HBO's Film "Ghost of Abu Ghraib" in Your Congregation October 21-28

In a nation-wide project called "Spotlight on Torture," the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has arranged for DVD copies of "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" to be available to 1,000 congregations, on a first come, first served basis – 50 were given out during the week of June 10-17 and 950 will be given out during the week of October 21-28. From October 21-28, congregations can choose the date and time they wish to schedule a screening and discussion. "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib," an 80-minute HBO film, features the familiar and very disturbing pictures of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and raises many questions: How did torture become an accepted practice at Abu Ghraib? Did U.S. government policies make it possible? How much damage has the aftermath of Abu Ghraib had on America's credibility as a defender of freedom and human rights around the world? Acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy looks beyond the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context in which torture occurred. To each of the 1,000 congregations participating in the Spotlight on Torture project, NRCAT will provide:

• A free copy of the DVD
• A facilitator’s guide for leading a discussion after the film is shown
• A copy of “Torture is a Moral Issue” – a statement that could be endorsed by those attending the screening and discussion, and by others in your congregation
• Suggestions of action steps that could be taken by your congregation to end U.S.-sponsored torture
• Resources providing further background about U.S.-sponsored torture.

Go to http://www.nrcat.org/spotlight.aspx for participation details.

This film is for mature audiences only - This 80-minute film makes extensive use of the photographs from Abu Ghraib. These images and some of the interviews are extremely intense. The film contains numerous photos with male nudity. It is only suitable for mature audiences. We at NRCAT have undertaken the Spotlight on torture project because we believe that “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” will help people of faith deepen their understanding of the nature of U.S.-sponsored torture.

Brethren Witness/Washington Office encourages all Brethren congregations and districts to participate in a screening of “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. Please call Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 1(800)785-3246 to let us know if you will be hosting a screening so we can tell other Brethren congregations in your area. Brethren have long understood from scripture that all individuals are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and therefore worthy of honor and respect by other human beings (1 John 4:20); and that Jesus calls us to love our enemies (Luke 6:27) and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12).