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Stop torture now. Restore habeas corpus. Scrap the
military tribunals. Springfield peace activists say they won’t give
up until those in power are persuaded to answer these crucial demands. Local justice groups will sponsor a solidarity vigil
and rally at the Capitol steps, 4:45-5:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, to urge
the repeal of the Military Commissions Act — a bill signed last year
removing the right to a fair trial from foreign detainees and instead
creating military councils to investigate war-crimes charges. Activists say the then-Republican-dominated Congress
violated the U.S. Constitution and disregarded the Geneva Conventions with
the act’s passage. “Our concern is, when one person’s rights
are violated, it opens the doors for everyone’s rights to be
violated,” local organizer Diane Lopez Hughes says. “Now is the
time to take action.”
Lopez Hughes says that the groups taking part in the
rally hope that
the new Congress will make a difference, and they may be right. The U.S.
Senate Judiciary Committee recently voted to send a proposal retaining the
right of habeas corpus for debate by the full Senate. Tuesday’s vigil and rally correspond to an
event scheduled for Washington, D.C., and will also commemorate Torture
Awareness Month. Earlier in the day, constituents will present letters
and stand outside the offices of U.S. Reps. Ray LaHood and John Shimkus,
requesting their support of future habeas corpus legislation.
“This is our Springfield version of speaking
out for justice,” says Lopez Hughes. Co-sponsors are the local American Civil Liberties
Union, Pax Christi Springfield, the Mary Wood Branch of the Women’s
International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Justice and Peace
Office of the Franciscan Sisters.
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2007.
