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06603 November 17, 2006
Presbyterians to witness against torture Jan. 19 event in L.A. will feature organizing, strategizing, prayer
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE * Two Presbyterian-founded anti-torture groups will co-sponsor a conference in Los Angeles, CA, in January to demand fair treatment of prisoners held in connection with the United States-led war on terror.
The two-day event, which will start on Jan. 19, is being sponsored by a grassroots network of Presbyterians called the No2Torture movement [http://www.no2torture.org/] along with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) [http://www.nrcat.org/], a group organized by the Rev. George Hunsinger, a Presbyterian minister and theology professor at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey.
The organizations were formed in response to allegations of human rights abuses at U.S. detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The conference at Covenant Presbyterian Church [http://www.covpresby-la.org/]in Los Angeles will focus on information and strategy for ensuring the humane treatment of detainees by the U.S. and its allies, according to the Rev. Carol Wickersham, No2Torture coordinator.
The symposium will provide updates on legislation and legal action regarding detainees. It will also include theological and ethical reflection on the implications of torture. There will be guest speakers, networking, discussion and prayer.
"In Los Angeles we will gather to strategize, network and equip ourselves to speak the truth about torture so that we might pursue justice, healing and true global security," said Wickersham, who is also a sociology professor at Beloit College in Wisconsin.
The No2Torture group held similar gatherings earlier this year in Miami, FL, and LaGrange, IL, calling for an end to inappropriate detention practices.
Organizers say the use of torture for any reason * even in the name of fighting terrorism * is immoral and ineffective, a crime against humanity that cannot be justified.
"As people of faith and patriots we must say no to torture," Wickersham said. "This work needs to take place at the grassroots (level) in congregations and communities across the country."
Scheduled speakers for the Los Angeles conference are the Rev. Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA; Richard Abel, a law professor at the University of California at Los Angeles; Philip Carter, a former U.S. Army officer turned attorney and author; Catherine Gordon, the associate for international issues in the Presbyterian Washington Office; and Shannon Parks-Beck, an activist, songwriter and musician.
They will be joined by other speakers at the event, including Hunsinger; Wickersham, and Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s 216th General Assembly in 2004.
Ufford-Chase, who is currently executive director of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, was a catalyst along with Wickersham in organizing the first meetings of the No2Torture group during the 2005 Presbyterian Peacemaking Conference.
NRCAT was launched during a conference convened by Hunsinger at Princeton seminary in January. The group represents Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions.
"Torture presents a threat to our national security and even to our democratic form of government," Hunsinger told the Presbyterian News Service earlier this year. "This is no time for complacency or for turning a blind eye to what is happening in U.S. detention facilities abroad."
Announcement of the Los Angeles symposium follows the approval of an anti-torture resolution in June by the PC(USA)'s 217th GA called "Human Rights in a Time of Terrorism and Torture."
The resolution affirms the General Assembly's opposition "to the use of torture and all forms of 'cruel, inhuman or degrading' interrogation by all agencies, employees, or agents of the United States government, and all foreign governments and/or combatants."
The document supports the application of Geneva Convention protections for all enemy soldiers and the humane treatment with due process for all combatants held by U.S. forces worldwide.
The resolution authorizes the PC(USA)'s stated clerk, in consultation with the denomination's Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy and the advisory committees on litigation and the constitution, to express support for the protection of the right of privacy for U.S. citizens against intrusion by government or private entities.
To register online for the conference, log on to the No2Torture Web site [http://www.no2torture.org/], or contact Lisa Patriquin by phone at (818) 788-3330.
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