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photo gallery - 11 January 2008
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January 11, 2008: six years since the first detainees were transported to the American Gulag at
Guantanamo Bay, six years of injustice. Chanting "Not another year, not another day,
shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay," a hundred fifty
Bay Area activists from at least seven organizations - Act Against Torture, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC),
Presente affinity group (Marin), Amnesty International USA - SF, CodePink, Global Exchange, and World Can't Wait -
hit downtown San Francisco for a spirited candlelight march from the Federal Courthouse at 7th and Market to
the Ferry Building at the foot of Market Street. Our leaflet
demanded that the government shut down Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and all other US prisons overseas; and repeal
the Military Commissions Act and restore habeas corpus.
Act Against Torture called for the candlelight march in concert with Witness Against Torture, who organized
a march in Washington, D.C. at which eighty two were arrested at the Supreme Court. Solidarity actions took place
in over seventy cities on four continents (see article on the W.A.T. website). Act Against Torture's Press Release describes the bitter occasion and AAT's demands; the press release can also be
found on IndyBay, with photos.
Thanks to the many photographers whose images appears on this page, many of which were posted originally to IndyBay.
Links to IndyBay postings and more photos can be found on our press page.
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Videos have been posted to YouTube
(thanks to katrap) and two at IndyBay
(thanks to Bill
and W@ldo Pickett)
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Act Against Torture called for activists to assemble at the Federal Courthouse (7th and Mission) at 4pm on
the day when, six years before, detainees were first transported to the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
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Activists also assembled across the street, in front of the Federal Building, where World Can't Wait
established an assembly point.
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From assembly points on either side of Seventh Street, the activists united in a procession down Market Street.
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The unofficial count had about 150 people of all ages and communities, representing at least seven
organizations, participating in the march.
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Really: all ages...
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Students from Leadership High School turned out to protest emphatically against torture and injustice.
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In jumpsuits, hoods, and chains, activists recalled the detainees subjected to torture and indefinite detention
at Guantanamo, Bagram (Afghanistan), and other U.S. military and CIA prisons around the world.
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Cardboard M16 rifles escorted chained "prisoners" down the sidewalk.
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The group's first major stop was in front of the Westfield Mall, where shoppers had to wade through a sea
of jumpsuited "prisoners."
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Chained and under guard outside Nordstrom, at Fifth and Market.
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Hooded prisoners in chains carried lit candles as they stood at the mall's entrance.
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As day faded to night, activists turned from silent marching to spirited chanting.
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World Can't Wait brought their banner demanding impeachment of the decider.
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Enthusiastic youth formed a series of impromptu traffic blockades, first at Market and Fourth Street.
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Guarded "prisoners" at Market and Fourth...
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Hooded blockaders...
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Because police weren't escorting the march (yet), the initial blockade lasted quite a long ...
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...long time before these "prisoners" decided to let the cops catch up at the next likely intersection.
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At Sansome Street, blockaders knelt in the intersection for a second time.
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A KPFA reporter interviews activists blockading the intersection...
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When the police made a nuisance of themselves, the march moved on.
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At the endpoint of the march, kneelers and others filled the street in front of the Ferry Building,
then called it a night.
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The message throughout was crystal clear...
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Like the chant said: Not another year. Not another day. Shut down the prison at Guanatanamo Bay.
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