| Amnesty International Launches 'Tell the Truth About
Torture, Mr. President' Campaign urges full, honest
disclosure of U.S. acts of torture during State of the Union Address
Amnesty International USA Press Release, January 19,
2006 [1-23-06]
(Washington, DC) -- Amnesty International USA today kicked off its "Tell the
Truth About Torture, Mr. President" campaign, building up to the State of
the Union address on January 31. During the two-week campaign, Amnesty
International will enlist thousands of people to urge the president to be
honest with all Americans about the U.S. government's use of torture in the
"war on terror."
"The White House has dodged the truth about torture for
too long," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Amnesty International's Executive
Director. "With reports of torture in the news virtually every day, it is
imperative the president and all in his administration end the secrecy and
end the torture. This campaign will allow thousands of Americans to demand
that torture in our names is not committed again and insist that the
president speak the truth in his State of the Union address about this
heinous crime."
As the first campaign action, Amnesty International
encourages the public to visit its Web site,
www.amnestyusa.org, to sign a
petition urging President Bush to tell the truth about the country's acts of
torture here and abroad. The Web petition is the first in a series of online
and community activities in Washington and beyond the beltway that Amnesty
International is initiating between now and the State of the Union. Actions
are being planned for after Bush's address, as well.
Amnesty International is concerned that when President
Bush last month signed the Anti-Torture Amendment -- passed overwhelming by
Congress -- he also quietly issued a legal interpretation of the amendment
through a "signing statement" asserting that he was not bound by the law
under all circumstances.
"This mixed message from the administration is one more
reason why Amnesty International is urging the Congress to establish a fully
independent and impartial commission to conduct public investigations into
the reports of abuse in U.S.-controlled detention centers, including secret
ones, around the world and to offer preventive measures to stop torture,"
Schulz added.
For more information, and to sign the petition >>
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