U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome Italy anti-war demonstration in Rome

Past Events


Solidarity with Bradley Manning
December 17, 2011

No to "war as usual"
March 19, 2010

Winter Soldier Europe
March 14, 2009

Palestinian Flags Flutter
Alongside Peace Banners

January 17, 2009

Close Guantanamo Now!
January 17, 1009

10-Day Vigil for Gaza
January 8-18, 2009

Supporting La'Onf
October 29, 2008

Free the Cuban 5
Sept 13, 2008

Cheney in Chains
Sept 8, 2008

No Bush, No War
June 11, 2008

May Day ILWU Solidarity Action
May 1, 2008

War Tax Day
April 15, 2008

World Social Forum Global Day of Action
Jan 26, 2008

Shut Down Guantánamo Now!
Jan 11, 2008

No U.S. Military Base in Vicenza
Dec 15, 2007

Meeting Iranian Artists
Dec 05, 2007

End the War in Iraq, No War on Iran
Oct 27, 2007

Report on Final Days of No Dal Molin Festival in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 16, 2007

Camping for Peace in Vicenza, Italy
Sept 12, 2007

Impeach Them Both +
Judiciary Fax Blast

July 23, 2007

I-M-P-E-A-C-H !
April 28, 2007

4th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
March 20, 2007

No Dal Molin, Vicenza, Italy
Feb 17, 2007

Congress: Act Now to End the War
Jan 27, 2007

No Military Bases, Vicenza, Italy
Dec 2, 2006

No War, No Cluster Bombs
Sept 23, 2006

Protest Calling for Cease-fire in Lebanon
July 26, 2006

Military Spending
Bean Poll

July 18, 2006

Stop the Escalation
in the Middle East

July 17, 2006

Refusing to Kill
July 06, 2006

Shailja Patel:
Poetry in Times
of War

July 05, 2006

Troops Home Fast
July 04, 2006

Italian Vote on
Military Missions

June 27, 2006

Peace Parade
June 02, 2006

Michael Uhl of
Veterans for Peace

April 29, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden in Plain Sight

April 26, 2006

War Tax Day
April 15, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hotel Palestine: Killing the Witness

April 12, 2006

National Anti-war Protest in Rome
March 18, 2006

Soldiers Against War
March 18, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Aristide and the Endless Revolution

March 15, 2006

Women (and men!) Say No To War
March 8, 2006

An Eyewitness Account of Post Katrina New Orleans
March 2, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Life and Debt

February 09, 2006

Vote to Renew Italian Mission in Iraq
February 09, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
February 06, 2006

NBC Today
Show Blitz

February 06, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Revolution Will
Not Be Televised

January 26, 2006

Cindy Sheehan
In Rome

January 18, 2006

Crimes & Lies:
with Dave Lindorff
and Maurizio Torrealta

January 13, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Peace Propaganda and
the Promised Land

January 12, 2006

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Oil Factor

December 15, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Plan Colombia

December 01, 2005

Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre
November 30, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Wal-Mart

November 17, 2005

Protest at U.S. Embassy: White Phosphorus in Fallujah
November 14, 2005

Control Arms Petition
at Piazza Chiesa Nuova

November 12, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Invisible Ballots

November 10, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
The Corporation

October 27, 2005

Movie Night:
Viva Zapatero

October 25, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Hidden Wars of
Desert Storm

October 13, 2005

Anti-war rally
at U.S. Embassy

Sept 24, 2005

USC4P&J Social
at the Beehive

June 22, 2005

Die-In with
Articolo 11
at Palazzo Chigi

June 21, 2005

Collecting Photos
with Control Arms

June 18, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Unconstitutional

June 16, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Outfoxed

June 09, 2005

Eyes Wide Open
Film Series
Weapons of
Mass Deception

May 19, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
May 05, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 28, 2005

Vigil at Palazzo Chigi with Articolo 11
April 21, 2005

International Day of Protest
March 19, 2005

Guantánamo – Not in Our Name!

On Friday, January 11, 2008 our group, U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice – Rome, joined Amnesty International for a protest at the U.S. Embassy calling for the immediate closure of Guantánamo and an end to illegal detention. The protest was part of an international day of action in occasion of the sixth anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at the notorious U.S. detention center. (See original appeal)

Thousands participated in protests throughout the world, many at U.S. embassies, with the largest demonstrations in Sydney, London and Washington DC, where 80 activists were arrested at the Supreme Court. Most of those arrested were still being held late Saturday as they refused to give their real names to the judge and instead gave names of detainees so that the names would finally be heard in a courtroom.

In Rome, Amnesty activists joined by Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of European Parliament, wore orange jumpsuits and held a banner “Chiudere Guantánamo Ora” in front of the U.S. Embassy and an impressive police presence. Our group held orange signs reading “Shut Down Guantánamo Now” and “End Illegal Detention.” We also wore orange ribbons to remember the nearly 300 detainees who are still being held, without charge.

The Italian and international press asked how we felt about this being done in our name. We replied that detaining people for years without charge, subjecting them torture and abuse and denying them a fair trial could only be described as a national disgrace. And telling us it is in the interest of “national security” is downright offensive.

We were also asked what chances there are of change with the upcoming presidential elections. While all Democratic candidates as well as two Republicans (John McCain and Ron Paul) have said they want to close Guantánamo – a positive sign that public opinion has forced the issue into the campaign – it will be our responsibility to keep the pressure on and make sure this doesn't become an empty promise. (Send a message to the candidates)

Later that night, we walked through the tourist areas of Rome, including the Pantheon, Piazza Navona as well as the bars of Campo de' Fiori, wearing Shut Down Guantánamo signs and handing out 300 bi-lingual flyers with the appalling facts and figures on the prison. The Friday night after dinner crowd was especially lively in Trastevere where we engaged a number of Italians, tourists and U.S. citizens living in Rome who were curious to know more about the issues and our group.

All in all, we did our best to get the message across: enough is enough! Unfortunately, there is still much work to be done. As the world protested illegal detention Friday, a U.S. appeals court dismissed a case by four former detainees against then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and 10 military commanders for damages caused by torture, abuse and violations of their religious rights. The court ruled that the defendants “enjoyed qualified immunity for acts taken within the scope of their government jobs.” And it was the court's opinion that “torture is a foreseeable consequence of the military's detention of suspected enemy combatants.”

These injustices, perpetrated by our own 'justice' systems, are what we will continue fighting against. And against all the odds, we are sincerely hoping that this will be the last anniversary we'll find ourselves marking.

Stephanie Westbrook
Anna Farkas

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See also

» Amnesty International
» Witness Against Torture

» Amnesty Italia
» chiudereguantanamo.it

» Guantanamo Fact Sheet
» Faces of Guantanamo

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Ongoing/Future Events


Our Eyes Wide Open Film Series is suspended; for further information click here.


Upshot of our Nov. 9th group discussion on current politics:

It wasn't the Russians that got us Trump. Or Comey. Or even the massive GOP election fraud. It was the DNC.*
*Dem National Committee

To learn how to stop the DNC from delivering us another Trump, read Autopsy: the Democratic Party in Crisis.


Photo of a school in Yemen bombed by Saudi Arabian jets supplied by the U.S. and fueled in the air by the U.S. Air Force. Tell Trump to STOP THIS CARNAGE, not fuel it! Click here.

Also participate in the CodePink email and/or phone initiative:




Click here to sign a petition, to put an end to the sanctions against Syria - their only effect is to take a terrible toll on the population, causing them to migrate! And click here to see the video by the Italian Committee to lift sanctions against Syria.



Iraq Deaths Estimator
Did someone tell you that U.S. military intervention in Iraq was over? Not true: we're at it again. This time the pretext to drop bombs is "curbing ISIS" (which was created by the U.S. in the first place, to overturn al-Malaki in Iraq and then Assad in Syria, and is now out of hand. Like what happened to "our" creature al Qaeda in Afghanistan). And the death toll continues to rise...
Write your senators and tell them: "Enough! U.S. out!! Iraq has shown it can curb ISIS by itself!"

Copyright © 2008 Stephanie Westbrook Anna Farkas  All rights reserved.
U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice - Rome, Italy