Overture seeks to condemn America’s ‘mistreatment of prisoners’
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, January 10, 2006
The Presbytery of San Francisco will vote on a proposed overture Tuesday night seeking to condemn the “U.S. Government’s mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.”
The overture, proposed by the session of Calvary Presbyterian Church, was approved Oct. 3 by the presbytery’s Bills and Overtures Committee and received its first reading at the presbytery’s Nov. 10 meeting. If approved by the presbytery Jan. 10, the overture will go to the 217th General Assembly, which will meet in Birmingham on June 15-22.
Without offering any proof, the overture provides a litany of accusations charging that the actively was involved “in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or in transporting persons into detention in nations with known records of brutality.”
The overture calls on Congress to appoint a special commission to investigate “whether any official or officer of the United States Government bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States.”
It also calls on the Attorney General of the United States to appoint a “special counsel with full authority to investigate and prosecute” any such official or officer.
In contrast, the Presbyterian Council for Chaplains and Military Personnel, in a letter released last week, said it “cannot verify any allegations about torture by American Forces” or “confirm that illegal torture has been conducted by members of any governmental agency of the United States.”
The letter stated that the group supports the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but that it “does not … either affirm or condemn the present Presidential Administration, any Member of Congress and her/his staff, or any governmental agency for their position on the issue,” the organization said.
The complete text of the proposed overture is as follows:
The Presbyterian Initiative Against Torture.
An Overture to the 217th General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
2006
I The Presbytery of San Francisco moves the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.) in 2006, to adopt the following Overture, a petition to the Attorney General and to the Congress of the United States and instruction to the Stated Clerk:
(1) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) petitions the Congress of the United States to convene an investigative body with the independence, stature, and broad investigative powers of the September 11th Commission to inquire into whether any official or officer of the United States Government bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or in transporting persons into detention in nations with known records of brutality and torture; to publish its findings and, if appropriate, to recommend the appointment of a special prosecutor if one has not been previously appointed.
(2) The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) petitions the Attorney General of the United States to obtain the appointment of a special counsel with full authority to investigate and prosecute any official or officer of the United States Government who bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere or, in transporting persons into detention in nations which have known records of brutality and torture.
(3) The 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A.) directs the Stated Clerk to petition the Congress and the Attorney General of theUnited States to undertake the remedial actions described in this overture; to inform the congregations of this church of the adoption of this overture, and to coordinate the efforts of our congregations in furtherance of the overture; to cooperate with other denominations and groups as appropriate to realize the goals advanced by this overture; to make its contents public, and to persist in urging the Congress and Attorney General of the United States to respond to its call for action.
II
As members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we declare that the following acts shock the Christian conscience and are a cause for Christian repentance:
- (1) torture and related violations of law by military and civilian agents of the Government of the United States in the maltreatment of persons detained at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, and elsewhere;
- (2) forcible transportation of persons into the custody of nations with known records of brutality and torture. (See Minutes, 2004 Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, Part I, pages 902, 903.)
As citizens of the United States, members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we openly admit our shame at allegations and disclosures of these acts and condemn such acts as a repudiation of the high standards of decency and morality to which our nation has historically held itself, its officials, officers, and armed forces. Justice, fidelity to the rule of law, affirmation of the moral authority and honor of the United States and of its armed forces, and the preservation of an open democratic society demand:
- (1) that an independent inquiry be conducted into whether any official or officer of the United States Government bears direct or command responsibility for having ordered or participated in violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib Prison, or elsewhere, or in transporting persons into detention in nations with known records of brutality and torture, and that the findings of such inquiry be entered into the public record.
- (2) that violations of law in the mistreatment of persons detained by the Government of the United States or transported by it for detention in nations with known records of brutality and torture cease, and be prosecuted and punished regardless of the rank or station of the offender.
Responding to those concerns, the Session of Calvary Presbyterian Church of San Francisco moves the Presbytery of San Francisco to move the foregoing Overture before the 217 th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).