Six years after the first prisoners arrived at Guantánamo, wear orange is a way to to raise public awareness and strengthen the movement to demand an end to torture and indefinite detention.
Last January 11, about 40 people were arrested inside the Court building and another 40 on the steps. All 80 have been released, but many were denied food and water for most of the 30-some hours they were detained. The arrests followed a solemn march from the National Mall of 400 persons that included a procession of activists dressed like the Guantánamo prisoners in orange jumpsuits and black hoods.
That day was declared by a group of organizations of United States an International Day of Action to Shut Down Guantánamo and the participants hold a permitted demonstration at the National Mall followed by an orange jumpsuit procession to the Supreme Court. The initiative was endorsed by over 100 groups and that included 83 events around the world.
Witness Against Torture, a member group of UFPJ, has been a leading force in the efforts to shut down the detention center at Guantánamo. Two years ago the organization drew international attention after it walked to Guantánamo to visit the prisoners. Upon its return, the group has organized vigils, marches, nonviolent direct actions and educational events to expose and decry the administration’s lawlessness, build awareness about torture and indefinite detention, and forge human ties with the prisoners at Guantánamo and their families.
Witness Against Torture has teamed up with Amnesty International (http://www.amnestyusa.org/) and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (http://www.nrcat.org/) to hold the last demonstration
They also promoted solidarity demonstrations in Chicago, Miami, London and Paris, with more being added every day. They also also encouraged people around the world to wear orange t-shirts, armbands or other orange clothing to mark the protest sugesting “Wherever you are, we encourage you to wear orange” and “Consider wear one of Witness Against Torture’s Orange “Shut Down Guantánamo” T-shirts, an ACLU arm band, or even an orange jump suit. See the website. See a full list of endorsers.