CRC Member Joins White House Vigil

Gary Mulder, a representative of the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice, took part in a vigil in front of the White House last Friday, joining others in calling on President Obama to exert stronger leadership in the situation involving the Guantanamo Bay center detainees who are on a hunger strike.

“We want to see the Guantanamo Bay detention center closed, especially in light of the hunger strike that is now taking place there by 100 of the inmates. As of May 10, the hunger strike has gone on for 93 days,” said Mulder, former director of Faith Alive Christian Resources.

Several weeks ago, Rev. Joel Boot, the executive director of the CRC, along with 38 other religious leaders, signed a letter to President Obama, sponsored by National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), calling for the closing of the center.

The letter was read at the vigil outside the White House and states, in part,

“As people of faith, we oppose torture and indefinite detention without trial because they are contrary to the inherent dignity of the human person. As the nation’s most visible and painful symbol of torture and indefinite detention, Guantanamo Bay is a constant reminder of a deep moral wound that will heal only when it is permanently closed.”

Before the vigil, Mulder attended a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

The subcommittee is looking at the government’s policies relating to Guantanamo. The hearing was co-sponsored by Congressman Gerry Connolly, R-Virginia, and NRCAT.

Among the panelists at the hearing, says Mulder, was George Hunsinger, founder of NRCAT and a professor of systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.

The government is failing to address what is becoming a dire situation for inmates, Hunsinger said, and something has to be done. “Do we realize that these prisoners are human beings?” he asked.

The panelists who addressed the subcommittee agreed that a key reason that the United States has not moved forward on this issue is the lack of moral courage – political realities seem to consistently prevent movement on matters such as this.

Many people are saying that Obama has the executive power to step in and ultimately close the center.

At the same, Obama has said he is determined, despite the political challenges, to try to close the center.