Since 2001 the Peace & Neutrality Alliance (PANA) has campaigned against the use of Shannon Airport by US troops.

On the 23rd of May President Obama is visiting Ireland. PANA and its member organisations, including Shannonwatch, are using the visit to highlight international support for their campaign. They are inviting organisations around the world to confirm their support by adding their signature to this statement:

So far 51 organisations have signed up ...

Adapted from http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2010/06/23/write-to-the-forgotten-prisoners-in-guantanamo/

A letter can literally go a long way in helping to relieve the ordeal of men who have been incarcerated in the world’s most notorious prison for close to a decade, without charge or trial in any fair or recognised legal system. After years of neglect, torture, abuse, cruel and unusual treatment the remaining prisoners at Guantánamo Bay still have no light at the end of the tunnel. Their strength and resilience has been in their faith, whilst their patience has been tested to the extreme.

Writing a letter to them might not secure their release or replace their lost years, but it can give a person who feels abandoned by the world a little solace and hope. Testimony from released prisoners bears witness to that.

Former Guantánamo prisoner and Al-Jazeera journalist Sami Al-Hajj said: