Update Feb 16: The City Council rejected the Guantanamo measure 4-1, with four abstentions.
It also approved a resolution calling for the "immediate end to the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment" of Wikileaks whisteblower Bradley Manning, the Army private being held in a military prison on charges of leaking classified documents.
Yesterday's post
Tonight's the night, Berkeley watchers. The City Council will consider a resolution inviting former Guantanamo detainees who have been cleared of illegality to take up residence there.
You can peruse the resolution here. It reads:
The Peace and Justice Commission, consistent with its mandate to promote peace and justice, locally, nationally and internationally, recommends that the United States lift its ban on the domestic repatriation of cleared Guantanamo detainees and that following the removal of this legal impediment, that assistance be given for their safe resettlement to the United States. It is proposed that the City of Berkeley then welcome one or two detainees to live in Berkeley, with needed housing and other support offered by the Berkeley community.
The City has a longstanding policy in support of peace and justice including previously welcoming refugees from other countries who unjustly suffered imprisonment, torture, and related traumatic experiences. Consistent with that policy leadership, the Council
of the City of Berkeley is urged to take a position to support the resettlement of one or two Guantanamo detainees to Berkeley. Similar actions were adopted by the cities of Amherst and Leverette, both in Massachusetts.
City Manager Phil Kamlarz, however, is not in harmony with the cause, citing federal law prohibiting the settlement of former detainees in the U.S.