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Dozens Rally in Times Square Against Guantanamo

12h ago
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To mark the 100th day of a hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, protesters rally in New York to urge U.S. President Barack Obama to close the camp. Full story: Dozens of protesters gathered on New York's iconic Times Square on Friday to march and sing the "Hunger Strike Song", on the 100th day after prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay detention center went on a hunger strike. The strike began at the camp at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba in February, and has been joined by 100 inmates. It has led to force-feedings to keep the weakest prisoners alive, sparking fresh outrage from rights groups over the prison, which opened under Republican President George W. Bush in 2002. U.S. President Barack Obama renewed an old vow in late April to close the camp and said he would re-engage with lawmakers on the issue. Ben Case, a kick boxer from New York who was among the chanting protesters on Friday, said that he was frustrated with the president's inability to act. [Ben Case, Protester]: "As far as I can tell President Obama wants to say that Congress is holding him up or these laws or it's complicated. As far as I can tell it's not complicated. It's a military prison down there and President Obama is the Commander in Chief of the military. As far as I can tell he has to pick up his phone and call someone and say: 'Close the prison.' So we are asking him to do that." Another protester, Julie Pycior, a history teacher by profession, said that keeping prisoners in Guantanamo is in violation of the United States constitution. [Julie Pycior, Protester]: "Having them in Guantanamo is violating the constitution and therefore threatening, therefore hurting the rights of Americans in general. If our government is violating our constitution and our Bill of Rights, that hurts us all." The current hunger strike began after guards seized photos and other belongings during a cell search. Prisoners said the guards had mistreated their Korans during the search. The U.S. military has denied that. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C