FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
On Day 4 of global days of solidarity and support for alleged Wikileaks whistleblower, Pfc. Bradley Manning, San Diego activists & advocates of peace & transparency will take to the streets for a protest and rally calling for the release and justice in the case of this brave young hero or scapegoat and to make our voices heard that
EXPOSING WAR CRIMES IS NOT A CRIME!
TRUTH IS ESSENTIAL TO DEMOCRACY!
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 19th
12:00PM-2:00PM
HORTON PLAZA (4th & BROADWAY) SAN DIEGO, CA
Speakers
Marjorie Cohn: Professor of Law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California, author and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild.
Loraine Reitman: Founding member and on the steering committe of The Bradley Manning Support Network
Nick "Mutt" Velvet: Member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War & activist and advocate for political prisoners
Justin Kauker: Former naval officer & conscientious objector
Michael Anderson: Labor organizer & queer activist
Already, organizations from all parts of the San Diego progressive community are signing on in solidarity with Bradley Manning and are calling for his release. We hope that your group is the next to sign on!
Media accounts state that Mr. Manning was arrested in late May for allegedly leaking the video of US Apache helicopter pilots killing innocent people and seriously wounding two children in Baghdad, including those who arrived to help the wounded. The video was released by WikiLeaks under the name "Collateral Murder". Pfc. Manning is also identified by the Defense Department as a "person of interest" in the investigation into WikiLeaks obtaining 90,000 battlefield reports describing thousands of civilian deaths inflicted by occupation forces in Afghanistan, collusion with warlords, corruption and an unvarnished view of our decade-long war.
If these allegations are untrue, we call upon the US Department of Defense to release Mr. Manning immediately.
If these allegations ARE true, we ALSO call upon the US Department of Defense to release Mr. Manning immediately.
The leaked video, released by WikiLeaks under the title Collateral Murder, clearly shows that official statements from the multinational force in Baghdad that "there is no question that Coalition forces were clearly engaged in combat operations against a hostile force" were blatantly false. The leaker of this video blew the whistle on two crimes: the murder of civilians and an official coverup. Exposing these crimes was a moral and legal obligation and a service to the international community. The leaker deserves our respect and thanks—not prosecution.
We express our support for Mr. Manning in any case, and our admiration for his courage if he is, in fact, the person who disclosed the information. Like in the cases of Daniel Ellsberg, W. Mark Felt, Frank Serpico and countless other whistleblowers before, government demands for secrecy must yield to public knowledge and justice when government crime and corruption are being kept hidden. If the United States government demands to use our tax dollars and our own children to fight this war, then we must demand full disclosure of the facts, no matter how unsettling. We demand that the government stop the misinformation and we honor heroes who fight for transparency.
Free Bradley Manning!
Sincerely,
San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice (SDCPJ)
San Diego Alliance for marriage Equality (SAME)
Activist San Diego
San Diego Branch of The International Socialist Organization (ISO)
Green Party of San Diego
San Diego Pride at Work
Progressive Democrats of America Metro San Diego Chapter (PDA)
Democracy for America San Diego Meetup
San Diego Chapter of Veterans for Peace (VFP)
Vietnam Veterans Against the War San Diego (VVAW)
Mark Gabrish Conlan and Zenger's Newsmagazine
May 1st Coalition San Diego
San Diego Renters Union
(List open for additional endorsements. Contact Gabriel Seth Conaway for additions: indigabe@hotmail.com 619-446-9889)
Other ways you can help!
Other ways you can help!
- Get involved with the Bradley Manning Support Network and Courage to Resist (www.couragetoresist.org)
- Be a part of the media campaign and educate others
- Join our media group writing or distributing literature
- Show your support for Bradley on your Facebook page
- Spread the Collateral Murder video and Afghan War Diary on your blog or Facebook page
- Write the editor of your local paper
- Make a donation to the defense fund at www.bradleymanning.org to ensure Bradley Manning has the resources necessary to mount a vigorous defense
- Sign the petition to free Bradley Manning – available at www.bradleymanning.org
- Soldiers and Veterans: Join Iraq Veterans Against the War and the Institute for Public Accuracy in humanizing the Afghan War Diary with your experiences
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