Friday, August 31, 2012

Call for action at Obama 2012 offices nationwide Sept. 6th during DNC

Bradley Manning Support Network call to action at Obama Campaign offices

Hundreds rally at Obama campaign offices for Bradley, veterans arrested (photos &
video) The Bradley Manning Support Network, Afghans For Peace and SF Bay Iraq
Veterans Against the War Call for Nationwide Actions at local Obama Campaign Offices
September 6th 2012 during the Democratic National Convention! Free Bradley Manning!

Since Army PFC Bradley Manning’s arrest in May 2010 for allegedly sharing the
“Collateral Murder” video and other evidence of war crimes and government corruption
with the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, progressives and human rights activists
have been asking, “Why isn’t President Obama stepping in to help Bradley?”
After all, it was President Obama who in May 2011 declared with regards to protests
in the Middle East,
“In the 21st Century, information is power; the truth cannot be hidden; and the
legitimacy of governments will ultimately depend on active and informed citizens.”

On Thursday, August 16, US military veterans in Portland OR, Oakland CA, and Los
Angeles CA, occupied Obama 2012 campaign offices and faxed a letter of demands to
the Obama campaign’s central office. Those letters began:
As those who have spent years serving our country, we have faith that as
Commander-in-Chief, President Obama will do the right thing in answering our
request.

The letter went on to list the following demands:

That President Obama retract and apologize for remarks made in April 2011, in which
he said Bradley Manning “broke the law.” Because President Obama is
commander-in-chief, this constitutes unlawful command influence, violating Article
37 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and prevents Bradley from
receiving a fair trial.

That President Obama pardon the accused whistle-blower, taking into consideration
his 800 days of pretrial confinement. UN torture chief Juan Mendez called Manning’s
treatment “cruel and inhuman,” as it included nine months of solitary confinement at
Quantico despite Brig psychiatrists recommending relaxed conditions.

The Bradley Manning Support Network maintains hope that justice will prevail and
that President Obama can be the vehicle of change on this issue, but first he needs
to hear loud and clear from veterans and civilians across the country that the
American people want amends for the unlawful torture of Bradley Manning, and believe
he should be freed.
Organizers of the August 16 West Coast actions are now urging others to join them in
a nationwide effort to hold actions at many more local Obama campaign offices on
September 6th, the day of candidate’s nomination acceptance speech. We want to share
messages of support for Bradley with Obama campaign offices from coast to coast.

Please contact mailto:%20emma@bradleymanning.org for more information about
attending and/or organizing an event.

________________________________

Donate now to the Bradley Manning defense fund.
For more information about the defense fund click here.

________________________________

Veterans occupy Oakland & Portland
campaign offices for Bradley, 12 arrested Six veterans and activists in Oakland,
and six more in Portland, OR, were arrested Thursday night at Obama campaign offices
for occupying the spaces in solidarity with accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower PFC
Bradley Manning. Dozens of veterans and anti-war demonstrators coordinated a West
Coast set of actions that also included protests in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and
Seattle. Among the approximately 100 Oakland protesters was Iraq War veteran Scott
Olsen, who participated in the sit-in, said, “We occupied the President’s campaign
office to raise awareness about the injustices Bradley Manning has endured. Bradley
has sacrificed for us, doing what was right despite potentially spending the rest of
his life in jail.”
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