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The Irish Anti-War Movement

MAIRÉAD MAGUIRE, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE, SENDS MESSAGE TO IAWM ‘FREE BRADLEY MANNING’ PROTEST

FREE BRADLEY MANNING! PROTEST AT US EMBASSY BALLSBRIDGE, DUBLIN 4. – Thursday 22 August, 5.30pm.

 

FREE BRADLEY MANNING! PROTEST AT US EMBASSY BALLSBRIDGE, DUBLIN 4. – Thursday 22 August, 5.30pm.

 

Mairéad Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate 1976 and who has nominated Bradley Manning for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, sent the following message to be read at the IAWM protest today:

 

 

“The US Government imprisons its truth teller and protects its war criminals.
 
Bradley Manning, the USA American soldier, whistleblower and man of courage and truth, has been sentenced at an American military court hearing to 35 years in prison for revealing facts about USA military war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is a sad reflection
on the American Government when it imprisons its truth tellers and protects its war criminals.



Locking up and pursuing whistle blowers and conscientious objectors by the US Government will not solve the problems facing USA security, but rather will a complete change of US Government policies such as its ‘war on terror’ which are wars on civilians, particularly women and children, its policies of spying on the world, indefinite detention, extra judicial killings, and sending its young men and women to fights and kill others, and be killed themselves, in illegal wars and occupations. 


This is no way forward for the American people, or any of the citizens and countries of the
whole world.   Bradley Manning has paid a high price in order to challenge the American people, and us all, to look at the inhumanity and cruelty of militarism and of war, and we owe it to him to work to end this madness of USA/NATO led war.
 
Bradley Manning was tortured during his confinement in a US military prison and for this reason alone he should never have been convicted.  He should be given an unconditional release, compensated for the mental and physical abuse that was inflicted on him, and as is his wish the US government should investigate and take action against those who have ordered and those who have carried out war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.


We are all grateful to Bradley Manning, whose brave action has saved lives, and helped bring closer the end of the ongoing wars and we will continue to refuse to be silent and work for his release."

 

 

 

Speakers: Harry Browne, Journalist and US Citizen ……. and others

The IAWM issued a press release today condemning the prison sentence on US whistleblower Bradley Manning and called on all anti-war and peace activists to protest at the US Embassy on Thursday evening from 5.30pm.

 

Jim Roche PRO of the IAWM said:

 

"On the day that the Egyptian criminal Hosni Mubarak, who is responsible for thirty years of tortuous dictatorship and murder, is likely to be released from prison we call on all anti war and peace activists to join us in supporting the brave and principled US whistleblower Bradley Manning, whose actions have very likely speeded up the end of two futile wars and also saved lives. Through his actions we know more about the true nature of the wars unleashed on the world after 9/11, particularly the brutal killing of civilians in two incidents. It is shocking to see that the US and other western governments will hound and punish those who expose the lie of war and try to stop it, while it protects those who carry out horrific war crimes. Why are the soldiers in the Apache helicopter and their superiors that killed several civilians, including two journalists, not standing trial for murder? Why did the west support the dictator for so long? The message must go out to the US Government loud and clear that Bradley Manning has support and will continue to have it as long as he languishes in prison".

 

Harry Browne, Journalist and holder of dual US and Irish Citizenship, who will speak at the protest said:

"Journalism, and genuine democracies, need truth-tellers like Bradley Manning. Unfortunately, the US government and its partners have a clear policy, revealed again in the detention and harassment of journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner in London, to scare those who might be inclined to investigate and reveal their wrongdoing. The sentence for Bradley Manning is not only a cruel injustice against one brave young man, it’s an attempt to reassert states’ monopoly on information, and to strengthen the corrupt power that comes with it."

 

END

 

For more information:

Jim Roche, PRO Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 647 2737

John Molyneux, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 735 6424

Website – www.irishantiwar.org

@IrishAntiWarMvt <https://twitter.com/#!/IrishAntiWarMvt>

Find us on Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/groups/25608030879/>

 

 

 

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