San Diego groups to demonstrate Sunday for release of accused WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning
SAN DIEGO — Thirteen progressive organizations in San Diego will hold a public protest this Sunday, Sept. 19, at Fourth and Broadway in front of Horton Plaza in support of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning.
Manning has been imprisoned at Quantico, Va., since July 29 and faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted.
Manning, an Army intelligence analyst, stands accused of releasing classified documents to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks. The documents consist of video of U.S. Apache helicopter crew in New Baghdad opening fire on innocent people, including two employees of Reuters and two children. It caused an international backlash against America’s foreign wars.
“The video depicted a war crime, and no one should be prosecuted for blowing the whistle on atrocities in wartime,” said Gabriel Conaway, spokesperson of the Bradley Manning Support Network, San Diego Chapter.
The rally, planned for noon Sunday at Horton Plaza, is part of the International Days of Action in support of Bradley Manning.
The Bradley Manning Support Network (www.bradleymanning.org) has similar events planned this weekend in Oklahoma City, Quantico, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Minneapolis and Toronto.
“We’ve seen an international outpouring of support from people of all political backgrounds,” said Jeff Paterson of the Bradley Manning Support Network. “And San Diego has been one of the strongest proponents for Manning’s release.”
The 13 San Diego groups released a public statement of support for Bradley Manning (attached), stating that “government demands for secrecy must yield to public knowledge and justice when government crime and corruption are being kept hidden. … We demand that the government stop the misinformation and we honor heroes who fight for transparency.”
Organizations behind the rally include the San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice, San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality, Activist San Diego, San Diego Branch of The International Socialist Organization, Green Party of San Diego, San Diego Pride at Work, Progressive Democrats of America Metro San Diego Chapter, Democracy for America San Diego Meetup, San Diego Chapter of Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War San Diego and The San Diego Puppet Insurgency, Mark Gabrish Conlan and Zenger’s News Magazine, and the San Diego Military Counseling Project.
To learn more, visit: www.sdcpj.org.
