dancewater: BRADLEY MANNING RALLY AT FORT MEADE

Saturday, June 08, 2013

BRADLEY MANNING RALLY AT FORT MEADE

A van full of people (13 total) from Asheville went up to the rally to support Bradley Manning on June 1, 2013. There was one other person from Asheville who went up on his own to this rally. Below are some of the pictures I took at the rally. We met at a gate to Fort Meade, heard some speaker there, then walked about a mile down the road to another gate to Fort Meade. There were about 2,000 people at the rally and march, and it was bloody hot with little shade.

At the first gate, a member of Veterans for Peace spoke and said that we will stand with Bradley all the way. A person from the group Free Bradley Manning said that 120,000 letters have been sent to the Pentagon, and they raised $150,000 for Bradley Manning’s defense. Ward Reilly, from Veterans for Peace, said that Bradley Manning did his duty, and that we collectively failed because we did not stop Bradley Manning from having to go to Iraq. Canada War Resisters was represented by a woman who said that because of Bradley Manning and his leaks, refugees from the US military were given refugee status in Canada. A woman who said she worked in Drone Military Intelligence said we are committing war crimes and the government is still lying. She also said that drone operators are being ordered to kill people. Dooler Campbell said that the homosexual question is being used, and that the US government is promoting “don’t ask” about US foreign policy and “don’t tell” about human rights violations. World Can’t Wait representative said that two prisoners from Guantanamo were sent home last night and that the photos of these prisoners were used in an ad about WikiLeaks. Code Pink was also on the stage, and they sang: WE WILL, WE WILL, FREE YOU!

Kevin Gosztola, reporting on the march and rally on June 1, 2013 said this: “A march took off from this area and headed down the road that runs along Meade. Two gates down, supporters gathered around a stage and heard speeches from prominent Manning supporters like Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Col. Ann Wright, Lt. Dan Choi and Sarah Shourd, who was one of the hikers imprisoned in solitary confinement in Iran.”

I did not take notes on these speakers. I am very glad I went – I feel Bradley Manning is a hero for revealing the truth to so many people in so many countries. A guy from Columbia at my hostel (who was in DC for a conference) said that Manning’s releases enabled his country to confirm their suspicion that their government was involved with the drug trade. He said that Manning was a hero too. Finally, I believe this claim by Chris Hedges: “The war against Bradley Manning is a war against us all.”