By Kevin Zeese, Consortium News, April 5, 2011
Editor’s Note: Even while preaching the gospel of Internet freedom and democratic transparency to the rest of the world, the U.S. government continues an aggressive campaign to intimidate American anti-war whistleblowers and their supporters.
Perhaps most remarkable has been the harsh treatment of accused WikiLeaks leaker, Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, and the government’s paranoid reaction to people objecting to the maximum-security-style incarceration of this non-violent suspect, as activist Kevin Zeese describes in this first-person guest essay:
On March 20, Americans, in a vet-led assembly, gathered to support PFC Bradley Manning who is accused of leaking documents to WikiLeaks and who has been held in solitary confinement at the Quantico Marine Base for seven months.
We worked successfully with the Prince William County Police in Virginia for a safe and peaceful event, but one aspect of the event was in dispute – a veteran-led flower laying ceremony.
It seemed like something that should not have been controversial – a ceremony to remember the war dead at a replica of the Iwo Jima Monument. [The original monument is in Arlington, Virginia, across from Washington, D.C.]
The replica of the iconic monument of Marines raising the American flag at Iwo Jima is located at the entrance of the Quantico base and is open to the public every day of the year. But the Marines insisted on closing it to prevent a flower-laying ceremony by veterans on that Sunday.
Continues >>
Editor’s Note: Even while preaching the gospel of Internet freedom and democratic transparency to the rest of the world, the U.S. government continues an aggressive campaign to intimidate American anti-war whistleblowers and their supporters.
Perhaps most remarkable has been the harsh treatment of accused WikiLeaks leaker, Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, and the government’s paranoid reaction to people objecting to the maximum-security-style incarceration of this non-violent suspect, as activist Kevin Zeese describes in this first-person guest essay:
On March 20, Americans, in a vet-led assembly, gathered to support PFC Bradley Manning who is accused of leaking documents to WikiLeaks and who has been held in solitary confinement at the Quantico Marine Base for seven months.
| Share this article |
ShareThis  Email Printer friendly |
It seemed like something that should not have been controversial – a ceremony to remember the war dead at a replica of the Iwo Jima Monument. [The original monument is in Arlington, Virginia, across from Washington, D.C.]
The replica of the iconic monument of Marines raising the American flag at Iwo Jima is located at the entrance of the Quantico base and is open to the public every day of the year. But the Marines insisted on closing it to prevent a flower-laying ceremony by veterans on that Sunday.
Continues >>
No comments:
Post a Comment