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Each week we highlight different aspects of what Bradley Manning has
done for the movement.
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Thank You
Bradley Manning!
“If the
public, particularly the American public, had access to this information, it
could spark a debate on the military and our foreign policy in general as it
applied to Iraq and Afghanistan, it might cause society to reconsider the need
to engage in counter-terrorism while ignoring the human situation of the people
we engaged with every day … I felt I accomplished something that would allow me
to have a clear conscience.”
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US opposition to minimum
wage increase in Haiti revealed
WikiLeaks public
cables have showed how the U.S. Embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory
owners contracted by Levi’s, Hanes and Fruit of the Loom to block an increase to
the minimum wage for Haitian workers.
In 2009, the minimum
wage was $1.75 per day. In June 2009, responding to workers’ pressure, a
parliamentary bill proposed to raise it to $5 per day. Factory owners opposed it
saying they would only pay $2.50 “to make T-shirts, bras and underwear for US
clothing giants like Dockers and Nautica”. Backed by the US Agency for
International Development (USAID) and the US Embassy, they urged then Haitian President
René Préval to intervene.
The Haiti cables
reveal how closely the US Embassy monitored widespread pro-wage increase
demonstrations and the political impact of the minimum wage battle. UN troops
were called in to quell workers and students protests, sparking further demands
for the end of the UN military occupation of Haiti.
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A
man of exceptional courage and principle
In a statement he
read in court on 28 February 2013, gay US Army PFC Bradley Manning proudly
admitted having leaked information to Wikileaks in order to inform the public of
US war crimes and government skulduggery that was being kept from us.
He faces charges that could lead to life in prison.
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"200 Gourdes ($5) right now!"
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Because of these
fierce demonstrations, sweatshop owners and Washington were unable to keep the
minimum wage as low as they had wanted to for long.
In
August 2009, President Preval negotiated a deal with Parliament to have two minimum wages: $3.13/day for
textile workers and $5/day for other workers. But Parliament also adopted a
progressive increase over three years so in October 2012 textile workers minimum
wage finally went up to $5/day ($6.25 for other
sectors).
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| Was head of UN forces
murdered? On 7 January 2006, Brazilian General Bacellar, head of the UN occupation forces in Haiti, was found dead. Bacellar had resisted pressure from Canada, France and the US to raid grassroots areas; the day before his death he opposed plans to occupy Cité Soleil – a stronghold of support for democratically elected President Aristide who was ousted by a US coup. A Wikileaks cable revealed suspicions of Dominican President Fernandez “that the Brazilian government is calling the death a suicide in order to protect the mission from domestic criticism. A confirmed assassination would result in calls from the Brazilian populace for withdrawal from Haiti.” | |||||||||||
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1 -
8 June: International Actions to Free Bradley Manning
So far actions in
Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, UK, USA,
Wales…
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Bradley Manning’s court-martial begins 3 June
The Bradley Manning Support
Network is calling for a week of actions across the US and around the world
from Saturday 1 June to 8 June.
On 23 February, an unprecedented groundswell of international
support for Bradley emerged when 70 communities in 19 countries took action.
Some actions
already planned:
Canada:
1 June, Rally at US Consulate in Toronto Germany: 31
May, Meeting at Clearing Barrel GI Café, Kaiserslautern. 1 June
Solidarity Rally in Berlin, Brandenburg
Gate. South Korea, 3-8 June Press conference and demonstration
at US Embassy in Seoul.
UK: 1 June, 2 pm Picket outside the US Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London US: 1 June
Rally at Fort Meade, Maryland, where the court-martial will take place.
Join your nearest protest or organize a solidarity event in your
area, register it on the BMSN website, and let us know about it
so we can help publicise.
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Other ways to support
Bradley
·
Write your local press why you support Bradley’s courageous
whistleblowing.
·
Translate this message and/or send to your networks.
· Demand San Francisco Pride reinstate Bradley Manning as Grand
Marshal
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"Let us
follow the example of Bradley, let’s battle for peace, let’s battle against
wars, without fear of reprisals, let’s learn from Bradley to be truly
human."
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“This material [passed
to Wikileaks] has contributed to ending dictatorships in the Middle East, it has
exposed torture and wrongdoing in all the corners of the world”.
Julian
Assange Wikileaks founder, who remains in
the Ecuadorian embassy in London, protected from extradition to Sweden and to
the US
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Queer Strike queerstrike@queerstrike.net
US: PO
Box 14512, SF, CA 94114, / 415-626 4114
UK: PO Box 287 London NW6 2QU / 020 7482 2496
US: PO Box
11795 Philadelphia, PA 19101 / 215 848 1120
UK: PO Box 287 London NW6 2QU / 020 7267 8698 | |||
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