November, 15 2012, 02:10pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Nathan Fuller, 516-578-2628,press@bradleymanning.org
Nobel Peace Laureates Condemn U.S. Military's Prosecution of Whistle-Blower Bradley Manning
Following last Wednesday's announcement that PFC Bradley Manning acknowledges releasing classified documents as an act of conscience, Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize, 1984), Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Prize, 1977) and Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prize, 1980), have published a letter in support of the WikiLeaks whistle-blower.
Their letter states:
WASHINGTON
Following last Wednesday's announcement that PFC Bradley Manning acknowledges releasing classified documents as an act of conscience, Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize, 1984), Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace Prize, 1977) and Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Nobel Peace Prize, 1980), have published a letter in support of the WikiLeaks whistle-blower.
Their letter states:
"As people who have worked for decades against the increased militarization of societies and for international cooperation to end war, we have been deeply dismayed [PFC Manning's] treatment... Responsible governance requires fully informed citizens who can question their leadership. For those citizens worldwide who do not have direct, intimate knowledge of war, yet are still affected by rising international tensions and failing economies, WikiLeaks releases attributed to Bradley Manning have provided unparalleled access to important facts." See their full letter on The Nation's website.
Following news that Bradley Manning had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year, world famous Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated that: "The effect of his actions was to hold to account powerful people with selfish motives who preferred to remain unaccountable and anonymous, and has been applauded by many righteous people around the world. I implore the United States government to prioritize addressing the systemic frailties exposed in the leaked documents above persecuting whistle-blowers." Archbishop Tutu was himself honored by the Nobel committee for helping end the system of South African apartheid.
The Chelsea Manning Support Network was a coalition of groups and individuals engaged in supporting the U.S. Army whistleblower.
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Public health advocates, federal lawmakers, and other critics responded with alarm to The New York Timesreporting on Friday that an attorney helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select officials for the next Trump administration tried to get the U.S. regulators to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in 2022.
"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
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Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
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