The day after her sentencing Manning performed yet another act of bravery. In a statement publicly thanking all those who supported her through her trial she also came out as transgender.

While many of us in the queer community have known for a while that Manning was a member of our community, this was the first time she publicly addressed this topic. With this act Manning expands the arena where she is a hero, providing inspiration to the LGBT community. I hope her struggle will bring more awareness to the cause of transgender people and transgender liberation. Free Chelsea Manning!

Please read the following statement from Chelsea Manning: The Next Stage of My Life

I want to thank everybody who has supported me over the last three years. Throughout this long ordeal, your letters of support and encouragement have helped keep me strong. I am forever indebted to those who wrote to me, made a donation to my defense fund, or came to watch a portion of the trial. I would especially like to thank Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network for their tireless efforts in raising awareness for my case and providing for my legal representation.

As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility). I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.

Thank you, Chelsea E. Manning

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #LGBTQ #PoliticalPrisoners #WikiLeaks #BradleyManning #PoliticalRepression #ChelseaManning #Whistleblowers

Ft. Lauderdale, FL – 20 supporters of whistleblower Private First Class Bradley Manning gathered on the evening of Aug. 21 at the Federal Building in downtown here for an emergency protest. They demanded a presidential pardon for the 25-year old whistleblower.

The action was organized by the anti-war group People’s Opposition to War, Imperialism and Racism (POWIR) in response to the 35-year jail sentence imposed on Manning earlier that day, for sharing military documents and videos of U.S. war crimes with Wikileaks. The sentencing came after Manning had already served three years, including nine months spent in solitary confinement.

As activists from South Florida arrived, they were given tape to cover their mouths as a symbol of how President Obama is silencing whistleblowers during his term. Along the sidewalk in front of the building were large letters on yellow signs spelling, “Free Manning” and demonstrators held signs reading, “Manning leaked the truth,” “Release Bradley Manning,” and “Jail our nation’s war criminals, not our whistleblowers.”

Manning disclosed injustices, human rights violations and war crimes that the U.S. military was involved with and continues to commit abroad. He believed that by exposing these ugly truths to the American public, he could help put an end to them. In her opening remarks at the protest, Pamela Maldonado, a lead organizer with POWIR explained, “Manning's sentence is being used by the Obama administration as a threat to all future whistle-blowers thinking of exposing the truth to the public.”

After the activists removed the tape from their mouths, whistles were distributed for all to blow shrilly in solidarity with Manning. The protesters shouted, “We will not be silent!” and blew their whistles loudly. As cars and trucks passed the busy intersection, many honked in solidarity. Upon seeing the protest, a few passersby picked up signs and joined the demonstration chanting, “Same thing every time, leaking truth is not a crime!”

Towards the end of the action, Victor Agosto, the lead organizer of POWIR and a Veteran for Peace member, read from Manning’s poignant and compelling statement released after the sentencing was announced. The crowd listened in silence. “I realized that in our efforts to meet the risk posed to us by the enemy, we had forgotten our humanity,” Agosto read. “We consciously elected to devalue life both in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Whistles were held until the end and once the statement was finished the crowd whistled in unison.

POWIR, Veterans for Peace, Progressive Democrats of America, Occupy Miami and Food Not Bombs members demanded that President Obama pardon Manning. The South Florida response was held in unity with actions being led by the Bradley Manning Solidarity Network on the same day. Manning’s defense team is now seeking a presidential pardon. As one of the signs held by the South Florida activists read “Call Obama 202-456-1414 and ask him to pardon Manning.”

#FortLauderdaleFL #PoliticalPrisoners #WikiLeaks #BradleyManning #USImperialism #Whistleblower #ChelseaManning

Burke stated, “Bradley Manning's sentence of 35 years is harsh and unjustified. Manning exposed war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers and covered up by the top ranks of the Pentagon, State Department and White House. There are U.S. war criminals who belong on trial and in prison cells instead of those like Manning who expose the actual crimes. The U.S. government is becoming more and more repressive, spending money on war, prisons and repression, while the rich get away with ruining the lives of working people at home and abroad. “

Burke was one of the anti-war and international solidarity activists targeted in a Department of Justice investigation of “material support for terrorism.”

#GrandRapids #MI #PeoplesStruggles #CivilRights #BradleyManning #TomBurke #CommitteeToStopFBIRepression #PoliticalRepression #CSFR #FreeBradleyManning #Whistleblower

Minneapolis, MN – About 50 supporters of WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning joined an emergency rally at the Federal Building here, Aug. 21, in response to Military Judge Denise Lind’s sentencing him to 35 years in prison. The protest was called by Free Bradley Manning-Minneapolis and was one of the many held across the U.S. sponsored or coordinated by the Bradley Manning Support Network.

A statement from protest organizers demanded President Obama “fulfill his campaign promises to promote government transparency and protect whistleblowers by pardoning Bradley Manning.”

Jess Sundin, a leader of the Anti-War Committee and one of the activists raided by the FBI in 2010, told the crowd, “According the ACLU, 35 years is the longest-ever prison sentence for leaking government secrets to the media. The government prosecuted Bradley Manning for espionage, but we know that his real ‘crime,’ in their eyes, was to expose the inhumane conduct of the American war machine. He told the world the truth about secrets shared by war criminals. We are here today, because prosecuting this man is the shameful act of cowards, afraid for the world to know what kind of monsters they really are. We are here today, because we know why Bradley Manning has been targeted, and we will not stand by silently while this injustice is carried out in our names.”

Sundin continued, “We will fight for Manning’s freedom, along with that of Lynne Stewart, whose cancer may take her life in prison, where she was sent for her work as a people’s attorney. We will fight for Manning’s freedom, along with freedom for the Holy Land Five, for Somali women Amina Ali and Hawo Hassan and all the Muslim and Arab people imprisoned for sending humanitarian aid to war zones where empire has made it a crime to help one’s fellow man. We will fight for Manning’s freedom, while we stand up against political repression against anti-war activists like myself, against environmentalists, occupiers and anarchists.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #BradleyManning #PoliticalRepression

Tampa, FL – On June 1 over 50 activists rallied at the MacDill Air Force Base, calling for the release of whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army, is being prosecuted for his role in releasing videos and documents that exposed U.S. war crimes and civilian casualties in Iraq and the Middle East. Manning is charged with “aiding the enemy.”

The U.S. held Manning in solitary confinement for the first ten months of his incarceration, a form of torture that is widely used in U.S. prisons. The case of Manning is drawing worldwide condemnation. Activists around the world are rallying on behalf of Manning and drawing attention to U.S. aggression and illegal acts, especially the ongoing U.S. war and occupation in Afghanistan.

The Bradley Manning Support Network called for an international week of solidarity starting June 1, in anticipation of the beginning of Manning’s trial on June 3. Activists mobilized in many U.S. cities, with nearly 1000 protesting outside Fort Meade, near Baltimore, Maryland where Manning’s court-martial trial will take place. Across the globe, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Afghan Peace Volunteers gathered to thank Manning.

Tampa’s demonstration was at the gates of MacDill Air Force Base, the main headquarters for United States Central Command. U.S. CentCom runs the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. An organizer said MacDill Air Force Base is “the center of decisions that slaughter hundreds of thousands globally. Decisions that prompted Bradley Manning to bravely release the truth to Wikileaks!”

Activists held giant banners that said “Free Bradley Manning” and received honks in support from guests entering the base. Supporters from the LGBTQ community held rainbow flags in support of Manning. Protesters chanted “Free Bradley Manning!” and “Jail a hero, what a shame, we know CentCom is to blame!” Members of the Tampa Light Brigade held giant letters that spelled out, “Bradley leaked truth.” In the middle of the protest, activists participated in a silent skit, with actors portraying the brutality of the war on Iraqi people and the resilience of Arab Spring protesters against U.S. backed dictators.

Jailing activists who stand against U.S. wars and occupations is not a new phenomenon, nor is using court-martials or grand jury trials as a tool of political repression. From the Anti-war 23, raided in September 2010 for their anti-war and international solidarity activism, to Bradley Manning, U.S. government agencies, such as the FBI, continue to attempt to silence those who speak out against U.S. war and aggression.

The Tampa Bay Bradley Manning Support Network, Veterans for Peace, Students for a Democratic Society, Tampa Light Brigade, Occupy Tampa and others vowed to fight these attacks and build resistance against political repression in the U.S.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #WikiLeaks #BradleyManning #USImperialism #InjusticeSystem #FBIRepression

In April 2010, a video leaked from top secret military files revealed a 2007 U.S. Army helicopter assault on Baghdad where eighteen civilians were murdered, including two journalists from the news agency Reuters. The video created international uproar over the brutality of U.S. war on Iraq and infuriated the Pentagon.

The U.S. government is scrambling to catch the people responsible for releasing the video, trying to prevent further leaks. A second leaked video that is soon to be released depicts a 2009 massacre in Garani, Afghanistan, where 140 civilians were killed in the occupation’s bloodiest massacre. Most of the victims were children and teenagers.

A 22-year old army soldier, Bradley Manning, supposedly confessed to releasing the videos and other secret files to the whistleblower website Wikileaks. Since the video, called Collateral Murder was released by Wikileaks two months ago, it has been viewed by millions, fueling anger over the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Until its release, the U.S. maintained that all the victims were “insurgents.” The video had previously been security encoded and hidden in top secret files by the U.S. government, which refused to release the video for three years, until it was leaked.

Manning was an Army intelligence analyst, stationed at Forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq. He cited his growing disapproval of the U.S. occupation of Iraq as motivation to put himself at risk to release the documents. Manning allegedly claimed to have released as many as 260,000 government communications that would embarrass Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and thousands of other officials for corrupt deals with foreign puppet governments. This has prompted the U.S. to step up their efforts to stop whistleblowers.

Manning was turned in by an informant in May and is being held without charge at a U.S. military base in Kuwait. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) released a statement on the incident that says, “If true, Bradley's actions are heroic and he deserves our support.”

Wikileaks Targeted by U.S.

Wikileaks, which is set to release the Garani massacre video, has been the second major target of the U.S. government as the Obama administration tries to maintain some support for the eight-year old occupation. The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, said he is planning to release video of the Garani, Afghanistan massacre “very soon” but would not give an exact date to avoid a government crackdown. Assange says he does not know who the source of the video was, but he said he will defend Bradley Manning.

Lawyers for Assange said he faces a definite threat from the U.S. government. A recent Wikileaks twitter message read: “Looks like we’re about to be attacked by everything the U.S. has.” U.S. intelligence officials have been frantically trying to locate Assange, in order to stop the release of the Garani massacre video and other documents that would expose ugly secrets of U.S. imperialism. Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked Vietnam War documents in the 1970s and was a target of hit men, told Assange to keep his location a secret. “I think he would not be safe, even physically, entirely wherever he is,” Ellsberg said.

U.S. Cracks Down on Whistleblowers

“The Obama administration is proving more aggressive than the Bush administration in seeking to punish unauthorized leaks,” according to the New York Times, “In 17 months in office, President Obama has already outdone every previous president in pursuing leak prosecutions.”

In 2008, the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Center named Wikileaks a national security threat, in a secret document that was ultimately leaked to Wikileaks. In the same year, federal courts attempted to shut down the website after it released a secret set of operation instructions from the infamous Guantánamo Bay ‘detention center.’ The website easily worked around the attack, which only disabled their domain name. The U.S. government is now ramping up their efforts to stop the flow of information which is greatly damaging public support of U.S. occupations worldwide.

This month, the U.S. Senate will consider a bill dubbed “the internet kill switch” which would allow the president to seize control of the internet and shut it off completely in case of a “national cyber emergency.” This bill comes just as Wikileaks promises to release the Garani massacre video online.

The Occupation Continues

More massacres are likely, with nearly 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, now more than in Iraq. The military is escalating war on the Afghan people, but have been unable to hold any ground to the resistance fighters, who control huge amounts of the country. The approval ratings of the occupations continue to fall, as more troops are deployed and more troops are killed. While the U.S. is unable to manufacture a positive image of the occupation, they are increasingly relying on censorship, by restricting information from leaving combat zones. Whistleblowers like Manning and Assange will continue to play an important role in defeating U.S. cover-ups. Ultimately, the occupations will not be allowed to continue. The only answer for the Afghan people is complete and immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces.

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #Afghanistan #Iraq #IraqVeteransAgainstTheWar #WikiLeaks #GaraniMassacre #BradleyManning #CollateralMurder #IVAW #JulianAssange #Asia