A crowd of about 150 people gathered in front of the War Memorial in San Francisco’s Civic Center Sept. 18 as part of the Days of Action in Solidarity with Bradley Manning. The action demanded that the charges be dropped against Manning and called for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 Sept. 18, S.F. PSL Photo: Bill Hackwell |
Manning, a 22-year-old Army private first class , has been charged with releasing thousands of classified documents and a video documenting the murder of a dozen people in Baghdad by American troops. He was originally held in solitary confinement at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and has recently been transferred to the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia. He faces a possible prison sentence of 52 years.
Participating organizations included Courage to Resist, Veterans for Peace, CODE Pink, World Can’t Wait and the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), of which the Party for Socialism and Liberation is a member organization. Speakers included retired Col. Ann Wright, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg.
Following the rally at the War Memorial, the crowd marched to Union Square. Marchers carried placards calling for Bradley Manning’s freedom and chanting “He blew the whistle on their crime! Bradley Manning must do no time!” and “Around the world the people say: FREE BRADLEY MANNING!”
