Members of the University of Central Florida chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) will take part in a national campaign to free alleged whistle-blower Private First Class Bradley Manning.
Students will assemble on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, at 5:15 p.m. in front of the East Orange campaign office for President Barrack Obama at 3151 N. Alafaya Tr Suite 102, Orlando, Fla. 32826.
The group will arrive to deliver a message, in coordination with 28 other U.S. cities, on behalf of the Bradley Manning Support Network. UCF SDS will demand the punishment of three-star general George Flynn, who held Manning in solitary confinement for nine months. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, declared the conditions to be “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”.
SDS will also call on the Obama administration to drop all charges against Private Manning.
“So far the Obama administration has not claimed any deaths, injury or even significant foreign policy damages suffered as a result of Mr. Manning’s leaks”, said SDS organizer Thomas Hellinger, “Without whistle-blowers such as Manning we would be unable to make the political choices required of a free and democratic country”.
Pvt. Manning is considered to be the source of a number of prominent leaks of classified material through the online transparency organization known as WikiLeaks. The leaks attributed to Manning included military and diplomatic misconduct. This includes the “collateral murder” video showing a U.S. military helicopter firing and killing two Reuters journalists as well as those who attempted to rescue them. Also, these leaks have been cited as a potential catalyst for the “Arab Spring”.
