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Obama Urged To Grant |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Manning is a political prisoner, one of countless numbers in US gulag
confinement at home and abroad, victims of imperial injustice - testimony
to longstanding US viciousness, its contempt for fundamental rights. On December 5, the ACLU and 16 other civil rights groups wrote Obama, saying in part: “Re: Support for Clemency Application for Ms. Chelsea Manning Dear Mr. President: As organizations dedicated to working for the full equality of LGBTQ people, we write in support of the clemency petition of Ms. Chelsea Manning. We support commuting her court-martial sentence to time served. Ms. Manning is currently in the seventh year of a thirty-five year sentence for disclosing classified information to the media with the intention of raising public awareness about issues she found concerning, including the impact of war on innocent civilians. Our organizations may be of differing opinions concerning Ms. Manning’s actions; however, we stand united in our support for her clemency petition. If approved, Ms. Manning will have a first chance to live a real, meaningful life as the person she was born to be.” In November, Manning wrote Obama, saying “I need your help and I am still not getting it. I am living through a cycle of anxiety, anger, hopelessness, loss and depression.” “I cannot focus. I cannot sleep. I attempted to take my own life. When the USDB (US Disciplinary Barracks) placed me in solitary confinement as punishment for the second suicide, I tried it again because the feeling of hopelessness was so immense.” “This has served as a reminder to me that any lack of treatment can kill me, so I must keep fighting a battle that I wish every day would just end.” Chelsea is a courageous whistleblower, viciously punished for doing the right thing - exposing US crimes of war and against humanity, showing its contempt for humanity. America punishes its best, honors its worst, while mocking peace, equity and justice. Wrongfully convicted in July 2013 for long ago outdated Espionage Act violations, she was sentenced to 35 years imprisonment, with possible but unlikely chance for parole after eight years. Folowing her 2010 arrest, she’s been tortured, abused, isolated and given inadequate care she needs for gender dysphoria and other medical issues. According to ACLU legislative representative Ian Thompson, “Ms. Manning is the longest serving whistleblower in the history of the United States.” The latest plea to Obama for clemency followed a petition signed by tens of thousands in her behalf, and her own formal application for a presidential pardon. If Obama spurns her, she’ll likely get no help from Trump. She’ll probably suffer a painfully slow death behind bars, victimized by US viciousness. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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