Green Party of California endorses state and national protests Saturday against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; Greens also call for humane treatment, release of WikiLeaks suspect
GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS RELEASE
SACRAMENTO (Mar 18, 2011) - The Green Party of California endorsed the statewide and national demonstrations March 19 and next month opposing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well calling for the inhumane treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is being held incommunicado in connection with the WikiLeaks release of documents to the public.
Demonstrations are scheduled this weekend in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities throughout the U.S., including many in California such as Grass Valley, Davis and parts of Los Angeles. Sunday, protests urging Manning's release are set in Quantico, Va. Other protests are scheduled next month against the never-ending wars.
"Greens believe every dollar spent on war is a dollar taken away from good-paying green jobs we desperately need," said Barry Hermanson, the co-chair of the Green Party of California state coordinating council.
"Today, we are facing massive cuts to service in our communities. Tens of thousands of teachers and other school employees have been pink-slipped. We believe we should spend our money on education and developing alternative energy - not wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said, noting that Republican and Democratic lawmakers voted to fund the wars. Hermanson urged voters to re-register with the Green Party because "together we can build a Green future, independent of corporate interests."
In calling for the humane treatment of Manning, and his release, the Green Party has urged Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Nancy Pelosi to investigate charges that Manning is being made to sleep naked, isn't allowed to exercise adequately and has been subjected to other subtle modes of torture.
"We deplore the treatment of PFC Bradley Manning. He has a right to a speedy trial and humane treatment. But he is being punished without trial, and being treated like detainees in Guantanamo, with little or no outside contact, according to his legal counsel. This is not acceptable," said Cres Vellucci, a Vietnam veteran and GPCA press secretary.
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Contacts:
Laura Wells, Spokesperson, 510.504.4254,
Derek Iversen, Spokesperson, 323.481.8984,
Cres Vellucci, Press Secretary, 916.996.9170,
The Green Party of California
PO Box 2828
Sacramento, CA 95812
Phone: (916) 448-3437
Web: http://www.cagreens.org
EMail: