Bradley Manning: 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

[h3rm35]

February 1 2012 the entire parliamentary group of The Movement of the Icelandic Parliament nominated Private Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. Following is the reasoning we sent to the committee explaining why we felt compelled to nominate Private Bradley Manning for this important recognition of an individual effort to have an impact for peace in our world.

Our letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:

We have the great honor of nominating Private First Class Bradley Manning for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. Manning is a soldier in the United States army who stands accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. The leaked documents pointed to a long history of corruption, war crimes, and imperialism by the United States government in international dealings. These revelations have fueled democratic uprising around the world, including a democratic revolution in Tunisia. According to journalists, his alleged actions helped motivate the democratic Arab Spring movements, shed light on secret corporate influence on our foreign policies, and most recently contributed to the Obama Administration agreeing to withdraw all U.S.troops from the occupation in Iraq.

Bradley Manning has been incarcerated for well over a year by the U.S. government without a trial. He spent over ten months of that time period in solitary confinement, conditions which experts worldwide have criticized as torturous. Juan Mendez, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, has repeatedly requested and been denied a private meeting with Manning to assess his conditions.

The documents made public by WikiLeaks should never have been kept from public scrutiny. The revelations – including video documentation of an incident in which American soldiers gunned down Reuters journalists in Iraq – have helped to fuel a worldwide discussion about America’s overseas engagements, civilian casualties of war, imperialistic manipulations, and rules of engagement. Citizens worldwide owe a great debt to the WikiLeaks whistleblower for shedding light on these issues, and so I urge the Committee to award this prestigious prize to accused whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Sincerely,
Birgitta Jónsdóttir
Margrét Tryggvadóttir
Þór Saari

Members of the Icelandic Parliament for The Movement

[h3rm35]

Award Pfc. Bradley Manning the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize!
Sign our letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Pfc. Bradley Manning was just nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize!

Last week, Major General Linnington gave the final recommendation for Manning to face court martial on all 22 charges, including the vindictive aiding the enemy charge. Despite logging thousands of phone calls and emails to the Department of Defense, we were ultimately unable to convince the government to drop the charge.

But while the government can try and lock Bradley away for the rest of his life, they cannot suppress his story and what it means for other whistle-blowers. Fortunately, Bradley Manning's nomination for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness for his case once more.

We're starting a letter urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize and call attention to both his contributions and unjust treatment. Can you add your name to our letter?

To the Norwegian Nobel Committee:

Please award the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to Wikileaks whistle-blower Pfc. Bradley Manning.

Pfc. Manning was recently recommended for court-martial on nearly 2 dozen charges for allegedly leaking over 250,000 State Department cables to Wikileaks. The US government - under direction of 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama - is making the punitive and destructive claim that Manning 'aided the enemy' by knowingly handing off documents for publication on the internet - a charge that will not only cost Manning his life in prison, but will have serious ramifications for journalists and whistleblowers alike going forward.

There has been much debate as to the national security implications of Manning's alleged leaks, but it is clear that the revelations contained in those documents -- especially with regards to official corruption and brutality of Middle Eastern despots -- have helped to inspire global movements for justice, democracy and government transparency, most notably the Arab Spring. Are the brave souls behind these pro-democracy movements really our 'enemies' as the US administration would have us believe?

Pfc. Manning has yet to be convicted of any crime, yet he spent over 500 days suffering in inhumane conditions while awaiting trial. We believe awarding Pfc. Manning with the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize would not only serve to recognize his contributions to world peace, but rally support around his case and help insure he receives a just trial.

On behalf of thousands of his supporters, we urge you to award the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to Pfc. Bradley Manning.