"Don't forget this brave man" - report on 'Free Bradley Manning Meeting'

Over the weekend, the London Catholic Worker organisation held an event in support of Bradley Manning in their home in the old church on Mattison Road.

Picture by Vertigogen - part of a series on Flickr

Below is an excerpt from the blog of Barry White, National Organiser for the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom:

Last Sunday I attended an international meeting called by London Catholic Worker – ‘Free Bradley Manning! End the War!’ The gathering was held at the Giuseppe Conlon Hall in Harringay, north London, with the main meeting in the Roman Catholic church adjoining.

Although I knew more about Bradley Manning than the Catholic Worker organisation, I quickly learnt that this group of left wing Roman Catholics (organisation founded in 1933) has a proud record of campaigning for civil liberties and against war. The group in Ireland campaigned with others against the use of Shannon airport and a military stop over for transportation of troops to Iraq and its use for extraordinary rendition. The philosophy of the group has been described as Christian anarchism, but what’s also important is what they do.

The meeting itself was a mixture of talks and some great music. Guest speaker campaigning solicitor Gareth Peirce was unable to give her speech in person, having just flown to the US to attend the funeral of a close friend, but we watch a video recording where she set out her concerns about the US judicial system in general and the harsh treatment of Bradley Manning in particular. Another very impressive speaker was Ben Griffin a former British SAS soldier who refused to return to Iraq and left the Army, citing not only the "illegal" tactics of US troops and the policies of coalition forces, but also that the invasion itself was illegal, being contrary to international law. He expected to be court-martialled, but was instead let go with a glowing testimonial from his commanding officer in 2006.! He had previously served a three month tour in Baghdad alongside American forces, including the Delta force (Special Forces) personnel.

See the full article on Barry's blog.