Above: Activists thank Bolivia for offering asylum to Edward Snowden, Media Benjamin of CODE PINK speaking.
Activists Urge Putin to Provide Travel Documents to Edward Snowden
Activists have thanked Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela for offering asylum for Edward Snowden and have delivered a letter to Russia urging President Putin to provide Snowden with travel documents to allow him to go to one of those countries.
They make the argument that Snowden’s revelations are not “damaging” Russia’s “partner,” the United States but are actually strengthening democracy in the US as they give the American people the opportunity to stop these illegal activities.
National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance
Baltimore Nonviolence Center
325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218
July 11, 2013
President Vladimir Putin
c/o Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak
Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20007
President Putin:
We write to you as peace, human rights, and civil liberty activists and organizations in support of Edward Snowden. As you know he has been at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport within the transit zone since June 23-24 and is a whistleblower of United States Government domestic and international spying against civil society organizations, people within the United States, and foreign governments including US allies. Within the United States we are deeply concerned about the violations of our US Constitutional Fourth Amendment rights with regard to domestic spying by corporations and by our government. We believe the revelations of the spying on citizens and others within the US are not a harm to the US but provide the transparency we think is vital for our democratic republic. These revelations will help the people hold our government accountable thus ensuring a vibrant government of the people rather than an oppressive subversive government violating the law.
President Putin, you have said that Edward Snowden can stay where he is if he does nothing to “damage” Russia’s partners. We argue that the revelations of the spying are ultimately not harmful but rather will ultimately strengthen democracy in The United States. We believe that those who speak out, whistleblowers like Peter Buxtun, Daniel Ellsberg, Karen Silkwood, Gary Webb, Frederic Whitehurst, Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, Coleen Rowley, Jesselyn Radack, Kathryn Bolkovac, Bradley Manning, Karen Kwiatowski, John Kiriakou, Thomas Drake, and Sibel Edmonds will in fact make us stronger because they have revealed wrong-doing that we work to rectify. Because we now know of the massive spying on us and our European Union friends, thanks to Edward Snowden, we can now work to correct these violations by holding our government accountable just as we are working to hold our government accountable for the violations of international law regarding the illegal drone strikes by the Central Intelligence Agency and the US Military in several countries around the world, the illegal Guantanamo prison camp, and the wars of aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan based on lies by the Bush Administration now perpetuated by President Obama. We believe our government is acting illegally on many fronts, including the illegal spying on US citizens and others around the world. Therefore, we ask you to help us.
We ask that you provide Edward Snowden the appropriate documentation necessary to expedite his journey from the Moscow airport to a country of his choosing. As organizations and individuals concerned about international and domestic law, peace, and human rights we ask that you consider our request. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Malachy Kilbirde, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, VA
Paki Wieland, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, MA
Joy First, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, WI
Catarina Correia, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, MD
Christine Gaunt, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, IA
Max Obuszewski, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, MD
MLK Coalition for Jobs, Justice and Peace
Topanga Peace Alliance
Julie Levine
Margaret Flowers, PopularResistance.org
Kevin Zeese, PopularResistance.org
Eve Tetaz, Washington, DC
David Swanson, VA ( warisacrime.org )
Patricia O’Leary,
Janet Riley, Sandy Spring, MD
David Barrows, Washington, DC
Carol Pinson, Code Pink San Francisco
Medea Benjamin, Code Pink co-founder
Tarak Kauff, Board of Directors, Veterans For Peace
Leslie Angeline, CA
Don Muller, Sitka, AK
Sandy Fessler, NY
Norm Littlejohn, WI
Pat Chaffee,
Eric Anderson, MD
John Pepper, MD
Stan Becker, MD
Robert Keilbach, Veterans For Peace, NYC Chapter 34
Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Roman Catholic priest and activist
Tom Fasy, NY
William K. Crum
Louise Legun, PA
Brother Henry Werner FSC, MD
Judith Kelly, Nonviolent Activist (SOA Prisoner of Conscience) VA
Jill Godmilow, IN
Sushila Cherian, FL
Ann Tiffany, NY
Judy Bello, NY ( United National Antiwar Coalition )
Herb Alter, Vietnam veteran, Veteran For Peace member
Chuck Zlatkin, NY
Hendrik Voss, SOA Watch
Dorothy Reilly, PA
Terrance Reilly, PA
Eileen Fleming, author, reporter, founder WeAreWideAwake.org, founder TNT
Danielle Greene, VA
Jeanne Olson, AK
Cecile Pineda, author of Devil’s Tango: How I Love The Fukushima Step by Step
Rivian Berlin, CA
Toby Blome, Bay Area Code Pink, CA
Will Crain, Peace & Justice Forums, MT
Frederick Bialy, Bay Area Code Pink, CA
Wendy Scher, TradeJustice Metro NY, NY
Jeffrey Shurtleff, AZ
Huang SuFen, AZ
Li Zhuoying, AZ
Barbara Larcom, MD
Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, CAAB
Lindis Percy, (CAAB), UK
Charles Philp, NY
Frank Stearns, Veterans For Peace, NY
Crystal Zevon, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, VT
Steve Lane, MD
Bernard Berg, Veterans For Peace, PA
Debby Churchman, VA
Bob Gorringe, citizen
Dawn Jones, IA
Fred Fritch, PA
Helen Schietinger, Washington, DC
Martha Barksdale, CO
Nydia Leaf, NY
Ed Kinane, NY
Ellen Robbins, MD
Sara Anllo, Veterans For Peace, NY
Doris Rausch, MD
Bernadette Evangelist, NY
Tatiana Makovkin, RAFTT (Radical Art For These Times)
William J. Wagner, MD
Paul A. Wagner, Washington, DC
Fr. Robert Bossie, SCJ, IL
Art Laffin, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington, DC
Wayne Lorentz
Rosalie Riegle, author, faith-based activist and oral historian
Fr. Jim Hoffman OFM, IL
Peter Gunther, IL
Gabe Falsetta, NY
Jenny Heinz, The Granny Peace Brigade, NY
Newland Smith, Anti-War Committee-Chicago, IL
Joe Morton, emeritus professor of philosophy Goucher College, Baltimore, MD
Ruthie Sakheim, OccupyForum
Joan McCoy, MI
Sondra Loucks Wilson, MI
John Goss
Bill Mims, VA
Diane Pontius, U.S.A. Citizen
Joan H. Nicholson, National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, PA
Crystal Corona, San Francisco Green Party, CA
Mike Zonta, CA
