Wales Newswire Archive

Join Chelsea Manning’s Irish supporters along with her family and friends in west Wales for two days of events celebrating Truth. All proceeds will go to the Private Manning Family Fund, raising money to support family members in Wales with the cost of prison visits to Chelsea in Kansas.

The last few days in Dublin unfolded in a warm embrace of solidarity for imprisoned Pvt. Manning’s mother Susan, aunts Mary & Sharon & uncle Kevin. The family had travelled from their hometown Haverfordwest, south-west Wales to Dublin, Ireland, the birthplace of their father.

We've been in Dublin since Wednesday with Welsh members of Chelsea Manning's family, enjoying warm and enthusiastic Irish hospitality from AFRI and many others during three days of solidarity events, meetings, meals and media interviews. There are Irish connections on both sides of Chelsea's family: maternal grandfather from Rathmines, Dublin and one set of paternal great grandparents (both Mannings) from a village in Cork. Chelsea was flown out to Iraq via Shannon airport, the use of which by the US military compromises Ireland's supposed neutrality. There will be more to report back later, but for now here are a few photos from the visit and some links to other reports and news items.

16 November: Solidarity vigil at Rugby League World Cup Quarter Final in Wrexham.

As Australia geared up to meet the USA in the Rugby League World Cup 2013 quarter-final match in Wrexham last Saturday, we joined the crowds outside the ground to talk with fans about Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning, to sell raffle tickets for the football signed by Assange and collect donations to the Pvt. Manning Family Fund. Our last effort, at the Wales vs USA first round match on 3 November was covered prominently in the Australian magazine Rugby League Week. Text of article can be read in this post.

Resistance to s.144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 that outlaws squatting in residential buildings is growing. Ultimately, the law may prove unworkable and unenforceable.

Ten days ago, squatters occupied a residential council property in Southwark in protest at the sell-off of council houses and the criminalisation of squatting under s.144. Last week, a Brighton squatter was acquitted on appeal as the prosecution failed to prove he was living at the property. His two co-defendants had previously been acquitted on the same charge.

Yesterday, another case collapsed when the Crown Prosecution Service presented no evidence at Mold Crown Court against Tristan Dixon who was appealing his conviction under s.144.

Tristan's supporters set up a protest about homelessness and squatting on the court forecourt, complete with cardboard, sleeping bag, visual statistics about empty homes, teddy bear and a friendly dog on a piece of string. Flyers were offered to everyone entering or leaving the court. The protest proved very timely as no fewer than ten repossession cases were being heard that day in the County Court in the same building, four of them brought by the local Flintshire County Council.

Over the past few days, supporters of Private Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning have been in Wrexham and Liverpool in solidarity with Manning's Welsh family. Close family members living in Pembrokeshire face years of costly travel to the US for prison visits and a family fund has been set up to take donations.

In August, after over three years of pre-trial detention and nearly a year of torture, a military court sentenced Manning to 35 years for revealing evidence about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - including evidence of war crimes - that the US government was keeping from the public (along with many other things).

PACK A SCRUM OF SOLIDARITY WITH US PRISONER & WHISTLEBLOWER PVT CHELSEA MANNING (FORMERLY BRADLEY MANNING)

Join us in Liverpool and Wrexham as the Rugby League World Cup gets underway

SAT 2 NOV 6pm - 11pm

Live music, films and speakers at The Casa, 29 Hope St, Liverpool
Entry by donation

SUN 3 NOV from 11.30am

Vigil outside the Wales vs USA match at Wrexham Racecourse, Mold Rd, followed by Social nearby in the afternoon.

MON 4 NOV from 9.30am

Join us at Bristol Crown Court where a police prosecution over display of FREE MANNING banners continues.

Change of court venue - see addition below

My banners (pictured) were seized by Bristol police at the end of May, at the start of a Bradley (Chelsea) Manning solidarity tour of Bristol and south Wales and on the eve of the Manning show trial in the U.S.

The banners were up on the Gatton Rd footbridge over the M32. Read my account of what happened.

I'll be at Bristol Magistrates Court, Marlborough St. on Tuesday 8 October at 9.15am to answer an alleged offence of 'causing danger to road users contrary to section 22(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988'.

Support (and banners!) welcome.