President Putin Urged to Help Whistleblower Edward Snowden

Close to a Hundred People Urge President Putin to Help Whistleblower Edward Snowden

WHO: The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR] has initiated a letter of support for American whistleblower Edward Snowden calling upon Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate Snowden’s journey seeking asylum in another country. It has been signed by almost 100 people representing activists from civil society.

WHAT: After the letter to Putin is sent via the Russian embassy in Washington, DC members of NCNR will join the activist group Code Pink at the embassies of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia on July 11, 2013 celebrating Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Bolivian support for Snowden. Then a demonstration is planned outside The US Department of Justice demanding an end to the NSA spying on US citizens and others.

WHEN: Thursday July 11, 2013 starting at 9AM (Embassy of Bolivia, 3014 Massachusetts Avenue, NW), Nicaraguan at 10AM, Venezuelan at 11AM, and Department of Justice at noon.

WHERE: The Letter has been sent to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, DC, the Russian Ambassador, and President Putin from segments of civil society urging Putin to consider the real choice of helping Snowden and saying that Snowden’s revelations of massive US Government spying will ultimately help the US not hurt it. Following this NCNR will join the Code Pink show of support at the embassies of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia.

WHY: Citizen activists representing peace, human rights, and civil liberty organizations have signed on to the letter in support of Snowden offering what they believe is an alternative voice from civil society in the US and other countries. “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…” the letter states and goes on to say “…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…” Members of NCNR have protested the NSA in the past most recently protesting the use of NSA intelligence in the US drone war. Several in NCNR are presently under a stay-away order from the NSA. “Snowden’s revelations about the massive spying on US citizens and our foreign allies, the aerial pirate acts by European countries instigated by the US against the Bolivian president's plane, and the illegal immoral drone war waged by the Obama Administration point to the real criminality which is not the truth-telling of Edward Snowden.” said Malachy Kilbride of the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance.

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, WI

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

ENDS

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