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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, (holding yellow sign), walks with fellow activists in peaceful protest against drones at CIA |
LANGLEY,
VA – Fifty people protested killer drones at the main gate
of
the
CIA today, and six individuals were arrested. The action
was
organized
by the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR],
a
group
that has been active in challenging U.S. invasions of
Afghanistan,
Iraq and other countries, abolishing torture, closing
Guantanamo,
and bringing an end to drone warfare.
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| Janice Sevre-Duszynska, ARCWP, ministers at "die in " at symbolic mourning rite for innocent victims of drone attacks |
Those
arrested were Joy First, Mt. Horeb, WI; Malachy Kilbride,
Arlington,
VA; Max Obuszewski, Baltimore, MD; Phil Runkel, Milwaukee,
WI
(Catholic Worker Archivist <Phil.Runkel@marquette.edu>);
Cindy
Sheehan,
Vacaville, CA; and Janice Sevre_Duszynska, Lexington,
KY.
Members
of NCNR previously sent a letter to CIA Director John
Brennan
requesting
a meeting to discuss ending the drone program, and have
received
no response. Because the group is concerned about
continuing
deaths
from drone strikes, they decided they must act, and they
must
personally
go to the CIA and ask for a meeting. They were joined by
Cindy
Sheehan, Brian Terrell, and other activists from Code
Pink,
World
Can’t Wait, Veterans for Peace, Answer, and many
individuals
affiliated
with other groups to protest the illegal and immoral CIA
killer
drone program. Sheehan is the mother of Casey who was
killed
in
2004 in Iraq. Terrell was recently released from federal
prison
after
serving a 6-month term for a peaceful protest against drones
at
Whiteman
Air Force Base in Missouri.
The
group walked up to the gates of the CIA with a copy of the
letter
they
had sent to Brennan. When they were denied a meeting, six
individuals
crossed onto the base. After announcing a mock drone
strike,
five people lay down on the ground and were covered with
pictures
of drone victims. The sixth person keened and wailed over
the
bodies. After 20 minutes, the group rose up and began to
walk
further
onto the base carrying pictures of drone victims. They
were
arrested,
and cited and released on site.
Somewhere
around 3500-4500 people have been killed by drones in
Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, and other places around
the
globe with no due process. According to a study from
Stanford
and
NYU only 2% of those killed are high-level targets. Over
200
children
have been killed in Pakistan alone. According to Malachy
Kilbride,
NCNR, “These illegal drone strikes are not making people
in
the
U.S. any safer and will only perpetuate the cycle of
violence.”
NCNR
citizen activists believe they have the right and a
Nuremberg
responsibility
to highlight perceived illegal government operations.
Moreover,
the Nuremberg trials pointed out that citizens must act to
prevent
their government from further illegal activities. Ellen
Barfield,
Vets for Peace, commented on the arrests stating, “Because
our
government seems incapable of restricting drone weapons,
these
brave
citizens are practicing their Nuremberg responsibilities.”
Contacts:
Max
Obuszewski 410-366-1637 <mobuszewski@verizon.net>
Joy
First 608-239-4327 <joyfirst5@gmail.com>
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