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COUNTDOWN TO 1st JUNE! PROTEST TO DEFEND INTERNATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER |
Each week we highlight different aspects of what Bradley Manning has done for the movement.
Thank You Bradley Manning!
“If the public, particularly the American public, had access to this information, it could spark a debate on the military and our foreign policy in general as it applied to Iraq and Afghanistan, it might cause society to reconsider the need to engage in counter-terrorism while ignoring the human situation of the people we engaged with every day … I felt I accomplished something that would allow me to have a clear conscience.”
US opposition to minimum wage increase in Haiti revealed
WikiLeaks public cables have showed how the U.S. Embassy in Haiti worked closely with factory owners contracted by Levi’s, Hanes and Fruit of the Loom to block an increase to the minimum wage for Haitian workers.
In 2009, the minimum wage was $1.75 per day. In June 2009, responding to workers’ pressure, a parliamentary bill proposed to raise it to $5 per day. Factory owners opposed it saying they would only pay $2.50 “to make T-shirts, bras and underwear for US clothing giants like Dockers and Nautica”. Backed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Embassy, they urged then Haitian President René Préval to intervene.
The Haiti cables reveal how closely the US Embassy monitored widespread pro-wage increase demonstrations and the political impact of the minimum wage battle. UN troops were called in to quell workers and students protests, sparking further demands for the end of the UN military occupation of Haiti.
In a statement he read in court on 28 February 2013, gay US Army PFC Bradley Manning proudly admitted having leaked information to Wikileaks in order to inform the public of US war crimes and government skulduggery that was being kept from us.
He faces charges that could lead to life in prison.
He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the third time in a row.
"200 Gourdes ($5) right now!"
Because of these fierce demonstrations, sweatshop owners and Washington were unable to keep the minimum wage as low as they had wanted to for long.
In August 2009, President Preval negotiated a deal with Parliament to have two minimum wages: $3.13/day for textile workers and $5/day for other workers. But Parliament also adopted a progressive increase over three years so in October 2012 textile workers minimum wage finally went up to $5/day ($6.25 for other sectors).
On 7 January 2006, Brazilian General Bacellar, head of the UN occupation forces in Haiti, was found dead. Bacellar had resisted pressure from Canada, France and the US to raid grassroots areas; the day before his death he opposed plans to occupy Cité Soleil – a stronghold of support for democratically elected President Aristide who was ousted by a US coup. A Wikileaks cable revealed suspicions of Dominican President Fernandez “that the Brazilian government is calling the death a suicide in order to protect the mission from domestic criticism. A confirmed assassination would result in calls from the Brazilian populace for withdrawal from Haiti.”
1 - 8 June: International Actions to Free Bradley Manning
So far actions in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, UK, USA, Wales…
