Action in Vienna on Monday/星期一在維也納街頭請求世界的良心

Suffering in the Cold,  Awaken the World’s Conscience

Imagine an army massacres civilians and you have a choice. You could comply with the laws and do nothing, or you could choose your conscience and take action.   Would you save people or become part of the oppressive machine?

On Monday(2012/01/23) on Kärntnerstraße in Vienna, I will remove my clothes and stand in the winter cold for 1,5 hour, in order to awaken consciences of  the World and the American government, bring light to the story of a brave soldier who listened to his conscience and took action.

When:

2012/01/23, at 12:00 to 13:30

Where:

Vienna, on Kärntnerstraße.

(Where next to Stephansdom)

Action Contents:

The American soldier Mr. Bradley Manning has received incredibly unjust treatment.   He has been locked up for a year and half now and still has no sign of receiving a trial date, I want to understand his feeling, so starting to stand naked in the winter cold for one and a half hours in the hope that this will awake the American government’s conscience and the consciences of the citizens of the world.

Who is Bradley Manning:

Manning was an intelligence analyst for the American Army in Iraq.  Because he could not accept his daily exposure to evidence of the American army abusing Iraqi civilians, he chose to follow his conscience.  Manning secretly stole files and videos and gave them to WikiLeaks..  In 2010 he was arrested by the army and is still awaiting trial.  He is charged with 22 crimes and if convicted, faces life in prison or the death penalty.  He went to prison when he was 22 years old.  He is now 24 years old and still has not had a preliminary trial.

This is not the first case of this kind.  In 1971 the American intelligence analyst, Daniel Elsberg, was dissatisfied with deceiving the public about the truth on the battlefield in Vietnam.  He took a report, later called the Pentagon Papers, and gave copies to the New York Times and the Washington Post.  The media were sued, but the Supreme Court found them innocent. 

As a Taiwanese citizen, I have witnessed and heard of many Americans fighting for many different types of freedoms and human rights.  But Manning’s plight has instilled in me a deep sorrow and anger for this injustice.  I’m really moved by this soldier choosing his conscience and being brave enough to disobey the unjust system.  It surely required an incredible amount of courage.  It reminds me of the few disobedient German soldiers during World War II who secretly helped Jews escape genocide.  This type of incomparable valor and moral conscience, be it in days gone by or today, must surely move us all.  Therefore, I hope through my protest on the street, I can give his story another telling to inform Americans and people from all over the world.  At the same time I want to announce the following request to the American government.

My Petition:

1. The American government immediately release Bradley Manning.

2. President Obama pardons Bradley Manning in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18 which ensures that everyone have the right to freedom of conscience, and Article 19 which ensures that everyone has the right to “receive and impart information and ideas through and media and regardless of frontiers.”

Jason Búo-Shù Huang


How to contact me:
Web: worldwithconscience.blogspot.com    E-mail: buotree@gmail.com

寒冬裸身苦行，請求世界的良心

軍隊屠殺平民，如果你有個機會選擇，你會選擇你的良心還是選擇遵從法律，救人還是成為共犯結構的一份子?

我將以冬日裸身苦行的方式請求美國與世界的良心。盼能喚起大家對他的記憶。

日期與時間：

2012年1月23日，中午12:00至下午13:30

城市與地點：

維也納，Kärntnerstraße大街上（史蒂芬大教堂旁）

行動內容：

我是一名台灣的學生。因為覺得美國士兵Bradley Manning報導真相卻遭受到這個世界不公平的對待，被關了一年半至今卻連審判的日期都還未知，我想要瞭解他的感受，所以我今日會在冬天裸身一個半小時，希望能喚起美國政府與更多世界人民的良心，也盼能喚起大家對他的記憶。如果你願意出一份力量救人的話，請幫助在連署書上或在我身上簽個名表示對曼寧士兵的支持。

關於Bradley Manning：

一名曾在伊拉克擔任情報分析工作的美國士兵，因受不了天天觀看著軍隊對待伊拉克人民的方式以及屠殺平民的罪行，選擇了自己的良心而違背軍隊，偷偷把戰爭文件及影像交給維基解密網站公諸於世。2010年事發後被囚禁於軍事監獄至今尚未審判，目前被訴以通敵罪等22項罪名，面臨無期徒刑甚至是可判死刑等重罪的軍事審判，入獄時他22歲，現在24歲了卻還沒有一個確切的初審日期。

在歷史上也曾發生過這樣的事件。1971年美國人Daniel Ellsberg擔任越戰情報分析工作，因不滿當時政府欺騙民眾在戰地的真相，把完成的報告（後稱為五角大廈文件, Pentagon Papers）拷貝一份交給了紐約時報與華盛頓郵報後與媒體一同被起訴，後來美國大法官釋憲宣告他們無罪。身為一個台灣人，我目睹過也耳聞過許多美國人在爭取許多不同的自由權和人權上的努力與事蹟。但是Bradley Manning至今所遭受的處境卻讓我深感憤慨與悲哀。我深受Bradley Manning的事蹟感動，對我而言，一位士兵為了良心而選擇作出違抗不公義的體制和大環境是需要很大的勇氣的，如同第二次世界大戰時也曾有些許德國士兵選擇違抗軍令，偷偷放猶太人一條生路，這樣無比的勇氣與良心無論是在昔日或今日皆令人動容，因此我希望能透過我街頭的行為，把他們的故事再說一次給大家聽，希望能夠再度喚起美國與世界各地的良心，同時我也要提出我對美國政府的請求。

我的請願：

1.  盼美國政府能馬上釋放士兵Bradley Manning先生。

2.  盼美國歐巴馬總統能特赦士兵Bradley Manning先生，以盡美國在世界人權宣言與人權公約第十八條良心權與第十九條媒體自由傳播權上一直以來的堅持與榜樣。

台灣學生　黃柏樹　敬上

連絡方式：網站: http://worldwithconscience.blogspot.com/ E-mail: buotree@gmail.com