Peace and Justice Vigil: Don’t Silence the Truth Tellers

Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/02/2024
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Location
Corner of Main St and Illinois Ave

Categories No Categories

The Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois will hold the Monthly Peace and Justice Vigil on Saturday, March 2, Noon to 1 P.M. at the corner of Main and Illinois Ave., Carbondale. On Sunday, March 3 at 1 P.M. The Muslim community will host the weekly Rally for Peace in Gaza. Please gather at 12:45 at the corner of Main and Illinois Ave in Carbondale (Pavilion) for a Rally from 1 P.M to 2 P.M.
“In war, truth is the first casualty…” The Obama Administration declined to indict Julian Assange after publication of the Iraq War Logs, citing the first amendment. The Trump Administration brought espionage charges and the Biden Administration has carried on the process to extradite him from England. He has spent 5 years in one of England’s harshest prisons, severely affecting his physical and mental health.
The basis for the indictment is on-line publisher WikiLeaks’s “exposure of criminality on the part of the U.S. government on an unprecedented scale.” … revealing war crimes committed by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay. Punishment and persecution send a chilling message to investigative journalists. The charges must be dropped and his freedom restored.
Similarly, the Israeli’s have silenced the truth-tellers by simply killing them. More than 119 Palestinian reporters have been targeted and killed since the IDF launched their war on Gaza. Foreign reporters are not allowed in Gaza unless imbedded with the IDF. While local reporters have worked tirelessly to bring the story to the world, it is part of controlling the truth not to allow international reporters to see for themselves.
We also remember Aaron Bushnell. His self-immolation was prefaced by his message, “I will no longer be complicit in genocide.” Bushnell’s friend and conscientious objector Levi Pierpont says his friend’s death was not a suicide but was about using his life to send a message for justice. Pierpont says Bushnell died “to get people’s attention about the genocide that’s happening in Palestine.” Ann Wright, retired U.S. Army colonel and former diplomat, refers to the history of self-immolation as protest to war: “It was an act of courage, an act of bravery, to call attention to U.S. policies.”
Appropriate signs will be provided, but all are invited to bring their own. The next monthly meeting of the Peace Coalition will be held on ZOOM on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 6pm. For information about joining, contact georgeannhartzog@gmail.com.