Throughout the suffering Manning has had to endure so far, from inhuman solitary confinement to a widely publicised military court martial,the mainstream media has somehow neglected to cover this defendents greatest inner struggle. That she had been forced to live as a he throughout it all.
One day after being sentenced to 25 years in prison , the Army Private the world knows as Bradley Manning issued a statement about who she really is. " As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy treatment as soon as possible. I hope you will support me in this transition. I also reqeust that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and the use of the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility.'
The US army is refusing to give Chelsea Manning the hormone therapy she has requested. I strongly object to this situation and believe Chelsea deserves the treatment she wants. Chelsea Manning should have her crushing 35 year sentence commuted by President Obama to the three and a quarter years she's already spent behind bars awaiting trial and sentence.
Manning is likely to serve her time at Fort Leavenworth, which does not offer hormone therapy or sex-reassignent surgery to prisoners, I just hope that the authorities see sense and do the right thing.
Mannings's leak of military data was driven, she says, by 'love for our country and a sense of duty for others'. and there was an undeniable interest in the public knowing more about the conduct of the US military in Iraq and in places like Afghanistan. With the Apache helicopter killings for instance, Reuters haas sought release of the cockpit video via Freedom of Information legislation, a route that proved totally unsuccessful.
Sometimes leaks are the only way.
Though Manning will be eligible for parole after serving a third of her sentence, many are finding the sentence completely disproportionate when compared to the sentences given to other soldiers convicted of more serious crimes such as murder.
So in the meantime we must raise our voices, shouting free Chelsea Manning.
http://www.freebradleymanning.net/
http://www.bradleymanning.org/
Petition one can sign here
http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/manning-treatment
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