Iraq Veterans Against the War invites you to a hearing in Freiburg on March 14
Soldiers and veterans will share the truth about wars in Iraq, Afghanistan
(12.02.2009) Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) invites you to hear the hard truth about what is really on happening on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, day in and day out, from American, British and German veterans.
Winter Soldier Europe will feature veterans’ testimony in Freiburg, Germany, on March 14, just weeks before NATO has its annual summit in southern Germany.
Coordinated by the European chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), the event is supported by Connection e.V., RüstungsInformationsBüro (RIB), Freiburger Friedensforum, Freiburger Friedenswoche, Tübingen Progressive Americans, Munich American Peace Committee, American Voices Abroad Berlin, Carl-Schurz-Haus Freiburg/Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut e.V. as well as the Freiburg-based groups of DFG-VK, attac, VVN/BdA and IPPNW.
The event has been named Winter Soldier to honor a similar gathering 30 years ago of veterans of the Vietnam War. Winter soldiers, according to American founding father Thomas Paine, are the people who stand up for the soul of their country, even in its darkest hours. IVAW held its first Winter Soldier hearings about Iraq and Afghanistan last year in Washington, D.C.
While offical reports are saying that the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan is improving, these veterans will stand up to reveal the unpleasant and unpublicized realities of the ongoing U.S. military occupation.
Expected testifiers include:
U.S. AWOL soldier and Iraq veteran André Shepherd who seeks asylum in Germany
Christian Neumann, soldier of the German army and veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
US Navy journalist Zack Baddorf.
US-veteran Chris Capps who deserted before deployment to Afghanistan.
“We’ve heard from the politicians, we’ve heard from the generals, we’ve heard from the media – now it’s our turn,” said Kelly Dougherty, executive director of IVAW and a former sergeant who served in Iraq.
The hearing will convene on March 14, 2009, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Café Velo, Wentzinger Str. 15 in Freiburg (Stadtbahnbrücke/HBF Freiburg). We will be pleased to welcome you.
Broadcast Media: Please confirm your attendance by March 10 so we can reserve you an audio input on our sound system.
To run the hearing, we need your support. Please donate to the following account: "KDV im Krieg", BIC GENODEM1GLS, IBAN DE42 4306 0967 8022 4097 00, purpose: IVAW Europe/Winter Soldier
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Zack Baddorf, +40.749.617.478 (Romania), +423.663.129.121 (Lichtenstein), zack(at)baddorf(dot)com
Chris Capps-Schubert, +49.152.062.65602 (Germany), europe(at)ivaw(dot)org
For German Media: Rudi Friedrich, 069-82375534, send an eMail
For more information, visit:
Freiburger Friedensforum www.fffr.de
Connection e.V. www.Connection-eV.org
Iraq Veterans Against the War www.ivaw.org/wintersoldier
Iraq Veterans Against the War Europe www.ivaw-europe.blogspot.com
Iraq Veterans Against the War Europe, Connection e.V. and others: Press release, February 12, 2009
Keywords: ⇒ Deutschland ⇒ Germany ⇒ Großbritannien ⇒ Krieg ⇒ Soldaten ⇒ Soldiers ⇒ United Kingdom ⇒ USA ⇒ USA ⇒ War