Today we are announcing the recipients of the first annual Truthout Freedom and Democracy Awards. These awards have been granted to three individuals who have done the most in the past year to promote freedom and democracy. These recipients will each receive an honorarium of $1,000 to assist them in continuing their work.
This year's recipients, in alphabetical order, are: Gold Star Mother of US Army Spc. Casey Sheehan and peace activist Cindy Sheehan, who has taken her protest of the War in Iraq to the president's doorstep and worked tirelessly to bring an end to US engagement in Iraq. 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, US Army, the first commissioned military officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq, stating that the war was not legal. Ann Wright, former member of the military and a US State Department Foreign Service member who resigned her post in protest of the Iraq War and has joined the fight to end the war.
Each of these recipients has shown a deep commitment to efforts to strengthen freedom and democracy in a time of great need. Truthout salutes these honorees for their work.
Freedom, Democracy and Cindy Sheehan By William Rivers Pitt t r u t h o u t | Columnist
Thursday 01 February 2007
|
Sheehan's activism began shortly after her son, Casey, was killed in action in Iraq. She has since become a tireless advocate for ending the occupation of Iraq, and for holding the Bush administration accountable for the lies and distortions used to foist this conflict upon our country. Seldom does a week pass without a news report crossing the wires that describes an action she has taken, or a statement she has made, in furtherance of these goals.
Sheehan, more than any other single person, became the face and voice of the anti-Iraq movement when she camped out in front of George W. Bush's ranch in Texas in summer of 2005. During the weeks she spent there, waiting to speak to Bush about the war, the focus of the world became riveted upon her. What had until then been an amorphous, ill-defined, televised conflict became a real, living, painful reality to the American people because of Cindy's voice, anguish and simple determination.
Sheehan continued to stir up anti-Iraq War resentment all throughout 2006 and into this year. On January 31, she was removed from the balcony of the House of Representatives before the State of the Union address for wearing a shirt emblazoned with the number of US troops who had been killed in Iraq. On March 7th, she was arrested again outside the headquarters of the United Nations during another anti-Iraq demonstration.
In September 2006, she published her memoir, Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through Heartache to Activism, which described her development from California mother to dedicated activist. In January of 2007, she traveled to Cuba to demand that the US military prison in Guantanamo be closed.
Through all the pain, sorrow, attacks, time and travel this past year, Cindy Sheehan has not wavered in her commitment and her courage. In her work, we see what is best within us all, and what is best within America. Sheehan is the living embodiment of Margaret Mead's axiom: Never forget that a small, determined group of people can change the world, because it is the only thing that ever has. We at Truthout are humbled to honor Cindy Sheehan with this award.
Ehren Watada: A Leader of Men By Marc Ash t r u t h o u t | Executive Director
Thursday 01 February 2007
|
It is important to bear in mind that Ehren Watada has, in all likelihood, voluntarily sacrificed his liberty, going from being a free man to risking incarceration - for years - in his struggle for the very things his government says he was trained to fight for. Perhaps most importantly, he has reminded us that the most courageous battles are often fought not with a gun, but with resolve.
No falsehood stands as a greater affront to civilization than the notion that people can be made democratic by the use of military force against them. At its core, democracy is based on non-violent dissent. Ehren Watada has given us a rare demonstration of the true power of democracy - by choosing resistance to an unjust war, rather than silence and complicity.
The ongoing US military operation in Iraq is often billed by its proponents as, "a war over there, to spare us from a war over here." But the war in America rages too. The war here is a war for freedom and democracy, as surely as any war ever fought. It is fought in public squares and libraries and in voting booths and town halls. It is fought in courtrooms and prison cells, at lecterns and in eateries, in places large and small across this nation.
Our battle, like any other, needs leaders. The United States Army trained Lieutenant Watada to be "a leader of men." He is leading the men and women of our armed services in speaking out against an unjust and illegal war. He is inspiring Americans who are struggling to make real the promise of freedom and democracy in this country.
Ann Wright: An American Hero By Victoria Harper t r u t h o u t | Editorial Chair
Thursday 01 February 2007
|
Ann Wright served in the US Army for 16 years, and then in the Army Reserves for 13 years. She earned Master's and Law degrees from the University of Arkansas and a Master's degree in National Security Affairs from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.
Joining the US Foreign Service in 1987, Ann Wright served as Deputy Chief of Mission of US Embassies in Sierra Leone, Micronesia and Afghanistan, and on overseas assignments in US Embassies in Grenada, Nicaragua, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. She was a member of the first State Department team to go into Kabul, Afghanistan, to reopen the American embassy in December 2001.
During her time in the State Department, she received the Award for Heroism for her work in the largest evacuation since the US departure from Saigon in 1975, coordinating the evacuation of 2,500 people from Sierra Leone.
Ann Wright resigned from the US Foreign Service on March 19, 2003, in protest of Bush administration policies and determination to initiate a pre-emptive war in Iraq. In her letter to US Secretary of State Colin Powell on that date, one day before the onset of the US invasion of Iraq, she wrote that she could no longer represent the policies of the Bush administration regarding war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, North Korea, and the curtailment of civil liberties in the US itself, and that these policies were making the world a more dangerous place.
Since her resignation, Ann Wright has worked with other peace activists to protest the War in Iraq and the torture of prisoners held without rights at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She has demanded the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo and accountability for the illegal actions that occurred there.
Working with groups like Veterans for Peace and Iraq Veterans Against the War, Ann Wright has spoken out, calling for the closing of the School of the Americas and condemning its practices.
In August 2005, Ann Wright gave her support to Gold Star Mother and peace activist Cindy Sheehan in organizing the Camp Casey demonstration near President Bush's home in Crawford, Texas. She continued with other veterans and peace activists on the "Bring Them Home Now" bus tour, traveling from Camp Casey to the White House. She has willingly been arrested to demonstrate her resolve against the war in Iraq and has worked to lend support to others such as Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned military officer to publicly refuse service in Iraq.
In support of soldiers who are actively resisting service in the Iraq War, Ann Wright demonstrates her own commitment to peace and justice. Standing shoulder to shoulder with other veterans who have taken an anti-war position, she has said that if recalled to serve, she would rather be court-martialed than participate in an "illegal war of aggression."
Ann Wright has shown immense bravery and resolve in her quest for peace and her efforts to restore the reputation of the United States around the world. She has worked continuously to resist the war in Iraq. She has fought against the destruction of constitutionally guaranteed human rights under the Bush administration and has been a steadfast supporter of other activists. For her energy and commitment to peace, justice, and strengthening democratic principles, Ann Wright has earned the first annual Truthout Freedom and Democracy Award.
