CODEPINK Calls for an for an End to Drones at Commander-in-Chief Ball


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2013

Contact:

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-director, (415) 235-6517, medea@codepink.org
Alli McCracken, CODEPINK National Coordinator, (860) 575-5692, alli@codepink.org

CODEPINK CALLS FOR END TO DRONES AT COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF'S BALL

Washington, DC – On January 21 beginning at 8:30 pm, CODEPINK will welcome the guests of the Commander-in-Chief's Ball at the Washington Convention Center with a call to end drone violence now. Members of CODEPINK, a women-led peace organization, have traveled from around the United States to personally greet those attending the event. CODEPINK has been at the forefront of the movement to expose the high rate of civilian casualties caused by drones, and has brought their message loud and clear to those attending the Inaugural weekend events. Demonstration participants will have large visuals and will conduct a die-in with bloody sheets to commemorate those innocent people who have been killed by drones.

The United States has increasingly relied on remote-controlled drones, launched from secret bases, to stage attacks in countries across the world.  While the CIA and the military ostensibly choose their targets in efforts to kill alleged terrorists, they have caused scores of deaths among innocent civilians that play no part in terrorism. “As the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Obama has the power to end all drone attacks with the stroke of a pen,” said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the organization. “We call for him to use that power immediately. In the very least he could take drones out of the hands of the CIA, which is a civilian institution meant for gathering intelligence but now has unchecked power over these killer drones.”

“My friends from the Middle East live in fear that their families will one day be suddenly killed by a US attack,” says Lachelle Roddy, a sophomore at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and a member of CODEPINK.  “I came all the way to DC this week because I'm calling upon the President to stop these attacks!”


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