CODEPINK Activists Stage Creative Protest Outside Annual Drone Lobby Conference |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2013 Contact: Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Cofounder, 415 235 6517, Medea@codepink.org
Noor Mir, CODEPINK Anti-drone Campaign Coordinator, 845.625.3725, Noor@codepink. CODEPINK Activists Stage Creative Protest Outside Annual Drone Lobby Conference What: Drone protest
When, 12 noon, Tuesday, August 13
Where: Washington Convention Center, Washington DC
Washington, DC-- On Tuesday, August 13 at noon,
while the powerful drone lobby will be meeting for their annual
conference in Washington DC, CODEPINK and other human rights activists
will be outside the Washington Convention Center protesting the
manufacturing and use of killer and spy drones across the globe. The
Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
conference is sponsored by, and will feature, manufacturers of some of
the world's most terror-inducing killing and spying machines. Activists
will protest the use of unmanned vehicles that operate in defiance of
domestic and international law, maim and kill innocent civilians
overseas, and illegally spy on people across the globe. CODEPINK and
allies plan to don drone costumes and utilize other creative visuals,
and they will engage with some of the 8,000 attendees as they enter the
conference. Particularly
disturbing to activists is the massive expansion of the drone industry
in just the last few years, to the point where over 75 nations now
possess this technology. In pursuit of money and influence, the drone
lobby ignores the nightmare possibilities posed by this rapid
proliferation. “The global use of drones has started a new era of
science fiction-like warfare that removes us even further from the human
face of death and destruction. In my home of Pakistan, we are seeing an
increase in terrorism and anti-American sentiment, and drone strikes
have been cited as the main reason. We can't let this continue.” said
Noor Mir, the CODEPINK anti-drone campaign coordinator. “The
companies that the drone lobby represents are some of the top campaign
contributors to many politicians, especially those who are members of
the “Drone Caucus” in both the Senate and House,” said CODEPINK
cofounder Medea Benjamin, author of Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote
Control. “As long as the weapons manufacturers are buying off our
elected representatives, we can expect to be stuck in a state of
perpetual war and violence. The American people deserve to know about
the driving forces behind our foreign policies, which include dangerous
lobbies like AUVSI.” CODEPINK
has been campaigning against the use of killer and spy drones for
several years. The organization hosted the first-ever international
drone summit in 2012, and has since taken delegations to Pakistan and
Yemen to meet with survivors of American drone strikes. More information
about the CODEPINK anti-drone campaign can be found at codepink.org/drones. ##
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CODEPINK Activists Stage Creative Protest Outside Annual Drone Lobby Conference |
