Winter Soldier in Oakland, Marin: IVAW's Adam Kokesh tour

SF Coalition to Host Adam Kokesh
http://kokesh.blogspot.com/
http://www.stop-losscongress.org/

MEDIA ADVISORY

Winter Soldier Comes to Oakland and Marin: Adam Kokesh of IVAW Speaks at the Oakland Federal Building, College of Marin; Visits East Bay High Schools

Kokesh will make counter-recruitment visits to East Bay schools - Address Federal workers at weekly Oakland anti-war vigil

WHEN: Tuesday, May 6, 12:00 noon: Oakland Federal Building
7:00 PM: College of Marin, Student Center
TBA: Counter-Recruitment Visits to East Bay High Schools

WHERE: At 12:00 at the Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay St. At 7:00 PM at the College of Marin, Student Center in Kentfield. TBA, Counter-Recruitment Visits to East Bay High Schools

WHAT: Iraq war veteran and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Adam Kokesh, will speak at the weekly anti-war vigil at the Oakland Federal Building. This is the tenth year of the Tuesday vigil which was begun in early 1998 to oppose the genocidal sanctions imposed on Iraq which killed one and a half million Iraqis during the ten years they were in place. Now the vigil calls for and end to the murderous war and occupation on the people of Iraq. Kokesh will speak at noon.

“We are happy to host Sergeant Kokesh. His efforts to end the occupation and war have been tireless. He shows that the best way to support the troops, and the people of Iraq, is by the immediate and unequivocal end to the illegal U.S. invasion and war.” said Carolyn S. Scarr of the Ecumenical Peace Institute, organizer of the weekly vigils.

Kokesh will also encourage students at East Bay high schools and the College of Marin not to enlist for military service. Thousands of service members are involuntarily having their tours of duty extended through the military’s stop loss program, keeping them in harms way and increasing the mental and emotional strain on each soldier. According to a study by the Rand Corporation, 1 in 5 U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan – nearly 300,000 individuals – suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And documents released in a San Francisco Federal class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs reveal that 18 veterans kill themselves everyday. For the sake of the troops, and the people of Iraq, the war must end now.

Kokesh served as a Sergeant in the Marine Corps during the invasion of Fallujah in the spring and fall of 2004 and is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. He returned home to soldier for the war to end and has recently helped organize the Winter Soldier testimonials in Washington DC, and the Stop Loss Congress campaign.

Adam’s activities in the San Francisco Bay Area are organized by the SF Coalition to Host Adam Kokesh and are co-sponsored by: Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, American Friends Service Committee, U.S. Labor Against the War, United For Peace and Justice, Direct Action to Stop the War, Act Against Torture, the Ecumenical Peace Institute/CALC, the East Bay Coalition to Support Self-Rule for Iraqis, the Catalyst Project and the Marin Peace and Justice Center.

For more information see kokesh.blogspot.com http://www.stop-losscongress.org/ http://www.peacehost.net/EPI-Calc http://www.mpjc.org