21/11/2013 13:17
Snowden to be promoted in Washington
Washington has launched an advertising campaign in support of Edward Snowden, the public human rights organization Partnership Fund for Social Justice has announced. Commercials will be placed on city buses, Voice of Russia reported.
A large photo of the famous 30-year-old dissident will be accompanied by an inscription: "We, the people, are against the spy state and say: "Thank you, Edward Snowden!"
When talking about this action, the local newspaper Politico notes that the buses carrying these commercials, according to the organizers' plan, will start working next week.
However, the organizers of the campaign cannot choose routes, ITAR-TASS reports.
WMATA officials confirm that the four-week run of bus advertising is set to begin on Nov. 25.
In a statement, the organization calls Snowden's repeated leaks of sensitive government information on surveillance is an "individual act of heroism" that "exposes misinformation and lies told to us by politicians."
"There is no better way to do that than to rally support for Ed Snowden, sending a clear message that he should be granted immunity and allowed to testify before Congress," the statement reads.
Metro spokesman Philip Stewart says that doesn't endorse third-party advertising on its buses and inside rail stations and that their views do not necessarily reflect the agency's.
Fundraising for the campaign is being held on a special page on the Internet. The organizers refuse to clarify how much money has already been collected. But the Politico writes that in Washington it costs 5 thousand dollars to place an advertisement on a bus for a period of one month.