Folks,
It appears that the small group of terrorists are wreaking havoc in several
countries.
Linda Herd
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: "Becky Bond, CREDO Action" <a...@credoaction.com>
To: Linda Marie Herd <linda.h...@sbcglobal.net>
Sent: Sat, January 29, 2011 9:49:22 AM
Subject: Egyptians to the U.S.: If not now, when?
A pro-democracy activist asks Americans: If not now, when?
The U.S. must demand Mubarak resign and call for free elections.
Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton:
Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize winner and Egyptian pro-democracy activist,
recently asked, "If the west is not going to speak out now, then when?" As a
chief backer of Mubarak's military, the United States has a special role to
play
in the rapidly unfolding events in Egypt. You must use our nation's
considerable
leverage to advocate for Mubarak's resignation and the immediate announcement
of
free and fair democratic elections.
Dear Linda,
In Egypt, forces loyal to the longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak aimed a water
cannon at a Nobel laureate and well known democracy activist. They beat the
supporters who tried to protect him from this attack and then used tear gas to
trap him in a mosque.
His message to us? In an interview with The Guardian of London1 Mohamed
ElBaradei issued this challenge:
Urge Secretary of State State Hillary Clinton: Demand Mubarak resign and call
for free and fair elections immediately. Click here to automatically add your
name to the petition.
The United States has been a key benefactor of Mubarak throughout his 30-year
reign as a dictator whose corrupt government has employed torture to stifle
dissent and authoritarian rule to maintain claim to the reins of power. In
fact,
the U.S. provides $1.3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt — that's a
stunning 25% of Mubarak's military budget.2 And this is in addition to the
nearly $28 billion in economic assistance provided to the country since 1975.3
The U.S. is rapidly reassessing its approach to the developments in Egypt. On
Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton declared Mubarak's government
"stable" and suggested that it was addressing "the legitimate needs and
interests of the Egyptian people."4
Mohamed ElBaradei, who is not only a Nobel Prize winner but also the former
head
of the International Atomic Agency, responded in an interview on CNN5:
As protesters escalate their calls for the ouster of Mubarak, a dictator who
has
held the presidency for 30 years, he responded by unleashing the police and
military who have attacked protesters with shocking force. Opposition leaders
have been placed under arrest and internet and cell phone service has been cut
off in an attempt to cripple the nascent anti-authoritarian movement.
Clinton has recently taken a different tack and asserted "We support the
universal rights of the Egyptian people, including the rights to freedom of
expression, association and assembly." We need Clinton — and the U.S.
government
— to go further in support of human rights and demand truly democratic
elections.
Tell Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: The U.S. can support the people of
Egypt by demanding democratic elections now. Click here to automatically add
your name to the petition.
As a chief backer of Mubarak's military, the U.S. has a special role to play in
the rapidly unfolding events in Egypt. The U.S. can add teeth to its statement
that it supports the universal rights of the Egyptian people, including the
right to free speech and assembly, by using its considerable leverage to
advocate for Mubarak's resignation and the immediate announcement of free and
fair democratic elections.
Thank you for taking a stand for the rights of people of Egypt.
Becky Bond, Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. "Egyptian government on last legs, says ElBaradei," The Guardian of London,
January 28, 2011.
2. "Defence budget (Egypt)," Jane's Information Group, December 30, 2010.
3. "Background Note: Egypt," U.S. Department of State, November 10, 2010.
4. "Can the U.S. get on the right side in Egypt?" Washington Post, January 28,
2011.
5. "ElBaradei: Egypt is not stable," CNN News, January 25, 2011.
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"I was stunned to hear Secretary Clinton saying that the Egyptian government is
'stable,' and I asked myself at what price stability. Is it on the basis of 29
years of martial law? ... Is it on the basis of rigged elections? That's not
stability. That's living on borrowed time. Stability is when you have a
government that is elected on a free and fair basis. And we have seen how
elections have been rigged in Egypt, we have seen how people have been
tortured.
And when you see today over 100,000 young people, getting desperate, going to
the street, asking for their basic freedoms, I expected to hear from Secretary
Clinton ... democracy, human rights, freedom."
"The international community must understand we are being denied every human
right day by day. Egypt today is one big prison. If the international community
does not speak out it will have a lot of implications. We are fighting for
universal values here. If the west is not going to speak out now, then when?"
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