Dear Friends,
March 1st is the anniversary of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty coming into force,
and we are asking Councils, organisations, friends and supporters to fax or
write to the United States Embassy or local Consul on or before that date,
urging the new US administration to 'get with the strength' and join the
majority of the world's nations in the campaign to rid the world of
anti-personnel landmines.
Call upon the US administration to accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
While 139 nations have signed on to the treaty, the US has so far resisted.
Herewith a draft/model letter for you to send or to take to the US consuls
in your states and ask them to forward it to the Ambassador - you can speak
to the points when you visit the consul. If there is no consul in your
state, send it directly to the US Ambassador in Canberra (address on letter
below).
Use the model letter below, or vary the text as you deem suitable. Sign on
behalf of your 'branch'/ committee/ organisation / or yourself. Please try
to send/ deliver your letter before 1 March 2001.
PLease send a copy of your letter to the national coordinator of the
Australian Anti-Landmines Network, Sr.Patricia Pak Poy at
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> fax: (08) 8363 7870.
Thanking you,
Ron Gray, APC(SA)Inc.
----------------------------------------------
DRAFT/MODEL LETTER
The FAX NUMBER for the US Ambassador in Canberra is (02) 6214 5970.
Date:
HE Ambassador Edward Gnehm (Jnr)
Embassy of the United States of America
Chancery
Moonah Place
Yarralumla ACT 2600
Excellency:
I am writing on behalf of ........................................... to
urge the United States of America to accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.
March the 1st 2001, marks the second Anniversary of the entry into force of
the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti Personnel Mines and on their destruction. To date 139
countries have signed and 110 have ratified the Treaty including all
America's NATO allies except Turkey, and all other countries in the Western
Hemisphere except Cuba.
The United States has not yet joined two-thirds of the world's nations in
embracing the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. In the new Administration's first year
of office it would be a significant show of leadership to the world if it
were to accede to this important international treaty for a more humane world.
>From March 6-10, 2001, mine survivors, deminers, campaigners and
researchers from all 50 States and over 90 countries will gather in
Washington DC to take part in a series of important meetings, and they will
urge the Administration to take a stronger stand against the use of
anti-personnel mines and accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. This week has
been proclaimed "Ban Landmines Week" by Washington DC Mayor Williams, and
will culminate in a ceremony at Lafayette Park on the 10th March. The
President has been invited to meet with youth and landmines survivors from
around the world to receive the hundreds of thousands of signatures
collected worldwide calling for an end to global landmine use and urging
the United States to join the ban.
Every year thousands of innocent children,women and men are injured or
killed by anti-personnel mines in over 80 countries and the threat of
landmines denies countless more access to their land and a livelihood. An
overwhelming majority of mine survivors are civilians, and most are injured
after conflicts have ceased.
We recognize significant American resources dedicated to global
humanitarian mine clearance, but while the US stands out from the Mine Ban
Treaty, these efforts give to the world an ambiguous message about the
position and intentions of the United States with regard to antipersonnel
mines. We call on the United States as world power to take a clear stand
against this indiscriminate weapon and accede to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty..
We hope we may have your personal support for the campaign to rid the world
of antipersonnel mines, and ask you to pass on this request for a review of
US policy to the President Bush and his Administration
Yours sincerely
(end of letter)
____________________________________________
Australian Peace Committee (South Australian Branch) Inc.
11 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
Ph: (+61-8) 8212 7138
Fax: (+61-8) 8364 2291
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web sites: www.peacecourier.com
and: www.peace.internode.on.net
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