Monday, January 31, 2011

Green Parties of USA and Australia support the Egyptian uprising

Here are press releases received from Green Parties in the US and Australia:

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders in the US announced the party's
support and encouragement for nonviolent protesters in Tunisia, Egypt,
Jordan, Algeria, and other nations in the region who have taken to the
streets in demand for an end to corrupt and oppressive regimes.

"The Green Party of the United States supports democracy, here and
throughout the world. We hope that the protesters in Egypt succeed in
deposing President Mubarak, and we're thrilled to see so many young
people stand up against dictators. The best outcome would be for
Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to improve economic
conditions for their populations and embrace democracy, equal rights
and protections for women and for ethnic, religious, and sexual
minorities, and freedom of the press. We condemn the brutal responses
to the protests, including police violence and the shutdown of the
Internet," said Dr. Anthony Gronowicz, 2010 Green candidate for
Congress in New York's 7th District and a member of the party's
International Committee .


Greens noted that the threatened regimes, especially Egyptian
President Mubarak's administration, were propped up by the US for the
purpose of serving US interests such as access to oil and other
resources, the maintenance of military bases on foreign soil, and
unequivocal support for Israel's brutal occupation and apartheid
system.

"While the Obama Administration has offered some restrained rhetorical
support for the demonstrations, the US continues to send the Egyptian
government billions of dollars in military aid, some of it now being
used by security forces to beat and teargas protesters," said David
Doonan, Mayor of Greenwich, New York, and a member of the Green Party.
"For true stability in the region, North African and Middle Eastern
governments must serve the interests of their own people instead of
the demands of the US State Department and western business."

Egypt is the second largest recipient of US military and economic aid
($1.55 billion in 2010), after Israel ($3.175 billion).

"The young people marching for democracy and freedom in these nations
are a model for people in the US. We need a mass opposition movement
in the US against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the gross
violations of our Constitution in the name of 'homeland security,' and
the reckless greed of Wall Street, the insurance industry, oil
companies, and other corporations. Let's learn something from the
Tunisian protesters: our outrage should not be directed at Wikileaks
but at our own government's secret policies and actions that were
exposed by the Wikileaks cables, such as the US bombing of Yemen and
the attempts to undermine the Copenhagen talks on global warming,"
said Farheen Hakeem, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Australia should urge Mubarak to immediately set a date for a full and free election - Brown

30 January 2011

Australia should urge Mubarak to immediately set a date for a full and free election - Brown

The Australian Government should urge Hosni Mubarak to immediately set a date for a full and free election in Egypt in the coming weeks, Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown said in Hobart today.

"Egypt's election should be under international supervision," Senator Brown added.

"We urge governments of all democracies not to turn their backs as the death toll rises in Egypt."

"We commend news organisations who are working in dangerous conditions to ensure that the truth is told."

"Thousands of people are also working tirelessly to try to circumvent Mubarak's blocks on communications by harnessing the power of social media."


Readers of this blog will know already about the African Greens' response, but here is a link.

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