Do We Have to Pay for This? | ||
August 14, 2014 Dear Supporter, Today marks one year since the August 14, 2013 Rab’a Square massacre in Egypt, when the Egyptian police and army opened fire –– using US-funded weapons–– on demonstrators opposed to the military’s July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. If you don’t want your tax dollars going to fund repressive regimes, tell Secretary of State John Kerry: On the anniversary of the Rab’a massacre, stop military aid to Egypt! Using tanks, bulldozers, ground forces, helicopters and snipers, police and army personnel mercilessly attacked the makeshift protest encampment, where demonstrators, including women and children, had been camped out for over 45 days. The result was the worst mass killing in Egypt’s modern history. Read more about it in CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin’s latest article. Despite this horrible massacre and the ensuing year of terrible repression, when Secretary of State John Kerry visited then-Egyptian Defense Minister Sisi on June 22, he announced that the US would release $575 million in military aid to Egypt, with the rest of the annual $1.3 billion forthcoming. As Americans, we are horrified that our tax dollars are paying for so much oppression, from Gaza to Egypt. On this anniversary of the Rab’a massacre, Egyptians are still mourning the dead, nursing the injured and crying out for help from the prisons and torture chambers. Let's show them that we feel their pain and hear their cries. Tell Secretary Kerry: Stop US military aid to Egypt now! In solidarity, Alli, Anastasia, Ben, Holly, Jodie, Janet, Medea, Nada, Nancy, Sophia, and Tighe PS: August 25 is the International Day of Action for Mohamed Soltan, a young American Egyptian who has been on hunger strike now for over 200 day in an Egyptian prison. Check out the Facebook event page and plan something in your community. |
