GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.org
For Immediate Release:
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
US Greens celebrate Egypt's giant step towards democracy, assert that the Egyptian people must build a new government according to their own interests, not US strategic demands
• Green Party 'Egypt in Revolt' page with news feeds http://www.gp.org/egypt.html
• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on international issues http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.php
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States congratulated the Egyptian people and called President Hosni Mubarak's resignation a huge step towards democracy, human rights, and stability for their country.
"The Egyptian revolution is a victory for the people of Egypt, and also the victory for an idea -- the idea that violent regimes can be overthrown through nonviolent means," said Romi Elnagar, member of the Green Party of Louisiana and wife and mother of Egyptian-Americans. "While police and rampaging pro-Mubark thugs killed 350 and injured thousands more, the protesters themselves remained overwhelmingly peaceful."
US Greens hoped for an end to the 30-year-old 'emergency decree' and for a broad-based transitional government that embraced opposition parties, to begin the work of dismantling the brutally oppressive Mubarak regime. The next step will take place when the military relinquishes power and Egyptians establish a civil government with a constitution, free and fair elections, democratic institutions, and the means to solve problems like unemployment and poverty.
Greens also urged the Obama Administration to cooperate in an investigation of the alleged $70 billion that Mr. Mubarak's accumulated during his corrupt regime and to freeze any of his assets that are held in the US.
"We call on the US government to avoid meddling and respect the right of Egyptians to rule themselves. Aid for Egypt must be for humanitarian purposes, not military, and without strings attached. If the Obama Administration tries to press the new Egypt into subordination, to satisfy the US's strategic military and economic interests in the region, we will betray the Egyptian people and their right to democratic sovereignty," said Laura Wells, 2010 Green Party candidate for Governor of California.
US Greens noted that much of the conflict in the Middle East and resentment of the US by Egyptians and other populations in the region centers around the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"Since making its 1979 'cold peace' with Israel, the Egyptian government has supported Israel's ongoing apartheid and dispossession of Palestinians, most recently complying with the siege of Gaza, in return for billions in aid from the US. We look to the formation of a democratic Egypt which adheres to international law and reflects its citizens' long-standing opposition to Israel's oppression of Palestinians," said Dr. Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Egyptian Greens (in Arabic)
http://www.egyptiangreens.com/docs/firstpage/index.php
"Tunisia: African Greens Federation calls for Peace and Non-Violence" http://africangreens.org/spip.php?article53
Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog
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