[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE: US Greens congratulate Egyptians, insist that Egypt must move to democracy without US interference

[Green Party of California Updates]

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Sunday, February 13, 2011



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

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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