Media Alert
What: This demonstration is organized to show support for the protesters in the Middle East who have been demanding democratic rights and better living conditions from their oppressive leaders.
Where: University Drive and Mill Ave, Tempe, Ariz.
When: Monday, January 31, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.
Who: Â Students For Justice in Palestine ASU
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Contact information: Students For Justice in Palestine ASU
Oday Shahin – 480 710 6660 pr@sjpalestine.com
In demonstrations that are sweeping the Arab world, thousands of protesters in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, and Yemen are demanding the resignations of the autocratic leaders of their nations.
Recently, in Tunisia, popular protests led to the ousting of President Ben Ali. These successful protests have raised hopes worldwide in nearby Arab countries that suffer under similarly repressive regimes.  As public unrest continues to grow, demonstrations against  unemployment, inflated food prices, lack of political reform, and basic rights (like the freedom of speech or freedom of political expression) have spread throughout the Middle East.
Egyptian activists opposed to President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade regime danced outside the Tunisian Embassy in Cairo chanting, “Ben Ali, tell Mubarak a plane is waiting for him too!†according to the Associated Press.
In a speech on Friday, President Obama strongly defended the right of Egyptian protesters to gather and demand political change, cautioning the government of President Hosni Mubarak to avoid violence and adopt “concrete steps that advance the rights†of the country’s citizens.
Today, we as American citizens ask President Obama to take concrete steps to support self-determination for those in the Middle East calling for true democracy and freedom.
U.S. military aid to authoritarian regimes in the Middle East like Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen enables these regimes to use force with impunity to silence its citizens and destroy political opposition. Acting in solidarity with the protesters in the Middle East, we demand that the Obama administration cut off U.S. military aid to any governments that deny their citizens basic human rights and freedoms.