To the leaders of India, Brazil, South Africa, Kuwait and Qatar:
Dear friends,
Muntaha's sixteen year old son was abducted from a peaceful democracy protest by Syrian security forces. She has spent the last eight weeks scouring the country for her child -- braving warnings from the Syrian regime that her other son would also be "disappeared" if she continued with her search. Our urgent action now can help her son and the thousands of other disappeared Syrians.
Since March, almost 3000 people have been taken by regime forces and disappeared into secret jails. The international community has spoken out, but done little to stop this attack -- but India, Brazil and South Africa have close ties to Syria and could push for an international human rights delegation to find the missing and reunite families with their loved ones.
Our massive global membership can force key leaders to act now, pressuring Syria to allow an international delegation to investigate the thousands of disappeared. Sign the petition -- it is being delivered by high profile media outlets around the world including the Times of India, the Guardian, CNN, and Der Spiegel:
India, Brazil and South Africa dragged their heels on a Security Council resolution that would have allowed for strong international action on Syria. Still, they remain committed to democracy and peace and have called for an end to the brutality of Assad's regime. We can hold them to account for their actions and demand they use their close Syrian ties to protect the democracy activists. An international human rights delegation could effectively reunite Syrian families and end the terror of disappearances for good.
The international media has already stepped in to help with our call. Today, major newspapers are launching massive interactive web tools that tell the stories of disappeared people like Muntaha's son, explain the political crisis in Syria and link to our petition for urgent action. These newspapers not only reach readers around the globe, but also reach opinion makers, world leaders and decision makers directly. Our campaign makes this all possible!
When democracy protests rocked the Arab world, Avaaz sprung into action and, with thousands of donations from around the world, we broke a media blackout in the Middle East -- supporting protesters across Syria and Yemen. Since then, our network of citizen journalists has generated almost 20% of all TV coverage out of Syria and our work with the emerging democracy movements has helped build a real alternative to the dictators that refuse to step down. But brutal regimes are still clinging to power and the courageous activists need our help now. Sign the petition to find Syria's disappeared and forward to everyone:
Egypt and Tunisia showed that people power can win against oppression. Our global community has supported these democracy revolutions, helped broadcast the stories of the brave activists and the violence against them, and forced our governments to action. Now if we act together we can help find the thousands of disappeared Syrians and see the dawn of a peaceful, democratic nation in Syria.
With hope and determination,
Loup Dargent
On behalf of Stephanie, Sam, Wissam, Maria Paz, Rewan, Benjamin, Pascal and the whole Avaaz team
More Information:
- Syrian protesters seized at rate of one every hour, say activists (Guardian)
- International activism comes to the rescue to find missing Syrians (Al Arabiya)
- Almost 3,000 Syrians listed as ‘disappeared’ (Financial Times)
- Protesters killed amid huge Syria protests (Al Jazeera)
- Videos Appear to Show Violence in Syria (New York Times)
- Syria protests to intensify during Ramadan-activists (AlertNet)
- In Syria-Qatar rift, a 'shrewdly calculated divorce' (France24)
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