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TWO NATIONAL DROP THE DEBT CALL-IN DAYS
To Cancel Crushing Debt Owed to the World Bank and IMF, so that Monies
can
be Freed up for Basic Health Care and Education
**WHITE HOUSE CALL-IN DAY ON AIDS, TB AND DEBT: MAY 16**
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE CALL-IN DAY: MAY 23 (MARK YOUR
CALENDAR NOW!)
ON MAY 16, call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111.
Follow the prompts until you reach a live human being. (If the line is
busy and you can’t get through please send a fax to 202-456-2461.)
Here’s what you can say:
1) Debt cancellation by the IMF and World Bank must be part of President
Bush's AIDS strategy. Many countries in Africa that are being
devastated by HIV/AIDS and other health crises continue to pay more in
debt service than on health care.
2) I am calling to ask President Bush to lead the effort to ensure that
the World Bank and IMF match the G-7 countries' own commitments and
cancel 100% of the debts owed them by impoverished countries using their
own internal resources and not more taxpayer money, so that those
countries can use their resources for primary health care and education.
3) I am also calling to urge President Bush to dedicate BILLIONS NOT
MILLIONS to the global fight against AIDS, TB and malaria. The US, as
the world's wealthiest country, can and should do so.
*Feel free to personalize your statement and always ask to leave your
name and city.
BACKGROUND
Many countries still spend more on debt service than on health care and
education. In light of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the health crises of
tuberculosis, malaria and child killer diseases, it is not tolerable for
impoverished countries to continue to spend more on debt than on health
care
and basic education. The majority of thier illegitimate debt has not
been
cancelled.
It is time for the World Bank and the IMF to use their ample internal
resources to cancel the debts owed them by the impoverished countries.
Harmful and failed economic policies, like user-fees for basic health
and
primary education, should not be imposed as conditions for debt
cancellation.
Rather, we should seek to insure that the priorities of the people in
these
countries are met with investments in health care, schooling and clean
water.
While President Bush recently announced a US commitment of $200 million
to
a
newly established global trust fund for AIDS, TB and malaria, a
contribution
on the order of $2-2.5 billion, not millions, is required to seriously
address the devastation of AIDS and the terrible toll of TB, malaria and
child killers like pneumonia and measles.
The Jubilee USA Network is calling for the President to use U.S.
leverage
to
make the World Bank and IMF cancel the debts of impoverished countries
now
using their own resources.
The entire Jubilee Network is working on this and we hope to generate
calls.
Please each ask one or more other folks to make a call and pass this
alert
on.
Congratulations! Thank you for helping to make history.
For more information: Mara Vanderslice at Jubilee USA Network,
202-783-3566.
REGARDING THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS (SOA)
now called Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC)
An invitation to a fast and a phone call:
Solidarity with the SOA 26 (from Jeff Moebus)
This is a call ... for special solidarity activity with the “SOA 26,” who will go on trial in the Federal courthouse in Columbus,
Georgia on May 22 for protest action against the
School of the Americas during or right after last November’s SOAW Vigil.
This is a call for a nationwide 27-hour Fast to begin at 4pm, EDT, on May 21 and run through 7 pm, EDT, May 22. The
Fast is to last 27 hours so as to honor each SOA 26 defendant for one hour and to honor the only current SOA Prisoner of
Conscience, Charlie Liteky, currently in the final 90 days of a one year sentence for anti-SOA action.
This is also a call for widespread Prayer Vigils of duration from one hour to all nite long, beginning on the evening of May 21
and continuing throughout The Trial day.
From the SOA Watch:
Close the WHISC (former SOA)
BACKGROUND:
Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Joe Scarborough (R-FL), Joe Moakley (D-MA), Connie Morella (R-MD),
Christopher Shays (R-CT), and Lane Evans (D-IL) introduced a bill to close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security
Cooperation (successor to School of the Americas) on Thursday, May 10, 2001.
The bill, HR 1810, is modeled after last years Moakley/Scarborough/McGovern/Campbell amendment to the Defense
Authorization Bill. It calls for the closure of the school and the
establishment of a joint congressional task force to assess U.S. training of Latin American military. (See THOMAS web site at
http://www.thomas.loc.gov for text of bill.)
We hope to introduce a companion legislation in the Senate soon.
ACTION:
Call your Representative NOW and urge her/him to Co-Sponsor HR 1810.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
If your Representative has supported us in the past, thank him/her and urge to co-sponsor this new bill! This is a new
Congress and they need to sign on to this new bill.
Find your congressional delegation here:
http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.html
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| | Article created: 5/16/2001 |
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