Protest at US Embassy Belfast

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Thursday January 28, 2021 18:50 by Justin Morahan

Assange and Yemen

Summary :: A double request to President Biden may have had one surprising response

Over 230 organizations from 17 countries signed up for a call to action against the war in Yemen this week. Among them were the Peace People who handed in a letter to President Joe Biden at the US Embassy in Belfast on 26 January last. The letter from Mairead Maguire asked for freedom for Julian Assange and to save the children of Yemen by ending the US/UK support for the Saudi led war there, to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and make peace.

In a separate development, the Wall Street Journal on 27 January Belfast protest at US Embassy reported that President Biden has suspended arms sales to Saudi Arabia temporarily.

Below is the letter handed in to the Embassy by Mairead, Ann Patterson and other Peace People:

"Dear Mr President

Please accept my congratulations and best wishes in your work as President.

I have two urgent requests to ask of you.

l) Free Julian Assange.

Please do all you can to free Julian Assange and release him to let him go home to his family.

He has served long enough and his family long for his presence and his punishment to be ended.

2) Save the Children of Yemen.

Your Foreign Policy is causing death and starvation of thousands of Yemeni children as the ports are blocked and people cannot get food. Do not let history record again that powerful Governments played politics with little children’s lives. I implore you Mr. President to stop immediately with the UK Government the war on Yemen. Please end the arms sales to Saudi Arabia and make peace.

Sadly more and more Yemeni children are being starved by warring parties whose blockades and bomb attacks have decimated and continue to decimate their country.

Please learn from Northern Ireland, and solve this horror of war on Yemen, through dialogue.

Peace and Love

Mairead Maguire

Nobel Peace Laureate"