Friday, June 29, 2007

!!DARFUR URGENT!! al-Bashir LIVE VIDEO CONF W/ U.S. TOMORROW

MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: William Reed
202.547.4125

SUDANESE PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS AMERICAN AUDIENCE ABOUT DARFUR
His Excellency Omar al-Bashir To Speak on Crisis Via Satellite From
Accra, Ghana the site of the African Union Summit.

On Saturday, June 30, 2007, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir will speak
to Americans in five cities about plans he is promoting for peace in
his country and to resolve the continuing crisis in the Western Region
of Darfur.

President Omar al-Bashir will speak from Accra, Ghana where the
African Union Summit is taking place. He will take questions from the
press and public that are expected to assemble in Washington, DC, New
York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The events in America are being coordinated by the African Middle East
Literacy Foundation. According to sources in Accra, President Omar al-
Bashir plans to press for peace and for like commitments from Western
powers. Sources say he will use the backdrop of the AU Summit to
anchor his pledges and is expected to address the expanded “hybrid”
peacekeeping force in Darfur that will consist of 17,500 and 19,600
troops, in addition to more than 6,000 police who will help maintain
security in the region’s displaced person camps. The Sudanese
president has consistently accused the West of seeking to use the
United Nations “peacekeeping contingent” as a Trojan horse to topple
his regime. He is also expected to address peace efforts he and his
African Union counterparts are seeking to implement in the region.

President Omar al-Bashir will address the solidarity he has with
African heads of state and is anticipated to address Western media and
governments’ accusations that his government backs Arab militia to
kill, rape and burn villages of Blacks in that region. The Sudanese
President will again call for Western governments and humanitarian
groups operating in the area to cease their support of rebel factions
in the region and diligently push them to join into substantial peace
talks.
# # #
What follows are the venues, times and contacts for more information
about the satellite press conference on Saturday, June 30, 2007.

Chicago 1:00 – 4:00pm (CST)
Operation Push Headquarters
930 East 50th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60615
Contact Person: Malik Aziz, 813-928-7307

Los Angeles 11:00am – 2:00pm (PST)
Compton College
Student Lounge
1111 East Artesia Blvd, Compton Ca.
Contact Person: Dedon Kamathi, 323-294-3647

New York 2:00-5:00pm (EST)
Millennium UN Plaza Hotel
Ball Room 2nd Floor
One United Nation Plaza (44th St & 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10017
Contact Person: Idrees Saeed 212-361-9524

Philadelphia 2:00-5:00pm (EST)
Temple University
GLADFELTER HALL, Lobby Entrance
12th and Berks Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Contact Person: Jehron Hunter, 215-242-4755

Washington DC 2:00-5:00pm (EST)
DC Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW – Room 103
Washington, DC 20001
Contact Person: Hodari Abdul Ali, 301-728-8949

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