No Tear Gas for Tahrir: Stop the sale of US tear gas to Egyptian military

No Tear Gas for Tahrir: Stop the sale of US tear gas to Egyptian military

Dear Secretary of State Clinton and Secretary of Commerce Bryson,

The tear gas being used against pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt is made in the USA.

Right now, dockworkers in the Egyptian port of Suez are refusing to unload a shipment of 7.5 tons of tear gas from the Pennsylvania company CSI. A second shipment of 14 tons is expected in the coming days.

There have been reports of deaths and injuries from the use of tear gas in Tahrir Square. Protestors are reporting the tear gas is stronger than that used in the protests earlier this year, and tell of burns, coughing fits, chest pains, blurred vision, and more.

The "Made in the USA"-branded tear gas canisters are being used to suppress democracy and injure and intimidate civilians. The US Government has a role to uphold democratic values abroad, and prevent the US and US companies from being complicit in the violent suppression of democracy.

We ask you to revoke the export licenses of US companies, including Combined Systems Inc, that sell tear gas to the Egyptian military for the use on civilians and to stop the shipment of the 21 tons of tear gas currently bound for Tahrir Square and other demonstrations.

The repression in the Middle East and North Africa demonstrates that a wide range of potentially lethal equipment used by military, security and police forces, must be subject to better international trade regulations. The US must make sure that equipment like tear-gas, non-military firearms, riot guns, crowd control vehicles, shotgun ammunition are clearly covered by Arms Trade Treaty to be negotiated at the United Nations in July 2012.

Stand with the dockworkers refusing to unload this potentially lethal gas for use against their fellow compatriots, and revoke the export license for US companies selling tear gas for use in Tahrir Square.

Sincerely,

[Your name]