Dear friends,

The brutal crackdown on Iran’s streets is succeeding. Lethal shooting, beatings and mass arrests have driven millions off the streets, and a communications blackout is preventing them from communicating with each other and the world.(1)

Ruling clerics are in crisis talks -- many are criticizing the crackdown and calling for reform.(2)

We urgently need to help Iranians get back on the internet to have their voices heard in Iran and the world. Secure and anonymous "proxy services" are helping people to bypass regime controls and get online -- but they're overloaded and running out of funds.(3) A small donation of just $10 can provide bandwidth for hundreds of secure emails - if 10,000 of us donate in the next 72 hours, we can help break the blackout:

http://lnk.ms/0ldVK

Proxy services provide people with a single link at which they can freely access the internet. The link is changed every time the regime blocks access to it. With 10,000 donors, we can scale up the proxy services massively -- providing more servers, bandwidth and advanced technical support.

The next two weeks are crucial. As Iran’s secret policemen cast their net far and wide, secure channels of communication are also critical to avoiding the crackdown. Scores have been killed and hundreds of human rights advocates, journalists, bloggers and peaceful protesters imprisoned. Although many more remain free, without safe ways to communicate they will face terrible risks.

After the crackdowns in Tibet and Burma, Avaaz members donated in our thousands to preserve the people’s basic human right to free communication and information. Overcoming censorship to make contact with each other and the world is crucial at these moments. Sharing information about the protests still flaring up around the provinces of Iran from Kurdish areas to the holy city of Qom, or uploading YouTube videos and first-hand reports of bravery and brutality to Iran’s million-plus weblogs and networks like Twitter, could make a huge difference.(4) If the regime believe they can silence such reports, the crackdown will only worsen.

Legitimacy matters in Iran. From inspirational videos of million-strong marches to shocking evidence of militia violence, the truth will come out only if Iranians can communicate freely with each other.(5) The clerical councils engaged in closed-door crisis talks are paying great attention to the voices being raised in their society. Let’s make sure Iran’s voices are not silenced – help break the blackout before it’s too late:

http://lnk.ms/0ldVK

With hope and determination,

the Avaaz team

Sources:

1. Updates on the crackdown:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm../20090625/ts_nm/us_iran_el..ection_210
http://www.guardian.co.uk/..news/blog/2009/jun/25/iran..-crisis

2. On the debate in the regime, Majlis Speaker Larijani criticises Guardian Council, IRIB, calls for open debate:
http://www.presstv.com/det..ail/98645.htm?sectionid=35..1020101
Conservative Tehran mayor Qalibaf calls for legalization of rallies:
http://www.presstv.ir/deta..il.aspx?id=98941§ionid..=351020101
Assembly of Experts considers forcing a run-off election:
http://www.thedailybeast.c..om/blogs-and-stories/2009-..06-25/a-deal-to-save-iran/

3. Many of our contacts in Iran are reporting that they have been using these services but that they are running out of bandwidth fast. Also see:
http://edition.cnn.com/200..9/TECH/06/18/iran.dodging...crackdown/
http://www.internetfreedom...org/Use_of_Censorship_Cir..cumvention_Services_Soars_..in_Iran

4. See for example:
http://www.qlineorientalis..t.com/IranRises/general-st..rike-in-kurdistan/
http://www.youtube.com/use..r/citizentube
https://twitter.com/#search?q=%23iranelection

5. Regardless of the actual result of the election, the importance of basic rights to assembly and open debate, which could also help shine a light on what occurred, has been emphasized in an open letter of support to the demonstrators. Its signatories include the anti-imperialist writer Noam Chomsky:
http://www.ireport.com/doc..s/DOC-277500

Dear friends,

Today, the hearts and hopes of people around the world are with protesters facing awful risks on the streets of Iran. Regardless of who won the election, the question now is one of fundamental human rights.

Top Iranian leaders are divided, so every bit of pressure matters. With massive new protests imminent, Iranian activists are urgently appealing for a united international response to oppose the violent crackdown.

Sign the petition below calling on ALL governments to condemn the crackdown and withhold recognition of any Iranian government until election concerns are peacefully addressed. Then forward this message to friends and family -- let's build a massive global outcry of 1 million voices against the crackdown:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/iran_stop_the_crackdown/40.php

We'll deliver the petition directly to the leaders of Iran's largest trading partners and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the UN, and other international groups respected in Iran. A united international response will puncture the regime's spin that the US and UK alone are behind global criticism.

People power is sweeping global politics. But where leaders respond violently to nonviolent protest, from Burma to Zimbabwe to Iran, global solidarity is needed to show governments that repression weakens their rule, rather than strengthening it.

Avaaz means "voice" in Farsi, the Iranian language. Let's show the people of Iran that, whoever they voted for, we support their right to have their voices heard. Click below to sign the petition, and spread the word by forwarding this message:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/iran_stop_the_crackdown/40.php

With hope and determination,

the Avaaz team

PS - For more information on the Iranian elections and protests see these news sources:

BBC -- "Iran silences protesters": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8112036.stm

Associated Press -- "Struggle amongst Iran's clerics bursts into the open": http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jGSJEAPs_r2T2wxsL5G3t4z-jajQD98VC5T81

Al Jazeera -- "Iran's Mousavi urges defiance" : http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009621191831403557.html

The Huffington Post -- Iran Live blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/13/iran-demonstrations-viole_n_215189.html

Dear friends,

Iran is on a knife-edge, with millions of voters taking to the streets in outrage as evidence mounts that the government may have massively rigged and stolen Thursday's election. The regime has cracked down brutally on the protesters and is imposing a blackout on Iranian society -- shutting down domestic and international media, the internet and even text-messaging.

The voice of Iranians may have been silenced at the polling booth, now the regime is attempting to silence them everywhere else. Facing beatings and gunfire, the opposition is organising mass demonstrations and a general strike. We can’t afford to let the regime dismiss the voice of the people -- the truth must be heard.

Avaaz is urgently organising a rigorous “exit poll” of Iranian voters and a media effort to publicise it -- working with an international polling firm to do a telephone survey of Iranian citizens to ask how they voted. We urgently need 20,000 Avaaz members to pitch in a small amount each to raise $200,000 in the next 24 hours and give Iranians a powerful new way to be heard -- follow this link to view video from the streets of Tehran and support this exit poll to find out the truth:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_vote_truth/40.php

Public polling in Iran is heavily restricted, and no-one else is mobilizing fast enough to fund an international exit poll. It's urgent that we pitch in. A telephone poll won't be 100% accurate, but the difference between opposition and government claims is massive -- a rigorous poll can show which claim is remotely near the truth.

Unlike Western organizations, Avaaz's global network has a strong membership in Iran and across the Middle East. Backed by a respected polling firm, our effort will be harder to dismiss by Iranian conservatives. We'll send the poll results to the media and help our members in Iran to rapidly and virally spread the news despite the regime's blackout.

Messages have been flooding in from our Iranian members -- from Fariba: “20.000.000 people have lost their votes for peace and human rights. The government wants to use this votes for every thing but PEACE. Avaaz is a Persian word too and means voice -- hear our ‘avaaz’”. From Mahmoud: “The government has stolen the vote the people. The people in the street are beaten badly by the police. Now now now do not lose the time”. Stand with Iranians now and help their voices be heard:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_vote_truth/40.php

This election matters to us all. Iran is a major regional power, and the international community is seeking diplomatic engagement that holds a key to peace in the Middle East. But hawks and extremists on all sides want war instead: a conservative coup in Iran could destroy all our hopes.

The conservative Guardian Council, headed by a key Ahmadinejad ally, is reviewing the vote over the next 9 days -- our poll can be ready before they give their verdict, to counter any further rigging and the violent purge that could follow.

There is a real possibility that democracy will prevail. Ultimate power in Iran lies with Ayatollah Khamenei, who may have backed the rigging -- but he is hired and fired by the Assembly of Experts, chaired by ex-President Rafsanjani who has condemned vote-fixing. If Rafsanjani and allies can get enough votes on the Assembly this week, they can press to re-open the results, even to remove Khamenei from power. A scientific opinion poll could be a powerful piece of evidence.

In the next 72 hours, the Iranian people will try once again to be heard. Let’s help make sure their voices are not silenced -- follow this link to see their courage and donate now to help fund the exit poll:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_vote_truth/40.php

With hope,

the Avaaz team

Dear friends,

The Peruvian government has pushed through legislation that could allow extractive and large-scale farming companies to rapidly destroy their Amazon rainforest.

Indigenous peoples have peacefully protested for two months demanding their lawful say in decrees that will contribute to the devastation of the Amazon's ecology and peoples, and be disastrous for the global climate. But last weekend President Garcia responded: sending in special forces to suppress protests in violent clashes, and labelling the protesters as terrorists.

These indigenous groups are on the frontline of the struggle to protect our earth -- Let's stand with them and call on President Alan Garcia (who is widely known to be sensitive to his international reputation) to immediately stop the violence and open up dialogue. Click below to sign the urgent global petition and a prominent and well-respected Latin-American politician will deliver it to the government on our behalf.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/peru_stop_violence/45.php

More than 70 per cent of the Peruvian Amazon is now up for grabs. Giant oil and gas companies, like the Anglo-French Perenco and the North Americans ConocoPhillips and Talisman Energy, have already pledged multi-billionaire investments in the region. These extractive industries have a very poor record of bringing benefits to local people and preserving the environment in developing countries - which is why indigenous groups are asking for internationally-recognized rights to consultation on the new laws.

For decades the world and indigenous peoples have watched as extractive industries devastated the rainforest that is home to some and a vital treasure to us all (some climate scientists call the Amazon the "lungs of the planet" - breathing in the carbon emissions that cause global warming and producing oxygen).

The protests in Peru are the biggest yet and the most desperate, we can't afford to let them fail. Sign the petition, and encourage your friends and family to join us, so we can help bring justice to the indigenous peoples of Peru and prevent further acts of violence from all parties.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/peru_stop_violence/45.php

In solidarity,

the Avaaz team

Dear friends,

President Obama just made a remarkable speech in Egypt, committing personally to building peace in the Middle East. Unexpectedly, his first move is to directly challenge the new right-wing government of America's ally Israel -- pressing them to stop their self-destructive policy of settlements (illegal colonies set up on territory recognised by the US and the world as Palestinian).

This is a moment of rare crisis and opportunity. Obama’s bold strategy is facing powerful opposition, so he’s going to need help around the world in the coming days and weeks to strengthen his resolve. Let’s start right now -- by raising a massive global chorus behind Obama’s statement that the settlements in occupied territory must stop.

We’ll advertise the number of signatures in key newspapers in Israel, as well as in Washington DC (where some are trying to undermine Obama in the US Congress). Read Obama’s words now and add your signature to them at the link below, then forward this email to friends and family so they can do the same:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/obama_stop_settlements/45.php

There is broad agreement that the settlements are a significant barrier to peace, a view also shared by a silent majority of the Israeli public. Combined with a network of roadblocks and barriers, these colonies now blanket the West Bank, seizing territory and forcing Palestinians to live effectively as prisoners in smaller and smaller pockets (see map at right).

Until this problem is tackled, it seems impossible to build a viable Palestinian state or any kind of lasting peace. For Arab states deciding what more they themselves can do for peace, stopping the settlements has become a crucial test of Israel’s seriousness.

We’ll need to urge the other parties to take bold steps too. If we can help Obama to stay the course on settlements, shift Israeli policy and encourage the Palestinians and key Arab states also to stretch out their hands, a new beginning for the Middle East is possible.

But none of this will happen without a growing global movement of citizens taking action to support it. Read Obama’s words, add your signature and spread the word today:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/obama_stop_settlements/45.php

With hope and determination,

the Avaaz team

Dear friends,

Burma's democracy leader and Nobel Peace prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been locked up on new trumped up charges, just days before her 13 years of detention was due to expire. She and thousands of fellow monks and students have been imprisoned for bravely challenging the brutal military regime with peaceful calls for democracy.

Risking danger to speak out for their jailed friends, Burmese activists are demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners and calling on the world to help. We have just six days to get a flood of petition signatures to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon calling on him to make their release a top priority -- he can make this a condition of any renewed international engagement. Follow the link to sign the petition, and forward this email on to friends to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners are freed. Burmese activists will present the global petition to the media on May 26th:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_aung_san_suu_kyi/45.php

On May 14th, Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and sent to jail, charged in connection with an American man who allegedly sneaked uninvited into the compound where she is being held in Yangon. The charges are absurd -- it is the Burmese military, now accusing her of breach of house arrest, that are responsible for the security of the compound. It is a pretext to keep her detained until after elections which are set for 2010.

The Burmese regime is renown for its vicious repression of any threat to full military control - thousands are in jail in inhumane conditions and denied any medical care, there are ongoing abuses of human rights, there is violent repression of ethnic groups, and over a million have been forced into refuge across the border.

Aung San Suu Kyi's is the greatest threat to the junta's hold on power. Her moral leadership of the democracy movement and the legacy of her landslide victory in 1990 elections means that she is the only figure who could face down the military in elections next year. She has been detained over and over again since 1988 -- under house arrest and allowed no contact with the outside world. But this scandalous new detention in the notorious Insein Prison without medical care could be very dangerous because she is seriously ill.

Sources say that the military regime is fearful of this unified and massive online call to the UN -- over 160 Burma exile and solidarity groups in 24 countries are participating in the campaign. And the Secretary General and key regional players that are looking to re-engage with the Burmese regime, can influence the fate of these prisoners. Last week Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said: 'Aung San Suu Kyi and all those that have a contribution to make to the future of their country must be free'. Let's overwhelm him with a global call to urgently act on his words and stop the arrests and brutality:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_aung_san_suu_kyi/45.php

As with the release of Nelson Mandela from years of prison in South Africa, the freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi from years of unjust detention, will bring a new beginning to Burma and hope for democracy. This week could be that historical time for change - let's stand united behind Suu Kyi and these brave men and women and demand their release now!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_aung_san_suu_kyi/45.php

With hope,

the Avaaz team

P.S. Want to support Avaaz's work We're entirely funded by member donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our tiny online team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way. Donate here

For more about Aung San Suu Kyi visit:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutburma/aung_san_suu_kyi.htm

For more about the Global Free Political Prisoners Campaign visit:
http://www.fbppn.net/?page_id=582

A Letter from former Presidents for the release of political prisoners:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/burma/news/Letter-from-112-Former-Presidents-and-Prime-Ministers-to-UN-

For the West and Asian countries reactions to Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8050545.stm

For the full statement from the UN Sectretary General on Aung San Suu Kyi's arrest:
http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3848

Dear friends,

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will face US President Obama for the first time – in a meeting that could make the difference between war and peace in the Middle East.[1]

Ordinary Israelis and Palestinians still want peace, and polls show they want Obama to lead.[2] Experts agree that only such strong leadership from Obama can forge an agreement now, but powerful extremists in the region and the US stand in his way. Israel’s far-right foreign minister is even boasting that Obama will do as he’s told.[3]

On Monday we’ll find out – Netanyahu will ask Obama to take a back seat in a new flawed process designed to fail. We urgently need to show Obama that ordinary people in the region and around the world will back him to exercise a strong and fair leadership role – click below to watch the new TV ad campaign and help saturate the US airwaves with it in the next 72 hours:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/obama_for_peace/45.php

The situation in the Middle East is dire – the King of Jordan warned yesterday that there are only two choices now – war or peace.[4] Israel’s new governing coalition has extremists in the driving seat and is seeking war with Iran and Hamas, while promoting illegal settlement (a euphemism for colonization) and de facto annexation of Palestinian land – corralling Palestinians into small pockets and subjecting them to constant harassment. Gaza remains under crippling blockade, unable even to get the materials to rebuild from the destruction of the war. Palestinians have flawed and divided leadership and are caught between the corruption of the secular Fatah leadership and extremism among the religious Hamas, and small numbers of rockets continue to be fired at Israel. Ordinary people on both sides are losing hope in a peaceful two-state solution to end the 40 year occupation and conflict.

But there is hope. New polls show clear majorities of support for Obama to lead a new peace effort, and a recent extensive consultation by the Avaaz team in the region confirmed that on all sides people want Obama to rescue the situation with a fair peace proposal and pressure on both sides to agree to it. Powerful extremists in Israel and the US are determined to block this last chance at peace. Their new strategy: avoid directly opposing Obama, but feign a new interest in peace and bog him down in endless talks that are designed to fail.

We can’t let that happen. There has never been a powerful worldwide movement for peace in Israel-Palestine that can challenge the extremists and back leaders like Obama to do the right thing. Let’s get this ad on the air, and let Obama and everyone else know that this movement is coming:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/obama_for_peace/45.php

With hope and determination,

the Avaaz team

1. Bloomberg, “Obama to Confront Israeli Settlement Surge in Netanyahu Meeting”:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=abPE7AMWQTWQ&refer=home

2. Avaaz’s own polls on this are about to be released – also see e.g. Yediot Aharonot poll, May 2009:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3715759,00.html

Hebrew University of Jerusalem polls:
http://www.forward.com/articles/105046/

3. Lieberman’s statement that the US will follow Israel’s lead was made to Russia’s Moskovskiy Komsomolets – see The Forward, 22 April 2009:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/Middle_East_Obama_Plan

4. “King Abdullah of Jordan's ultimatum: peace now or it’s war next year", The Times of London, 11 May 2009:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6262080.ece

Dear friends,

A modern day bloodbath is unfolding on the small island of Sri Lanka, where a thousand civilians were reported killed over the weekend and literally tens of thousands of innocent people are at risk of being killed this week, as government and rebel forces battle it out over the last small patch of rebel-held territory. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which rarely makes public comment, called this conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil rebels, 'nothing short of catastrophic'.

Now that the US has begun to increase its pressure, the solution to stopping this humanitarian disaster lies with Sri Lanka’s key donor and closest partner in the region -- Japan. It has powerful political and economic influence over the Sri Lankan government and a swing vote at the UN Security Council, which up until now has turned a blind eye to this mounting catastrophe.

Send a message to the Japanese Foreign Minister, who is deciding his government's next steps. Japan cares about its international reputation and a flood of messages from abroad would encourage them to act. If Japan moves then the Sri Lankan government will be forced to immediately respond to protect civilians:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_bloodbath/45.php

Asia's longest-running civil war is entering its final stage – the only question is how many will die before it ends. As other donor nations increase the pressure behind the scenes this week, a truly global citizens' outcry can further turn the heat on the Japanese government to use its leverage and push for a robust and concerted international action that stops the bloodshed and protect the Sri Lankan civilian population at risk. Japan's political and economic weight means that they cannot be ignored:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_bloodbath/45.php

With hope,

the Avaaz team

Dear friends,

H1N1, more commonly known as swine flu, continues to dominate global dialogue -- Mexico has been nearly paralysed and across the world leaders discouraged air travel, banned pork imports and initiated drastic controls to mitigate the spreading virus. As the threat shows signs of subsiding, the question becomes where it came from and how we stop another outbreak.

Smithfield Corporation, the largest pig producer in the world whose farm is being blamed as the source of the H1N1 outbreak, denies any connection between their pigs and the flu. Big agribusiness worldwide pays huge sums of money for research to argue that biosafety is ensured in industrial hog production. But the World Health Organization has been saying for years that 'a new pandemic is inevitable' and experts from the European Commission and the Fod and Agriculture Organization have cautioned that the rapid move from small holdings to industrial pig production is in fact increasing the risk of development and transmission of epidemics. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that scientists still do not know the extent that infectious compounds produced in factory farms affect human health.

Studies abound of the horrific conditions endured by pigs in concentrated large-scale operations, and the devastating economic impact on small farmer communities of bloated large-scale operations. Smithfield itself has already been fined $12.6 million and is currently under another federal investigation in the US for toxic environmental damage from pig excrement lakes.

But even with all of this damaging evidence, a combination of increased global meat consumption and a powerful industry motivated by profit at the cost of human health, means that instead of being shut down - these sickening factory farm operations are propagating around the world and we are subsidising them. In the wake of this swine flu threat, let's hold industrial pig producers to account. Sign the petition for investigation and regulation:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic/45.php

If we resolve this global health crisis boldly by reassessing our food consumption and production, and urgently calling for an inquiry into the impact of factory farms on human health, we could put in place tough farm practice rules that will save the global population from future animal-borne lethal pandemics.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic/45.php

With hope,

the Avaaz team

Dear friends,

Thanks to thousands of Avaaz members, together we were able to make an ExxonMobil spoof ad. The team spent all weekend in post-production ahead of this week's global climate meetings hosted by President Obama.

The good news is that we have managed to make preliminary bookings to get the advertisement on high rotation on CNN and other stations during the entire climate negotiations in Washington -- but as you can imagine, to counter the power of the coal and oil industry, it doesn't come cheap! Can you contribute to help urgently get the ad on the air while the talks are still on?

A binding global climate treaty should be a no-brainer: The climate science is clear, and the economic and human rights implications of significant global warming are almost too horrifying to contemplate. But world leaders who want to take serious action face the world’s most determined and richest obstructionists – the fossil fuel lobby, who stand to lose billions of dollars in profits in the face of serious climate action. That's why we need to get this ad on the air.

We can’t match the polluting industry's spend, but we have two things going for us. First, we have the truth on our side, and second, we are an unstoppable global grassroots movement for climate action. Let's turn the polluting sector's hundreds of millions of dollars to our advantage.
Watch the spoof of Exxon’s ad campaign and consider donating to remind the world’s 17 largest economies whose interests the lobbyists really serve:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/climate_stop_corporate_spin/45.php

With hope,

the Avaaz team