Day 34: Today write a dictator to stop torture

Day 34: Today write a dictator to stop torture

Official forms of address: Your Majesty… to Kings, Queens, & other monarchs/ Your Excellency… for Presidents & other Head of State/ Dear Sir/Madam… for Prime Ministers & Ministers/ Dear Ambassador/High Commissioner… for Ambassadors & High Commissioners/Dear Sir/Madam… for other Embassy staff such as Charge d’Affaires/ Dear Admiral/General/Captain etc… for military officials/ Your Grace… for Archbishops/ Your Eminence… for Cardinals/ Dear Bishop… for Bishops/ Dear Mr./Father/Reverend… for other Clergy.

Sample Letter:

Dear General/Minister/Grand Leader,

I have been greatly disturbed to hear of the arrests of ___________________ (check Amnesty International for recent names). I am writing to request that their whereabouts be disclosed and that they be granted immediate access to their families and lawyers. I also request that they be immediately released unless charged and brought before an ordinary court of law. Yours sincerely,

I looked up the ten worst dictators the first of course being Kim Jong Il of North Korea. But I don’t think that American mail can even get into North Korea, so I read on. They were all pretty bad but I chose the leader of Sudan Omar al-Bashir. Among other things here’s what the website said in summary:

“Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is in the midst of a complex 20 year civil war that has claimed the lives of 2 million and uprooted another 4 million. Al-Bashir seized power in a military coup and immediately suspended the constitution, abolished the legislature, and banned political parties and unions. He has tried to negotiate a peace agreement with the main rebel group, but he insists that the nation be ruled according to Islamic Shari’a law, even in southern Sudan, where the people are Christian and animist.

His army has routinely bombed civilians and tortured and massacred non-Arabs, particularly in the oil-producing areas in the south. He has a long history of providing sanctuary for a wide range of terrorists, only to turn against them. He turned over the notorious Carlos the Jackal to France in exchange for financial and military aid and, in 1996, he tried unsuccessfully to sell Osama bin Laden to the US government.”

So, I am sending the letter out on Monday, however, this one I won’t be adding a return address.