As you might know, the Seattle City Council passed a resolution opposing war with Iran and discrimination against Iranians and Iranian-Americans in Washington State on Tuesday, January 21. However, they tabled Resolution 31926 which would condemn India’s new Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The discriminatory CAA/NRC laws in India make faith a basis for citizenship, granting citizenship to immigrants from neighboring countries as long as they are not Muslim.
In the past week, thousands of Indian Americans in thirty US cities peacefully rallied, marched and protested against the draconian CAA/NRC laws, decrying the use of violence against Indian protestors and speaking out against digital blackouts in India. In Canada, South Africa and multiple countries in the EU, protestors held their own marches and rallies against the CAA/NRC laws. In Kerala, India, a whopping 7 million Indians formed a human chain spanning 620 km to voice their dissent. The EU Parliament has also proposed a resolution to condemn India’s CAA/NRC laws.
If Resolution 31926 is passed by the City Council, Seattle would lead the moral consensus in the global outcry against India’s CAA/NRC laws. We’re mobilizing our supporters to call and e-mail all City Council Members and Mayor Durkan to urge them to pass the resolution in solidarity with survivors of genocide and South Asian minorities.
ACTION: Pass the Seattle City Council Resolution Condemning the CAA/NRC laws
Today, we are asking you to take the following immediate actions to express support for the resolution:
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Tell Seattle Mayor Durkan and your City Councilmembers to vote YES on the Resolution.
206-684-8801 – Herbold
206-684-8802 – Morales
206-684-8803 – Sawant
206-684-8804 – Pederson
206-684-8805 – Juarez
206-684-8806 – Strauss
206-684-8807 – Lewis
206-684-8808 – Mosqueda
206-684-8809 – González
206-684-4000- Mayor Jenny Durkan
Script:
“Hello, my name is [NAME]. I live in Seattle and am calling to urge you to support resolution 31926 condemning the CAA/NRC laws in India. The CAA & NRC are anti-Muslim and aim to strip 200 million Indian Muslims of their citizenship. More than 1,000 people are already in detention centres in India, and the Indian government is building more. Islamophobia is a growing problem in our community, and we must stand against it. You must vote YES on Resolution 31926. Thank you.”
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Send a pre-drafted email to City Council with this link: https://tinyurl.com/yeson31926
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If you’re in Seattle, join us on Monday, February 3 at 12 PM at City Hall for the hearing!
References:
Seattle City Council Resolution 31926: https://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4304010&GUID=9C5F0973-EF83-4A78-92AF-E959B787A0BE&Options=ID%7CText%7C
30 cities protest in the US : https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/indian-americans-protest-in-30-us-cities-against-citizenship-law-on-republic-day-2170106
EU Parliament Proposes a resolution: https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/india/154-european-union-lawmakers-draft-stunning-anti-caa-resolution
7 million in India protest over 620 km human chain: https://countercurrents.org/2020/01/7-million-form-a-human-chain-across-kerala-to-protest-against-caa-1
Background links on India’s NRC/CAA :
