<div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-09-10/activists-plan-confront-durbin-today.html">http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-09-10/activists-plan-confront-durbin-today.html</a><div><br></div><div><h1 class="gmail-title" id="gmail-page-title" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:15px 0px 0px;font-size:2.5em;font-family:oswald,sans-serif;line-height:1.1;color:rgb(51,51,51);padding-top:4px;border-top:9px solid rgb(34,34,34)">Activists plan to confront Durbin today</h1><div id="gmail-content-content" class="gmail-clear-block" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px"><div class="gmail-col-md-12" style="box-sizing:border-box;min-height:1px;padding-right:15px;padding-left:15px;float:left;width:710px"><div id="gmail-node-1474280" class="gmail-node" style="box-sizing:border-box"><form id="gmail-bookmark" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"></form><span class="gmail-submitted" style="box-sizing:border-box;font-family:oswald,sans-serif;margin-bottom:20px;margin-top:10px"><div class="gmail-submitted" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:20px;margin-top:10px"><span class="gmail-timestamp" style="box-sizing:border-box">Sat, 09/10/2016 - 7:00am</span> | <span class="gmail-authors" style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="http://www.news-gazette.com/author/melissa-merli" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(19,41,75);text-decoration:none;background-image:initial;background-color:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:0px 0px;background-repeat:initial">Melissa Merli</a></span></div></span><div class="gmail-p402_premium" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-content" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div class="gmail-p402_hide" style="box-sizing:border-box"><div id="gmail-social-media-widgets" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:8px 0px 0px"><div class="gmail-social-share" style="box-sizing:border-box;width:32px;float:left"><a class="gmail-share-btn" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-09-10/activists-plan-confront-durbin-today.html" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(46,109,157);text-decoration:none;opacity:0.8;border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204,204,204);padding-bottom:2px;background-image:initial;background-color:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:0px 0px;background-repeat:initial"><img src="http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/32-facebook.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></a><a class="gmail-share-btn" href="https://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-09-10/activists-plan-confront-durbin-today.html&text=Activists%20plan%20to%20confront%20Durbin%20today" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(46,109,157);text-decoration:none;opacity:0.8;border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204,204,204);padding-bottom:2px;background-image:initial;background-color:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:0px 0px;background-repeat:initial"><img src="http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/32-twitter.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></a><a style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(46,109,157);border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204,204,204);padding-bottom:2px;background-image:initial;background-color:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:0px 0px;background-repeat:initial"><img src="http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/print.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></a><a class="gmail-share-btn" href="http://www.news-gazette.com/printmail/1474280" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(46,109,157);text-decoration:none;opacity:0.8;border-bottom:1px dotted rgb(204,204,204);padding-bottom:2px;background-image:initial;background-color:initial;background-size:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-position:0px 0px;background-repeat:initial"><img src="http://www.news-gazette.com/sites/all/themes/custom/ng_fbg/images/send4.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"></a></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">CHAMPAIGN — Champaign-Urbana activists will challenge U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin at the C-U Pride Parade today in Champaign over his failure to co-sign a bipartisan U.S. House resolution disapproving the Obama administration's proposed arms deal with Saudi Arabia.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">The Saudi arms deal is opposed by Oxfam America, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch on the grounds that the weapons are likely to be used to target civilians in Yemen, in violation of the Arms Control Export Act and international humanitarian law.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">The activists who will urge Durbin to oppose the Saudi arms deal will meet at 2:30 p.m. in the parade staging area in downtown Champaign. Durbin will be the grand marshal of the parade, which begins at 3 p.m.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">Just Foreign Policy recently supported a bipartisan letter signed by 64 U.S. representatives calling for the Saudi arms deal to be postponed so Congress could fully consider it.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">On Friday, the House voted unanimously — as the Senate had before it — to remove the immunity of Saudi Arabia from lawsuits brought by family members of victims of the 9/11 attacks.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">"Senator Durbin should apply the same principles to the Saudi arms deal of the unanimous congressional votes to lift Saudi immunity from 9/11 lawsuits," said Robert Naiman, policy director of Just Foreign Policy. "Saudi Arabia should no longer be exempt from U.S. laws such as the protections against the targeting of civilians in the Arms Control Export Act."</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">When Durbin was in Champaign on Sept. 1, Naiman, of Urbana, gave him two MoveOn petitions, with a total of 1,100 signatures of Illinois residents, urging Durbin to co-sponsor the resolution disapproving the proposed military sale to Saudi Arabia tanks and other major defense equipment.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">Durbin promised Naiman he would consider doing so, Naiman said. The bill was introduced Thursday, though, and Durbin's name wasn't on it.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.2em;font-family:georgia,"times new roman",times,serif;font-size:17px;line-height:1.5em">===</p><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><br></div><div>===</div><div><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><div><span style="text-align:left">(202) 448-2898 x1</span><br></div><div><span style="text-align:left"><br></span></div></div></div></div>
</div></div>