US Campaign to to Ban Landmines: Cluster Bomb Olympics With White House Backdrop
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2008
9:58 AM
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CONTACT: US Campaign to Ban Landmines
Lora Lumpe, Coordinator, US Campaign to Ban Landmines,
202-361-3028 or lora@fcnl.org org
Jim Cason (202) 236-5756
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Cluster Bomb Olympics With White House Backdrop
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WASHINGTON, DC - May 14 - Middle school kids and adults from throughout the Washington, DC area will compete in the 1st Annual Cluster Bomb Olympics this Saturday at the White House Ellipse. Participants will take part in events including “cluster bomb hopscotch” and “bocce bomb” while learning about the threat cluster bombs pose to millions of children in countries around the world.
Photo opportunities – Adults, middle school aged children playing with the White House as a backdrop, a medal ceremony, and more. Interviews with people from Ethiopia, Laos, and Lebanon with first hand knowledge of the damage done by cluster bombs available for members of the media.
What: 1st (and hopefully last) Annual Cluster Bomb Olympics
Where: Northwest section of the White House Ellipse, near the corner of 17th and E, NW
When: Saturday, May 17, 11am-1pm
Why: To generate public awareness of cluster bombs just two days prior to the negotiation of a global cluster bomb ban treaty in Dublin, Ireland on May 19. More than half the world’s nations will attend, but the U.S. government has refused to participate.
Who: Organized by the US Campaign to Ban Landmines and co-sponsored by Amnesty International, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, CIVIC, Democracy in Action, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), Jewish Voice for Peace, Network of Spiritual Progressives, and Veterans for Peace.
The event is open to participation by all ages. Those in attendance can sign a petition urging the Pentagon to stop using cluster bombs, which cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
The U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines (USCBL) is a coalition of approximately 500 U.S.-based human rights, humanitarian, faith-based, children's, peace, disability, veterans', medical, development, academic, and environmental organizations dedicated to a total ban on antipersonnel landmines. It is one of 90 country campaigns that form the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is the coordinating organization for the U.S. Campaign to Ban Landmines.
See a flyer for the event http://www.fcnl.org/pdfs/weapons/Cluster_Bomb_Olympics.pdf
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