American Muslims urge that the U.S. government stop financial support to Russia, including IMF loans, until Russia withdraws its forces from Chechnya and honors its commitment to self-government for the Chechen people. They also ask the U.S. government to support a UN war crimes inquiry into the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Chechnya. Thousands of Chechen civilians have already been killed during the Russian bombardment, and more than 200,000 have been forced to flee their homes. Earlier this week, the Russian government issued an ultimatum to the residents of Grozny, ordering them to leave or face death.
Many people remain trapped because of the sustained bombardment in Grozny and elsewhere in Chechnya.
This statement has been issued by the American Muslim Council, Muslim American Society, American Muslim Alliance, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Muslim Public Affairs Council. At your local mosque, encourage your khateeb to make Chechnya the main issue in his address. Following the prayer, hold a rally in support of the Chechen people-invite local media to cover the event. Further distribution of material featured on this list may be restricted. In all cases, please obtain the necessary permission of the authors or rightful owners before forwarding any material to or from this list.