PUTIN MUST BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WAR CRIMES IN UKRAINE
For too long, we have closed our eyes to Putin’s bullying behavior, continuing to fund it through oil and gas purchases.
QUICK READ: Horrendous images of the nightmarish atrocities committed by Russian soldiers are only now coming to light as areas are liberated. The West’s refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities in Chechnya, Crimea, and Syria, by cutting off Russia’s billions in fossil fuel revenue, reinforced his belief that he could act with impunity towards his neighbors. Our government’s failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on “the other,” the freedom to vote, and the peaceful transfer of power sends this same message. Both must be combatted.
TAKE ACTION NOW:
BACKGROUND
Putin’s unprovoked war has killed thousands and displaced over 10 million Ukrainians in under six weeks. Horrendous images of the nightmarish atrocities are only now coming to light as areas are liberated.
The streets of Bucha, a Kyiv suburb, were found strewn with Ukrainians killed execution-style, whose dead bodies were left for dogs to eat. Some bodies had been mined to prevent residents from burying them, while others were found in manholes into which Russians tossed grenades.
Similar war crimes (possibly genocide) were documented near Kyiv and in other occupied areas.
All are like those inflicted in Russia’s wars from the 1990’s onwards in Chechnya, Crimea, and Syria, to which the West closed its eyes.
Putin, a tormentor on a grand scale, is an extreme example of what happens when a bully faces no consequences.
The West’s refusal to hold Putin accountable, by cutting off Russia’s billions in fossil fuel revenue, is no different from our government’s failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for bullying of elections officials and school board members and attacking people of color, LGBTQIAs, the freedom to vote, and the peaceful transfer of power.
We must combat both with equal vigor.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Please speak out publicly about the need to fight both these authoritarian movements, work to immediately pass H.R.7108, the House bill stripping the Russian Federation of its normal trade relationship, take other meaningful steps to strengthen sanctions against Russia, pass stalled legislation protecting the freedom to vote, and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Please speak out publicly about the need to fight both these authoritarian movements, work to immediately pass H.R.7108, the House bill stripping the Russian Federation of its normal trade relationship, take other meaningful steps to strengthen sanctions against Russia, pass stalled legislation protecting the freedom to vote, and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities committed in Chechnya, Crimea, and Syria, by cutting off Russia’ billions in fossil fuel revenue, shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. It is time for you to recognize these similarities and behave accordingly.
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Thank you for your work on both these fronts. Please speak out publicly about the similarities between both these two abominations and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities committed in Chechnya, Crimea, and Syria, by cutting off Russia’ billions in fossil fuel revenue, shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. It is time for you to recognize these similarities and behave accordingly.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Thank you for your work on both these fronts. Please speak out publicly about the similarities between both these two abominations and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Thank you for your work on both these fronts. Please speak out publicly about the similarities between both these two abominations and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Our refusal to hold Putin accountable for past atrocities shows what happens when a bully faces no consequences. The same is true of the failure to hold Trump and his MAGA mob accountable for their attacks on the freedom to vote and the peaceful transfer of power. Thank you for your work on both these fronts. Please speak out publicly about the similarities between both these two abominations and push the Justice Department to indict Trump and his co-conspirators.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SHARING PROPAGANDA:
A guide to avoiding misinformation - The Washington Post
ACTION 3: GOOD TROUBLE
GOOD TROUBLE: Below are opportunities to fight for our democracy. As John Lewis said, go make some “good trouble.”
Find out more about Indivisible Oregon here.
TUESDAY 11:30am-12:30pm LETTER WRITING PARTY - INDIVISIBLE OREGON:
https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/442887/Fridays at 4 - Letter and Postcard Writing — Indivisible Oregon.
Learn about persuasive language and communication research at the Zoom ASO Movement Briefings every second Wednesday.
Join the campaign to hold the House and Senate at GiveNoGround.org
Work to protect democracy in the House by replacing retiring US Representative Peter DeFazio with another Democrat, replacing Democrat Kurt Schrader, the “Manchin of the House,” with a progressive, and electing a Democrat in Oregon’s new Congressional District 6.
Demand that your primary news source stop creating false equivalencies and just report the truth.
Check out the Poor People's Campaign Readies 'Massive, Nonviolent' Effort to Save Democracy
Outside of Portland? Check out COIN Oregon.
Rally inconsisent Democratic voters to vote in 2022 with Progressive Turnout Project | Feb, 2022 | Medium
FURTHER READING:
Retreating Russian troops leave behind harrowing evidence of atrocities
Horror, Outrage Grow As Scenes of carnage emerge in Ukraine’s Bucha
Bodies of ‘executed people’ strewn across street in Bucha as Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes
In Ukraine, New Reports of War Crimes Emerge as Russians Retreat From Kyiv Area
Russia-Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian prosecutors find hundreds of bodies in towns near Kyiv
U.S. weighs tougher Russia sanctions after evidence of Bucha killings
Bucha horrors make U.S. and EU reconsider options to hit Putin
Biden calls Russia’s killings of Ukrainian civilians a war crime but not genocide
Ukraine: Apparent War Crimes in Russia-Controlled areas
What is a war crime and could Putin be prosecuted over Ukraine?
Fossil Fuels Are Funding and Fueling War
The Enemies of Liberalism Are Showing Us What It Really Means
