From: Nicholas Dykes oldnick@wbsnet.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2000 7:19 PM
Subject: WTL: Announcement: Acton Line
************Announcement *************
ACTON LINE
Acton Line is a new British charity which has been established to send
money, food and practical aid to persons overseas - mainly intellectuals
involved in promoting human rights - who have been impoverished or harmed
through the actions of dictatorial regimes.
The charity is named after the famous British advocate of liberty, Lord
Acton, who famously wrote: "All power tends to corrupt; absolute power
corrupts absolutely."
The charity's first goal is to send help to human rights advocates and
others in Yugoslavia (Serbia) who, as a result of NATO bombing, are being
harassed, beaten, robbed, wrongly accused, falsely imprisoned, and roughly
interrogated and/or tortured by the secret police of the Milosevich
regime. Many have been deprived of their livelihood, and even when they
still have jobs, many are not being paid.
These people face a real struggle to survive. Often they do not know how
they will find food; food is often of poor quality or rotting; and when
they do have any money, it has to be spent on medicine for their injuries,
on hiring lawyers, or on repairs to their property from secret police
break-ins.
This sort of thing has always gone on, but as a result of the NATO action
it has become much worse. Proponents of human rights are now labelled as
traitors and mercenaries, even when they have devoted their lives to
defending the rights of their fellow citizens.
Acton Line at present has five trustees: a Chairman and organiser, a
legal advisor, a treasurer/financial advisor, a Church of England
clergyman. The fifth trustee is our local representative in Belgrade, a
member of the International Society for Individual Liberty, who has been
independently vouched for by sources in Sweden, Belgium and the USA.
If you would like to contribute to this cause, the simplest way is to send
money from your bank electronically to the Acton Line Treasurer's Account
at LloydsTSB, Hereford, UK. The Bank Identifying Code is: LOYD GB
21201. Receipts for tax purposes will be sent via airmail, and can be
obtained by emailing your postal address to oldnick@wbsnet.co.uk
If your bank needs the charity's account number, this can be emailed to
them upon request to the above email address.
The charity has received permission from the Bank of England to overlook
the NATO- imposed embargo on sending money to Yugoslavia as long as the
purpose is humanitarian aid.
It has been suggested that the IRS may not accept the charity's
receipt. Whether this is true or not we do not know. If anybody can
advise on this, the help would be gratefully received. If anybody would
like to act as the charity's US representative and trustee, and register
the charity formally with the IRS, please let us know as soon as possible.
If anybody wishes further information, such as the names and addresses of
trustees, please get in touch.
Please forward this message to other lists.
Finally, Acton Line is deeply grateful to Kirez Korgan for allowing us to
use this forum for this announcement.
With best wishes,
Nicholas Dykes,
Chairman, Acton Line.
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