Sudan Campaign
Edited Content from 2002 -2004
For a number of years Sudan Campaign asked for donations to help them in their fight to abolish slavery, man-made famine, and religious persecution in Sudan.
The summer of 2004 was marked by a "Die-In", Speeches, Arrests, Civil Disobedience, and other forms of protest in order to stop the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. This site is a historical record of the horrific events occurring in Sudan and the responses in United States and the international community.
The edited content is from the site's 2002- 2004 archived pages.
RECENT NEWS
Omar al-Bashir: Sudan's ousted president
14 August 2019 | www.bbc.com/
Image copyright AFPImage caption Omar al-Bashir took power in a 1989 coup and was toppled by the military in 2019
Sudan's ousted President Omar al-Bashir's career has been defined by war. He came to power in a military coup in 1989 and ruled what was until 2011 Africa's largest country with an iron fist. When he seized power, Sudan was in the midst of a 21-year civil war between north and south.
Although his government signed a deal to end that conflict in 2005, another one was breaking out at the same time - in the western region of Darfur, where Mr Bashir is accused of organising war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Despite an international arrest warrant issued by the ICC, he won consecutive elections in 2010 and 2015. However, his last victory was marred by a boycott from the main opposition parties. Before taking the helm, he was a commander in the army, responsible for leading operations in the south against the late rebel leader John Garang.
When he signed the peace deal with Garang and his Sudan People's Liberation Movement, he took pains to stress the deal had not been a defeat. "We did not sign it after we had been broken. We signed it while we were at the peak of our victories," he said.
Accusations against Omar al-Bashir
Genocide
- Killing members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups
- Causing these groups serious bodily or mental harm
- Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about these groups' physical destruction
Crimes against humanity
- Murder
- Extermination
- Forcible transfer
- Rape
- Torture
War crimes
- Attacks on civilians in Darfur
- Pillaging towns and villages
His goal was always to keep a unified Sudan, but a referendum on secession for South Sudan was agreed as part of the peace deal.
In the January 2011 referendum, about 99% of South Sudanese voters were in favour of separation. The independent state of South Sudan was declared six months later.
While he agreed to let South Sudan go, his attitude to Darfur, where a conflict has raged since 2003 when rebels took up arms at alleged government discrimination, has been characterised by belligerence.
But he denies international accusations that he has backed Arab Janjaweed militias accused of war crimes against the region's black African communities.
Military background
Mr Bashir was born in 1944 to a farming family in northern Sudan - then Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He is a member of al-Bedairyya al-Dahmashyya, a Bedouin tribe belonging to the larger Ja'alin group.
He joined the Egyptian army as a young man and rose through the ranks, fighting in the 1973 war against Israel.
Little is known about his private life. He has no children and took a second wife in his 50s. He married the widow of Ibrahim Shams al-Din, considered a war hero in the north - as an example to others, he said.
The long civil war had seen many colleagues fall, and he implored others to marry again so war widows could be taken care of.
As head of state, his focus largely remained soldiering - the political lead being taken by two other figures.
The first in the 1990s was Hassan al-Turabi, a prominent Sunni Muslim who until his death in 2016 advocated an Islamic state and ushered in a bill introducing Sharia to all provinces but the south.
After they fell out in 2000, Mr Turabi told the BBC: "He's a military person who has been in power for a while and he wants to assert military power."
Then Osman Ali Taha, a politician who negotiated the north-south deal, came to the fore. But his influence waned and the president took centre stage.
- Why the end of US sanctions hasn't helped Sudan
- Sudan's fashion police shave off afros
Sudan analyst Alex de Waal said Mr Bashir's longevity in office was probably down to the fact that powerful rivals in the ruling National Congress Party distrusted each other more than they did Mr Bashir.
But political unrest gained momentum quickly. Nationwide protests first started in December 2018 after the government announced that prices for fuel and bread would rise.
This turned into a wider call for Mr Bashir and his government to step down. Mr Bashir declared a state of emergency in February 2019, reshuffling his cabinet and replacing all state governors with members of the army and security forces.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionDemonstrators marching in Khartoum during anti-government protests in January 2019
After months of unrest, Sudan's military stepped in and finally toppled Mr Bashir on 11 April 2019.
Mr Bashir was later charged with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters.
He also faces corruption charges, after prosecutors said a large hoard of foreign currency was found at his home.
Oil money flows - and leaves
For a while during his presidency, there were pockets full of dollars as the oil flowed, controls were lifted and the telecommunications system revolutionised. But the economy floundered since the secession of the south, which took three-quarters of the country's oil with it. Ever since, belts have had to be tightened in Khartoum.
Mr Bashir - who became president when it was punishable by death to be found in possession of US dollars - has denied accusations that access to government funds and oil money was an underlying cause of the unrest in Darfur.
It was perhaps inevitable that a soldier-president could only be brought down by the armed forces. Once they lost faith in his ability to maintain stability in the country, there was little he could do.
Despite the corruption trial, there will be little appetite to send him to also face justice at the ICC, as some of those who fought for him in Darfur retain considerable power and influence under Sudan's new dispensation.
An aside: More than 15 years ago Sudan was in the midst of what is now referred to as the Darfur genocide. In the US we watched horrified as it unfolded. Even though in 2010 the international criminal court charged Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, with three counts of genocide in Darfur, he remained in power. I was on vacation in Maui at the same resort, Lahaina Shores rentals where we always stay when I learned Mr Bashi was toppled. Our Lahaina rental has unobstructed views of the Pacific. Overlooking the Pacific ocean as the sun sets each days with brilliant pinks, oranges and reds giving way to shades of purple and then the deep blue of nights is as far away from the horrors of the protests that have brought down the Sudan government as one could be. My wife says to take a vacation from the news for the next two weeks, but that is hard to do as a former reporter.
Sudan, once the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa, split into two countries in July 2011 after the people of the south voted for independence. I had covered the conflict before the split. When Mr Bashi was overthrown I was fearful for what would follow. I was not surprised that the security forces used brute force to strengthen the position of the generals. I was amazed that tens of thousands of protesters returned to the streets a few weeks later to stage the biggest demonstration since Mr Bashir's overthrow. Thank goodness that this show of protest forced the junta to resume talks on a power-sharing government and an agreement was reached. I pray that the civilian-led transitional authority succeeds. I continue to follow the news about Sudan now that I am back home in NYC. But the news is now totally focused on theallegations that President Donald Trump abused the power of his office for personal political gain. Every news outlet is focused on the impeachment proceedings against the President. It's going to continue to be a brutal next 12 months until the 2020 elections with so much of the news focused on Trump. I will have to turn to the BBC and other international news organizations to follow what is happening in Sudan.
Omar al-Bashir charged with Darfur genocide
July 12, 2010 https://www.theguardian.com/
The international criminal court has charged Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, with three counts of genocide in Darfur, a move that will pile further diplomatic pressure on his isolated regime.
He is accused of trying to wipe out three non-Arab ethnic groups in the region, where more than 200,000 people have died since 2003. The arrest warrant said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" Sudanese forces attempted genocide against the Darfur tribal groups Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa. The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, accuses Bashir of keeping 2.5 million refugees in Darfur in camps "under genocide conditions, like a gigantic Auschwitz".
Last year the court charged Bashir with war crimes over the conflict in Darfur, making him the first sitting head of state issued with an arrest warrant by the ICC. Judges then dismissed the prosecution's most contentious charge of genocide. Four months ago an appeals panel ruled that judges made an "error in law" when they refused to indict Bashir on international law's gravest charge. Prosecutors then filed their case again and on today judges issued an arrest warrant charging Bashir with three counts of genocide.
NEwS FROM 2002 -2004
Take Action! Urge Your Senators to Pass the Sudan Peace Act
NEWS for Friday July 20, 2001 Legendary Four Tops Join Fight to End Slavery in Sudan
Replies to Hodari Abdul Ali from our online Southern Sudanese community [ SSNET]
with over 500 contributing members.
3 Arrested at Sudanese Embassy
By Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writer 4/14/01
The Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, radio talk show host Joe Madison and Hudson Institute fellow Michael Horowitz were arrested after they handcuffed themselves to the front of the Sudanese Embassy to protest the Khartoum government's war with southern Sudan and its failure to end the enslavement of people captured from the south. "If they want slaves, then take me and release those today who are.....
Sudan Protest Makes Odd Bedfellows
Tuesday morning's hearing at D.C. Superior Court promises to
feature the oddest collection of bedfellows ever. First the defendants: former D.C. delegate Walter E. Fauntroy and the conservative Hudson Institute's Michael Horowitz along with radio talk show host Joe Madison. They were arrested April 13 after they chained themselves to the fence in front of the embassy of Sudan protesting slavery, anti-Christian genocide and other heinous activities in that country.
Madison Frees African Slaves
The Black Eagle was recently in Sudan where he participated in an underground operation that sent shock waves throughout the free world. This mind-boggling episode culminated in the emancipation of 4435 Sudanese who were returned to their villages.
A YOUNG SUDANESE BROTHER WHO FOUND FREEDOM IN AMERICA LOOKS TO HELP OTHER AFRICANS WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND IN SLAVERY BY FRANCIS BOK
My Escape from Slavery
Bush Signs Sudan Peace Act, Meets Francis Bok
Historic meeting between American President and escaped Sudanese slave highlights White House bill-signing ceremony
CSI's Underground Railroad - Criticism and Response
(Courtesy of iAbolish.com)
The Articles and Television Pieces Critical of CSI Slave Redemption
• The Economist - "Charities Who Buy Slaves Their Freedom May End Up Doing Harm"
• Irish Times - "The Great Slave Scam"
• Washington Post - "Ripping Off Slave 'Redeemers'"
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - "Turning a Profit on the Price of Freedom"
• CBS 60 Minutes II - "The Slave Trade"
Refutation Documents
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Writer withdraws his criticism, calls Washington Post and Irish Times attacks "hatchet jobs."
• CSI responds to stories by Karl Vick (W. Post) and Declan Walsh (Irish Times).
• CSI responds specifically to Walsh.
• CSI responds specifically to 60 Minutes II.
• Syndicated columnist Nat Hentoff on "Prejudicial Journalism."
Letters to the Press
• John Eibner's letter to the Washington Post. John Eibner's response: "Vick was not an eyewitness…did not interview any redeemed slaves, and slave retrievers...failed to find…a single false slave out of the 60,000 redeemed by CSI…suppressed or ignored evidence from eyewitnesses and that confirmed the validity of CSI's program."
• Charles Jacobs' letter to papers that published Walsh.
• Charles Jacobs' letter to the Washington Post.
• Charles Jacobs' letter to Karl Vick's editor, Washington Post.
• Jacobs and Hamouda published in the Economist.
• Jacobs' published letter in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.
• Jacobs' letter to the National Review .
Letters and Statements in Support from Sudanese Leaders
• Senior Sudanese Church Leaders. Catholic Bishop of el Obeid: "Post story is immoral and unprofessional…a deceptive portrayal of CSI's work." Episcopal Bishop: "I know what is going on in my diocese: freed slaves are returning home through CSI."
• Episcopal Bishop of Wau's letter to the producer of 60 Minutes II
• Sudanese Community Leaders.
• Sudanese Political and Civic Leaders. "We appeal to CSI to stay the course."
• Bona Malwal responds to 60 Minutes II piece
Eyewitnesses to CSI's Redemptions
• Journalist who filmed an entire redemption trip.
• Interview with Michael Rubin, Middle East expert and eyewitness: "To say they were burned and slashed as part of a fraud is ridiculous… To suggest that hundreds of women and children lie seems a bit unrealistic, if not racist... I was surprised at the Post editors for allowing Vick to cavalierly disregard so much evidence..."
• Statement by several eyewitnesses to slave redemption trips.
• Journalist who filmed an entire redemption. "If these are your sources, my fifth grade neighbor could be a Washington Post journalist... Vick has never been on a redemption mission. Isn't that the obvious first step in writing such an article."
Statements of Support from African-American and Human Rights Groups
• Black Leadership Roundtable
• Freedom Quest International to the Producer of 60 Minutes II
• Sudan Human Rights Organization to the Producer of 60 Minutes II
Thanks to the members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate who said, unanimously, "IT'S GENOCIDE"!
Sudan Divestment Campaign Eyes U.S. Dollars
By Zenitha Prince
AFRO Staff Writer
The campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Black Muslims in Darfur, Sudan, is about to ratchet up to another level, the divestment phase, said Sudan Coalition leaders Joe Madison and Rev. Walter Fauntroy.
Riding high from its recent victory of getting both the U.S. Congress and the Bush administration to label the Darfur situation as genocide, the coalition plans to attack the issue at its core. "We have decided to lay the axe at the root of the problem, money," said Fauntroy.
JOIN THE DIVEST SUDAN DRIVE OF THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN*
Over $91.2 billion of our American dollars are being invested by over 100 of America’s most prominent public pension funds in large, publicly-traded companies that are propping up Khartoum’s murderous regime that has killed more than 35,000 black Muslim Sudanese this year alone and who will be responsible for the deaths of 350,000 more of these innocent men, women and children if we, the people, do not act.Pick up the list of those pension funds in your state that are doing it.
- A Coalition to Stop Genocide: Slavery, Starvation, and Religious Persecution
- Mounting Protests against Sudanese Genocide
- Major success for the coalition to stop Sudanese genocide in Darfur!
- House and Senate pass resolution calling on the U.S. to declare massacre in Sudan a genocide
- Secretary of State Colin Powell says the Sudanese government is "supporting and sustaining" the militia
IT'S NOW TIME TO STOP THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT
Late last night the United States Congress agreed with the Sudan Campaign and declared the mass murder by the government in Sudan a genocide. Led by Rep. Donald Payne (D-NY) in the House and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) in the Senate, both the house and senate passed the Joint House and Senate Resolution on Sudan. The Resolution declares that genocide is occurring in Sudan. In an overwhelming bipartisan vote the congress passed the resolution on Thursday night. The backers hope this will pressure the UN and the international community to take action to protect the Black Africans from a government sponsored militia.
Since June 29th the Sudan Campaign has been putting pressure on the Sudanese government by staging a series of arrests in from of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Former Congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy, Talk Show host Joe Madison, and Father Keith Roderick are leading the charge. “Now those of us who are willing to go to jail have the backing of the United States Congress. We hope the rest of the world community will follow their lead and put a stop to the killing and starvation,” says Joe Madison. “I will continue my hunger strike until food and medicines are allowed through to the millions of people who are dying in refugee camps.” Joe Madison is now in the 10th day of a hunger strike.
Arrested thus far at the Sudanese Embassy are: Rep. Charles Rangel, New York; Fmr. Rep. Bob Edgar, current President of the National Council of Churches; Rep. Bobby Rush, Illinois; Rep. Joe Hoeffel, Pennsylvania; Activist Dick Gregory; Fmr. Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy; Talk Show host and civil rights leader Joe Madison.
The arrests will continue at the Embassy on Monday, July 26th unless the Sudan Government stops.
Rev. Fauntroy, Mr. Madison and Fr. Roderick are available for interviews. Contact Joia Jefferson Nuri at 301-920-0670.
Dear Mr. President:
Among your many responsibilities, you are holding in your hands the lives of millions of people in the Sudan. It is an indisputable fact that genocide is occurring there. Now that both houses of Congress have passed a resolution to apply the term "genocide" to the Sudanese crisis, and now that the European Union is exerting diplomatic pressure on the government of the Sudan, IT IS YOUR TURN TO ACT.
In the past you have rightly emphasized the inhumanity of Saddam Hussein's brutal slaughter of his own people. Unfortunately, another murderous dictator, President Bashir of the Sudan, is now authorizing atrocities against his own citizens. A simple equation can sum up the situation: Saddam Hussein was to the Kurds as Bashir is to the black Sudanese. Even if Bashir is currently cooperating with the U.S. oil companies, or with the U.S. Government in our war on terror, or both, it is nevertheless morally unacceptable to allow him free rein in his genocidal support of the brutal militias.
As your fellow Christian I share your views on the universal sanctity of human life from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. This "ethic of life," as we call it in the Catholic Church, dictates that we MUST do whatever we can to save the lives of innocent people who are being mutilated, gang-raped, starved, and slaughtered. If the U.S. Government asserts the right-to-life of unborn human beings around the world, then it would be inconsistent and illogical to fail to protect the right-to-life of the Sudanese people.
Here is an opportunity for you to demonstrate in a convincing and conspicuous way that you value the lives and welfare of black people.
After a previous administration neglected to intervene during the Rwanda genocide, some commentators attributed the inaction to a lack of concern for people of African origin. If you now fail to come to the aid of the black Sudanese, the same accusations may be made about you, perhaps with some justification.
Please take whatever measures possible to ameliorate this grievous situation. Basic decency demands that you act now.
Sincerely,
Carole C. Burnett (U.S. citizen)
13616 Wendover Road
Silver Spring, Maryland 20904
Statement Against Genocide in the Darfur Region of Sudan, Africa
Joe Madison
President of the Sudan Campaign
Sudan Embassy
Washington, DC
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Today a Coalition of Conscience has stepped forward to declare in a single voice, “Enough is Enough.” ”We are representatives of individuals, groups and organizations that will not stand silently by while genocide is being committed against Africans in Sudan.
Ten years ago, the world stood idly by as 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered. Today the human destruction unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan could potentially be greater.
What is happening in Darfur is nothing short of criminal. The acts of violence and destruction are not random or a result of war. Simply put, they are by-products of ethnic cleansing and a scorch earth policy.
- Without immediate action over 350,000 men, women and children will lose their lives in the next nine months from starvation and disease.
- Some 1.1 million people have been driven from their homes; many lack water, food and sanitation.
- 35,000 are already dead.
- Women, and girls as young as 12 have been raped outside of refugee camps
- Drinking wells have been poisoned
- Villages destroyed by aerial bombardments.
The Sudanese government incorrectly believes that if it denies the by-products of genocide; hunger, malnutrition, and epidemic disease, then they and the governments of the world don’t have to address the “genocide”. Sudan’s plan is as evil as Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution”; use government supplied and sponsored militias to drive the people out of their villages and then allow starvation and disease to finish the job.
Sudan may continue their official denials, but like Abraham Lincoln said, “ It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”
Therefore, we are asking all people of conscience world-wide to speak now for those in Darfur whose lives have been undervalued and marginalized. We are calling for demonstrations at Sudanese Embassies around the world and continued demonstrations here in Washington, DC and at the United Nations in New York City.
Concerted international pressure was required to end the 20-year civil war in Sudan that took 2 million lives. It will take an even greater intensity to end the genocide in Darfur. We cannot turn our backs as many did 10 years ago in Rwanda.
Mr. President, Secretary of State Powell and U.N. Secretary General Annan, call it like you see it in Sudan, read my lips, “It is genocide pure and simple.
There is still just enough time to stop another African genocide, but we must take action now.
Where is the Love?
by Joseph Johnson
07 July 2004
Unfortunately for the people of Sudan, there’s just too much at stake in an election year to divert any collective energy from Bush-hating.
Of all of the places in the world that seem like appropriate benefactors of the collective affections and good-will of the liberal, bleeding hearts, the Sudan seems like the most likely candidate. Yet our poster-bearing friends’ chants and blogs are strangely devoid of any reference to this greatest of present-day humanitarian crises. What could be the reason for the deficient attention paid this particular massacre-in-progress? Well, the answer is simple: there is no Bush to blame for it.
While the House and Senate both passed the Sudan Peace Act in October of 2002 and Mike DeWine, Republican Senator from Ohio, recently introduced the $70 Million dollar “International Disaster and Famine Assistance appropriations bill,” a sense of urgency from the activist foot soldiers of the liberal left is all but nonexistent…no doubt too occupied with Michael Moore’s Leni Riefenstahl impression-of-a-film.
And what of the all too liberal media? Sudan has certainly merited a story here and there, and especially with Colin Powell and Kofi Annan’s recent visit, such left-leaning publications as the New York Times have dedicated a miserable fraction of space to the Sudan story in comparison with the far-less atrocious Abu-Ghraib prisoner abuses. But the Abu-Ghraib “situation” (as the President referred to it) has the advantage of a connection to the administration. In an election year, apparently, one has to ration compassion for political expediency.
The demonstrators are not entirely inactive. Just last week Christian Solidarity International and the Sudan Campaign Partners (who work with the democratic opposition within Sudan) staged the “Stop the Genocide and Free the Slaves” demonstration at the Sudanese embassy on June 29th, where former congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy was arrested along with radio talk show host Joe Madison. The rest of the droves of protesters who were so offended by the “atrocities” in Iraq and in Afghanistan, even those who protested President Clinton’s bombing of the Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998, were notably absent. No bad street theater for this one. Just silence where once there were cries of “never again.”
The compassion for humanity that many modern liberals claim to have a monopoly on is, apparently, reserved only for those they can portray as victims of the evil Bush. In a time when the left is accusing the President of harming people for personal gain we see the left strangely unconcerned about considerably more people being harmed, presumably preoccupied with the all-important struggle for leftist POLITICAL gain. Putting an end to this genocide should be THE issue and acting to stop it should be an unthinking bipartisan reflex. It also merits as much, arguably much more, front page coverage than Abu Ghraib. Unfortunately for the people of Sudan, there’s just too much at stake in an election year to divert any collective energy from Bush-hating. I suppose we can tell them they just have the wrong people oppressing them.
Joseph Johnson is a Carolina writer and a proud Republican.
United Press International
June 29, 2004 Tuesday
Protest at Sudan Embassy
WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI)
Christian activists marched on the Sudanese Embassy in Washington Tuesday, protesting what they said is state-sponsored genocide.
Two Sudan Campaign members, former Congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy and radio talk show host Joe Madison, were temporarily detained by Secret Service agents for marching to the embassy.
A statement issued by Christian Solidarity International and the Sudan Campaign organizations said Madison declared the embassy a crime scene, noting "the racist government of Sudan" is guilty of genocide and slavery against African Sudanese.
The Sudan Campaign demonstration was timed to coincide with Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to western Sudan.
The marchers said the government-sponsored ethnic cleansing raids in Sudan's Darfur region have resulted in the displacement of more than one million Black Africans and the deaths of tens of thousands.
LOAD-DATE: June 30, 2004
July 6, 2004
Hello Mr. Madison:
Thank you so very much for making us aware of the genocide which is occurring in Dafur, Sudan. The printed media is finally beginning to publish stories 16 months later. In Tuesday's USA Today newspaper on page 10A, there was a picture of Homeless Sudanese gathering to meet Kofi Annan at the Zamzam camp. The most striking portrayal in the photograph was the non-existent black male.
I instantly began to weep inside, realizing that the black male (African King) had been exterminated. If there are only woman and children in all of these make-shift camps, then the husbands, fathers, grand-fathers, uncles, and cousin have been systematically killed. Since there are no more men to farm the land and care for their families, how can the women and children expect to rebuild there future and protect themselves against rape and torture.
Our countries unilateral attack on Iraq and Afganistan has opened pandora's box and fostered a climate of inhumanity around the world. The U.S. Government may have lost the repect of the world to speak out against terrorism and genocidal acts, however, the people of the U.S. have not! Can you please highlight the abscence of African adult men in these Sudanese camps? This holocaust has to stop now.
Sincerely,
Michael House
I am appalled that Colin Powell and Kofi Annan did not acknowledge this obvious fact to the press during their visit. I intend to express my total disgust in writing to these individuals.
BBC NEWS: France opposes UN Sudan sanctions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robert Dudek (619) 280-9990 ext. 110
Or Tommy Calvert
617-426-8161
www.iAbolish.com
July 7, 2004
News Advisory
San Diego Leaders Rally Against Genocide and Slavery in Sudan
Activists Build on Nationwide actions, which prompted Colin Powell and Kofi Annan to Travel to Sudan
What: A march and rally to raise awareness about the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in the western region of Sudan known as Darfur .
When: Thursday, July 15, 2004 at 11:00 a.m.
Where: The march starts in front of the San Diego Civic Center ( 3rd Avenue and “B” Street) and ends at the San Diego County Administration Building ( 1600 Pacific Highway ).
Who: The San Diego Chapter of the American Anti-Slavery Group
Why: To encourage both the United States and the UN to apply pressure to the international community to send peacekeepers to stop the murder, remove Sudan from the UN Human Rights Commission, get millions more in aid to those suffering and inform local San Diegans that they can help
The United Nations calls the situation in Darfur the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world.” In Darfur , 90,000 Black Africans have been systematically slaughtered by government supported Arab militia known as Janjawid and 1 million may die by the end of the year because of obstruction of aid by the government of Sudan . As a result of the American Anti-Slavery Group rally in June demanding Kofi Annan go to Sudan , he went and negotiated the disarmament of the Arab militias, but the violence and death continues. Thousands of women have been raped, maimed and enslaved since the conflict began in February after the African population raised grievances over their second-class positions in Sudanese society
The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) is America ’s leading human rights organization fighting modern-day slavery worldwide. Since its founding in 1994, AASG has helped free over 80,000 slaves, spotlighted and defended the work of local abolitionist activist worldwide, and launched an anti-slavery web portal that updates and mobilizes over 40,000 activists each month.
By Gadi Dechter
United Press International
Published 7/7/2004 4:54 PM
Chanting "Slavery plus genocide equals Sudan"
WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- Chanting "Slavery plus genocide equals Sudan," about a dozen protesters gathered Wednesday at the Sudanese Embassy for what organizers said was the third week of daily demonstrations against government-sponsored atrocities by Arab militias against blacks in the Christian south and western Darfur regions of the African nation.
The demonstrations are organized by a coalition of civil rights groups calling itself Christian Solidarity International, headed by former District of Columbia delegate the Rev. Walter Fauntroy and radio talk-show host Joe Madison.
Fauntroy and Madison were arrested at Monday's protest for blocking the embassy entrance, as were two other demonstrators Tuesday. The protesters plan to have at least two demonstrators arrested for civil disobedience at each rally.
The activists are demanding that the United States and the United Nations formally accuse the Sudanese government of genocide, a proclamation that would intensify international pressure and pave the way for sanctions and possible military intervention.
During a visit to the African region last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell issued his strongest statement yet, saying the humanitarian disaster was "moving towards a genocidal conclusion."
Other U.S. officials have said they are actively considering labeling the atrocities in Darfur a "genocide," though no decision has been taken yet.
Asked recently by reporters whether the events constituted genocide, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, "The issue is not to discuss what name to give it. We all agree that serious crimes are being committed."
The protesters at the embassy, however, said their protests would continue "indefinitely" until the genocide label was attached.
The protesters gather at noon every day at Sudan's Embassy Row townhouse, watched by about six Secret Service police officers, and the arrests happen at about 1:30 p.m., according to Keith Silver, who described himself as a logistics coordinator of the protest effort.
"We see who feels the spirit," Silver told United Press International. "The spirit might touch someone who wants to go" and get arrested.
Silver praised the police for their professionalism and courtesy. "We've had no harassment whatsoever," he said. "They've gone overboard being kind and facilitating things. We're non-violent, and they know that."
Silver is a longtime member of the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition, the civil-rights organization co-founded by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and many of the other protesters also described themselves as veterans of the 1960s civil rights movement.
"I'm concerned about slavery and genocide in Sudan," said Nate Williams, a disabled veteran from the District of Columbia, in part because "all life started in Africa."
Willie Hankerson, a high school teacher from a Maryland suburb of Washington, said he planned on being arrested at Thursday's rally. Demonstrations will continue, he said, "until the United Nations declares in print and in open that there is genocide being waged in Sudan. And the United States government needs to go in (to Sudan) and not be witness to another Rwandan slaughter."
He added, "I'm antiwar, and I don't advocate war, but I advocate military support for the people there."
The Sudanese spokesman at the embassy was not available for comment Wednesday.
The Arab-controlled Sudanese government has been accused in two U.N. reports of aiding Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, in a campaign designed to obliterate African tribes from its western provinces. More than 30,000 black Sudanese have been killed, and 1 million others are refugees.
There have been reports of women being systematically raped, children kidnapped and used as slaves, farms burned and water sources polluted with corpses.
Two million people in the region are thought to be at risk of starvation.
Fighting between militia factions in the Darfur region has persisted despite an April 8 agreement that calls for a cease-fire, international monitoring, humanitarian access to Darfur and the disarmament of government-backed militias.
Following the recent visits by Annan and Powell, the Sudanese government ordered Monday night an end to restrictions on the movement of relief organizations.
The decrees ending the restrictions on relief work were issued by Sudanese Interior Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein in an apparent response to mounting international pressure, including a draft U.N. resolution circulated by the United States on July 1.
The resolution would impose arms and travel embargoes on the Janjaweed militia, which has attacked and destroyed African villages in Darfur. The draft sets up a sanctions committee to examine which members of the militia and other groups should be sanctioned. It also calls on the Sudanese government to fulfill its treaty obligations and disarm all militia groups in Darfur. The draft also calls for increased aid to the region and human rights monitors.
The United States is the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Sudan, giving more than $116 million. Congress is appropriating an additional $90 million for the purpose. There are some 75 camps under international supervision now, and another 30 will come under international auspices in the next month.
U.S. State Department officials have recently said ties with Sudan will only be normalized after the Darfur situation is resolved. This despite a separate peace deal, backed by Washington, between the Sudanese government and rebels from the mainly Christian and animist south earlier this year.
--(Please send comments to nationaldesk@upi.com.)
Friday 9th July, 2004
Protesters: Charge Sudan with genocide
Big News Network.com Thursday 8th July, 2004
Students demonstrating outside the Sudan embassy in Washington have pledged to continue their protest until the country is charged with genocide.
United Nations and other international observers blame the Sudanese government of patronizing Arab militias who have killed thousands of people in the western Darfur region. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to leave their homes.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell visited the country last week and forced the Sudanese government to take steps to stop the killings, but did not describe the killings as genocide.
A group called Sudan Campaign began a daily vigil outside the Sudan embassy in Washington June 29, urging the U.S. government to designate Sudan a state sponsor of genocide and slavery.
U.S. Secret Service agents briefly arrested two members of the group -- former Congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy and radio talk show host Joe Madison -- on the first day of the protest. Two more protesters, a Muslim and a Christian, were arrested Tuesday.
The Sudan Campaign wants the U.N. Security Council to sanction Sudan, suspend its membership of the U. N. Human Rights Commission, and enable victims of ethnic cleansing to return to their homes.
THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Contact: Joia Jefferson Nuri
301-920-0670
Joe Madison is arrested again at the Sudan Embassy
/images/joseph-madison.jpg
"The painful weakness of the UN Security Council Resolution on Friday underscores the necessity to continue my hunger strike for the next 30 days.”
Joe Madison is now in the 22nd day of a hunger strike
Today civil rights activist and talk show host Joe Madison was arrested for the second time in 6 weeks in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. Madison is one of the leaders of the Sudan Campaign and has heightened his call for the Sudanese government to stop the genocide in the Darfur region. “If I have to get arrested twice, three times or more… I will continue my protest against the second genocide on the African continent in recent years.” Joe Madison vowed 22 days ago not to eat solid food until the people of Darfur are fed.
Last Friday (Sept. 30) the United Nations Security Council voted to give the Khartoum government 30 days to stop the Janjaweed militia from slaughtering the Black African population. But aid organizations are saying in 30 days thousands of people will be dead. Amnesty International reports in a recent study, that “…girls as young as 8 are being raped and used as sex slaves in Western Sudan.”
"The painful weakness of the UN Security Council Resolution on Friday underscores the necessity to continue my hunger strike for the next 30 days. The Sudan Campaign will continue its arrests and demonstrations at the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. We are calling on all people nationwide, leaders, entertainers, sports figures and ordinary people to respond to this extraordinary human crisis by joining us at the Sudanese Embassy everyday at 1 2noon."
Former Washington Mayor Marion Barry was scheduled to protest at the Sudan Embassy today. After injuring his foot, Mr. Barry was ordered to bed rest. Through a spokesman, he vowed to join the protest as soon as his foot heals.
Arrested thus far at the Sudanese Embassy are: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream; Rep. Charles Rangel, New York; Fmr. Rep. Bob Edgar, current President of the National Council of Churches; Rep. Bobby Rush, Illinois; Rep. Joe Hoeffel, Pennsylvania; Activist Dick Gregory; Fmr. Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy; four Washington area grandmothers & teachers; and Talk Show host and civil rights leader Joe Madison, twice.
Rev. Walter Fauntroy, Mr. Joe Madison and Fr. Keith Roderick are available for interviews. Contact Joia Jefferson Nuri at 301-920-0670.
July 29, 2004
Contact: Joia Jefferson Nuri, 301-920-0670 and Keith Roderick, 202-498-8644
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to be arrested Today at Sudan Embassy
Thursday, July 29, 2004, Noon, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.Joe Madison is now in the 16th day of a hunger strike
On Thursday, July 29th Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream will protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. Both men will be joined by Rabbi David Saperstein, the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, when they stand on the steps of the Embassy. They will be arrested for illegal assembly by the United States Secret Service.
Just one week after Congress voted unanimously to call the slaughter in Sudan a genocide, the Associated Press is reporting that: “The United States sent a revised UN draft resolution on Sudan to Security Council ambassadors yesterday, keeping the threat of sanctions despite calls to give the Sudanese government more time to deal with Arab militias blamed for killing thousands.”
The organizers applaud the actions of the United States government, but the pressure on the Sudan government to stop the genocide will continue. The arrests of Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield, and Rabbi Saperstein represent the continued effort to save lives in Sudan.
On Tuesday, former D.C. Congressional Delegate Rev. Walter Fauntroy hand delivered a letter to the White House calling on President Bush to join the House and the Senate in declaring the horror in Sudan a genocide. In the letter Rev. Fauntroy says, “Mr. President, it is absolutely urgent that you respond to desperate appeals from this unprecedented coalition of world leaders, human rights, governmental and, now both branches of the Congress of the United States and take action, today, to avert the humanitarian disaster that is now imminent”.
The letter calls on the President to:
-
Accelerate diplomatic, political and military efforts to improve security and access within Darfur
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Strengthen the mandate of the African Union Protection Force, including protection and assistance for the civilian delivery of humanitarian aid
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consider a no-fly zone over Darfur and along the Chad/Sudan border to protect civilians and permit the scaling up of rescue and relief operations; ramp up the logistical capacity to double the delivery of aid
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Seek additional civil and military logistical and material support from UN member states to ensure the civilian delivery of aid
Since June 29th the Sudan Campaign has been putting pressure on the Sudanese government by staging a series of arrests in from of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Former Congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy, Talk Show host Joe Madison, and Father Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity International DC, are leading the charge. Joe Madison, President of the Sudan Coalition says, “I will continue my hunger strike until food and medicines are allowed through to the millions of people who are dying in refugee camps.” Joe Madison is now in the 16th day of a hunger strike.
Arrested thus far at the Sudanese Embassy are: Rep. Charles Rangel, New York; Fmr. Rep. Bob Edgar, current President of the National Council of Churches; Rep. Bobby Rush, Illinois; Rep. Joe Hoeffel, Pennsylvania; Activist Dick Gregory; Fmr. Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy; four Washington area grandmothers and Talk Show host and civil rights leader Joe Madison.
Rev. Fauntroy, Mr. Madison and Fr. Roderick are available for interviews. Contact Joia Jefferson Nuri at 301-920-0670.
BBC NEWS 7/31/04: Sudan rejects Darfur resolution
Darfur has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis
Sudan has rejected a new UN resolution, which says Khartoum must halt atrocities by Arab militias in the western Darfur region within 30 days. Information Minister Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik said the document was incorrect.
But Sudan's UN ambassador Elfatih Erwa said the government would nonetheless comply with the US-drafted resolution.
The UN Security Council adopted the document after the US dropped the word "sanctions" and added economic and diplomatic "measures".
The vote was passed with two abstentions - from China and Pakistan.
Diplomats say it is not up to Sudan to accept or reject the resolution, the BBC's Susannah Price at the UN in New York reports.
Up to 50,000 people have died and more than a million have fled their homes in Darfur.
The Janjaweed, the main Arab militia group allied with the government, has been blamed for mass rapes, killings and burning of villages in Darfur.
Khartoum's anger
Friday's resolution "does not conform with the agreements between the government and the United Nations," Mr Malik said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.
While diplomats sit in New York and procrastinate, the people of Darfur are dying
Representative of aid agency in Darfur
"It pains Sudan to have to express its rejection of the Security Council resolution," Mr Malik said.
He said the government was capable of "disarming all the looting and robbing gangs".
Mr Malik also said the resolution focused on Arab militias more than humanitarian issues in Darfur.
'Disaster'
US Ambassador John Danforth told the Council after the vote: "The government of Sudan has left us no choice. It has done the unthinkable, it has fostered an armed attack on its own civilian population, it has created a humanitarian disaster.
DARFUR CONFLICT
1m displaced. Up to 50,000 killed. More at risk from disease and starvation
Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing
Sudan blames rebels for starting conflict
"The responsibility for this disaster lies squarely on the government of Sudan," he said.
The newly passed resolution calls on Sudan to make good on promises it made on 3 July to rein in the fighters.
It calls for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to issue a report in 30 days on the progress made in each of those areas.
The US removed any specific reference to sanctions in the resolution after objections from seven members - including China, Russia and Pakistan - who believe Khartoum needs more time to act.
Aid agencies believe the resolution has been fatally weakened by the changes.
"The Security Council have today proved unanimous in their inaction," the representative of one major aid agency working in Darfur, which wanted to remain anonymous, told BBC News Online.
"The only thing the UN Security Council has delivered is... another 30 days in which civilians will continue to live in fear of being killed or raped.
"The government of Sudan will be celebrating yet another failure to call them to account."
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has said it will begin a series of airdrops targeting 85,000 people in isolated regions of West Darfur in three days.
Written by Herb Boyd
Thursday, 22 July 2004
Rev. Daughtry and Councilman Barron (right) being arrested.
By Herb Boyd
Managing Editor, TBWT
New York --Frustrated in their attempts to meet with officials at the Sudan embassy in New York , the Rev. Herbert Daughtry and Councilman Charles Barron decided to dramatize their plight.
“We have tried on several occasions to speak with representatives at the embassy, but they say they are busy and don’t have time to meet with us,” Rev. Daughtry told the press outside the embassy on 47th Street between First and Second Avenues Thursday afternoon. “For two years the strife has been going on in Darfur in the Western Sudan . More than 30,000 people have been killed, millions have been displaced, villages have been destroyed, and women and girls are being raped. This is a form of ethnic cleansing and it can’t be tolerated.”
“There is a disturbing quietness as the slaughter of African humanity takes place,” Councilman Barron asserted, “so we are here to disturb that quietness.”
Before the police advanced to arrest them, an official came from the embassy to speak with Daughtry, Barron and several other demonstrators, advising them that they continue to be busy, but promised to meet with them at a later date.
“That’s all we’ve been hearing from you for several weeks,” Daughtry charged. “While you’re meeting, people are dying. Something must be done.”
After this encounter, several police officers approached Daughtry and Barron and warned them they would be arrested if they persisted in blocking the entrance to the embassy. “That’s why we’re here,” Rev. Daughtry said.
They were immediately handcuffed and taken to the 17th Precinct on 51st Street and Third Avenue . “They were arrested for disorderly conduct,” the officer in charge explained. “They will be given a desk warrant and probably released.”
Rev. Daughtry, pastor of House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn and Councilman Barron have a long history of standing up against injustice through acts of civil disobedience. And this particular expression of indignation follows Congressman Charles Rangel’s arrest two weeks ago in Washington , D.C.
According to reports from the United Nations, Black African farmers are being attacked by Arabs known as Janjaweed. Many believe that these attacks are either sanctioned or ignored by the Sudanese government.
Daughtry said this is but the first in a series of protest. “We will continue to demonstrate and call on the Sudanese government to end the genocidal practice,” he said. On Aug. 5th a meeting is scheduled at the House of the LordChurch . A time has not yet been determined.
News
CPP joins protests against the murder of Africans
Source: CPP Secretariat (UK & Eire branch) | Posted: Thursday, July 22, 2004
The Convention People's Party- UK & Ireland Branch has joined the protest against mass murder and genocide in the Darfur, Sudan.
Thousands of Africans are being killed, raped, kidnapped, bombed, displaced, starved and burnt alive.
Over one million people have fled their homes. For months the Arab Militia - the Janjaweed have been burning children to death in Western Sudan, their intention is to rid Darfur of the "zurga", a racist term the Sudanese and its Arab militia use to describe black people.
As Africans we cannot allow this to happen or tolerate this further, whilst the world sits idly watching, making lame promises.
A demonstration has been organised by concerned groups and the CPP is urging all Africans, all progressive groups, all good people to rise and protest against the murder of innocent African women and children.
Join the demonstration outside the Sudan Embassy on Wednesday, July 28 at 12 noon, 3 Cleveland Row, London (Near St James Palace), if you will be in the UK by then.
If you cannot make the demonstration, protest wherever you are and in whichever way you can. The mass murder of Africans must stop.
Bush faces pressure on Sudan 'genocide'
Sudan Tribune, Sudan
... The House of Representatives is expected to begin debating a similar resolution next week. * Charles Rangel, a senior Democratic congressman, was arrested
RANGEL IS BUSTED AT DC PROTEST
New York Post, NY
July 14, 2004 -- WASHINGTON — Congressman Charles Rangel was arrested yesterday outside the Sudanese Embassy in a protest over the plight of refugees in the ...
Belated International Political Response to Darfur Catastrophe:
Still Without Sufficient Coherence, Comprehension, or Moral Urgency
Eric Reeves
July 25, 2004
GENOCIDE IN DARFUR
The recent flurry of international pronouncements in response to massive genocidal destruction in Darfur must, despite its terribly belated nature, be welcomed as a necessary first step in generating an appropriate response by the world community. Of particular note is the unanimous vote in the US Congress, "declaring that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide" (July 23, 2004 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives). This bicameral, bipartisan resolution "reminds the Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of their legal obligations under the Convention," and "urges the [Bush] Administration to call the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan, by their rightful name: genocide" (Senate Congressional Resolution 124 and House Concurrent Resolution 467).
Moreover, the July 26, 2004 edition of the Christian Science Monitor is reporting that the Committee on Conscience of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum will tomorrow (Monday, July 26, 2004) "label Darfur a full-fledged 'genocide emergency,' the first such warning in its history" (Christian Science Monitor, July 26, 2004).
Just as important as these declarations concerning genocide in Darfur is the willingness signaled by the United Kingdom and Australia to send troops to Darfur as part of an international humanitarian intervention. This declared willingness is a particularly significant political decision on the part of the government of Tony Blair. It is extremely important that others nations join quickly in making clear that credible means of humanitarian intervention in Darfur do in fact exist.
These international commitments must be complemented by immediate efforts to support the African Union monitors and military support personnel presently being deploying to Darfur. This force of 350 soldiers and monitors is very significantly under-equipped, and urgently needs much greater helicopter transport capacity and significantly improved communications gear. It also requires robust diplomatic and political support in confronting the almost inevitable efforts at obstruction on the part of the Khartoum regime. This support should begin immediately and take the form of emphatic public declarations of support as well as concrete offers of logistical and material assistance.
THE URGENT TASKS AT HAND
The larger near-term goals of humanitarian intervention are clear: [1] to protect the highly endangered civilian populations displaced in Darfur (both in camps and in rural areas where terrified people are too fearful to move for fear of attack by Khartoum's Janjaweed militia forces); [2] vastly increasing humanitarian logistics and transport capacity. The distinguished International Rescue Committee (IRC) has led nongovernmental organizations in the effort to highlight the importance of the latter urgent need. In a press release of July 23, 2004 ("Relief Efforts for War-Displaced in Darfur and Chad Must Be Doubled Now"), the IRC has urged the humanitarian effort "ramp up the logistical capacity to double the delivery of aid."
This doubling of capacity is the minimum necessary, the IRC stresses, given any reasonable assessment of present humanitarian capacity and growing humanitarian need. IRC president George Rupp has declared that "even with UN and international aid groups ramping up humanitarian assistance, current capacity in the region is by best estimates meeting only 40 percent of the critical needs of the displaced population."
As the IRC press release continued:
"The international humanitarian response to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and eastern Chad must be boosted immediately and dramatically to save hundreds of thousands of lives that may be lost because of rising levels of disease and malnutrition. IRC health teams in Darfur and Chad report increasing cases of diarrhea and dysentery and the growing threat of cholera and other predatory diseases such as measles and typhoid. According to the World Health Organization, a cholera epidemic striking up to 300,000 could break out within weeks now that heavy rains have begun." (International Rescue Committee press release, July 23, 2004)
Ominously, reports from the Kalma camp near Nyala (with a population that has doubled in recent weeks to about 70,000) indicate that there has in fact been an outbreak of cholera; present medical capacity is completely inadequate to such a population in present circumstances.
World Vision reports in its July 22, 2004 press release that cholera bacteria are already in the camps, and a report form the Glasgow (Scotland) Mail reports today that a cholera epidemic is impending:
"World Vision say the outbreak is expected in Darfur's Kalma camp, which houses 60,000 refugees. One family has been quarantined after a child had symptoms and experts warn 3,000 people could contract the disease immediately. World Vision's health specialist in Darfur, Dr Mesfin Teklu, said: 'If an outbreak happens, it will prove disastrous.'" (July 25, 2004 | www.sundaymail.co.uk/l
The IRC specifically calls on the UN Security Council, UN member states and the larger international community to explore a series of options "for delivering assistance in a permissive and a non-permissive environment." By a "non-permissive environment," the IRC is referring to the highly likely refusal of the Khartoum regime to permit this critically necessary increase in humanitarian capacity, which may require military assistance and protection. This forthrightness from the humanitarian community is long overdue, and the IRC deserves great credit for speaking so directly and honestly to the present crisis. Among the options recommended by the IRC: [1] "Accelerate diplomatic, political and military efforts to improve security and access within Darfur";
[2] "Strengthen the mandate of the African Union Protection Force to include protection and assistance for the civilian delivery of
humanitarian aid";
[3] "Consider a no-fly zone over Darfur and along the Chad/Sudan border to protect civilians and permit the scaling up of rescue and relief operations";
[4] "Ramp up the logistical capacity to double the delivery of aid. Seek additional civil and military logistical and material support from UN member states to ensure the civilian delivery of aid.
THE IRRELEVANT DEBATE ABOUT SANCTIONS
Yet despite this compelling articulation of urgent needs---needs that must be met in order to save hundreds of thousands of lives---much international debate continues to focus on the issue of sanctions against the Khartoum regime. This is so despite a clear signal from Russia (currently completing a lucrative sale of highly advanced MiG-29s to Khartoum) that it is opposed to sanctions, as is China (Khartoum's largest oil partner). But even without such opposition, it should be evident to all that this debate is quite irrelevant to the situation on the ground in Darfur. Khartoum has successfully impeded humanitarian access for so many months, the UN and others in the international community have so badly failed in adequately anticipating the current level of crisis, insecurity continues to be so destructive throughout Darfur, that the diplomatic efficacy of any sanctions regime is utterly beside the essential point.
Recent comments by US, French, the German, and Dutch officials seem to be speaking to an entirely different crisis:
"It's too early for sanctions against Sudan for human rights abuses in Darfur but the international community will take them unless the situation in the region improves, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot has told his Sudanese counterpart." (Reuters, July 25, 2004)
Foreign Minister Bot seems perversely unaware that it is not "too early for sanctions" but transparently too late, unless we are willing to watch in leisure the destruction of hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings while "pressure" is applied to Khartoum from afar. For the regime has already made clear that it is not prepared to control the continuing violence of the Janjaweed. Recently reported arrests and punishments of supposed Janjaweed militiamen, in trials completely lacking in transparency, are exercises in propaganda, not serious efforts to restrain the Janjaweed. We get some sense of the real meaning of Khartoum's efforts from the Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO)-Cairo, which reported yesterday that:
"This week, the Sudan Government put to trial hundreds of citizens accused of the Janjaweed militia membership before a special court in Nyala. Many of these citizens received prompt death sentences or amputations, as publicly announced by the South DarFur Chief Judge." Noting many highly irregular judicial procedures, SHRO-Cairo also reports:
"The occurrence of these rush trials in the midst of serious national and international concerns about the involvement of senior executive, security, and political leaders of the government in the DarFur Crisis and the Janjaweed attacks against the innocent citizens of DarFur violates the principles of proper trial, and is seriously hurting the ongoing fact-finding efforts in the region."
SRHO-Cairo also notes that "the rushing of the South DarFur Judiciary to sentence citizens accused of the Janjaweed militia crimes against humanity by secretive non-public special courts with death sentences and amputations without proper legal procedure" makes a mockery of due process. (Sudan Human Rights Organization-Cairo, report released July 23, 2004)
This comports all to well with a dispatch from Eltigani Ateem Seisi, former governor of Darfur, who reports that on July 23, 2004: "Sudan TV aired a programme on Darfur [that] showed a number of the Janjaweet allegedly convicted by the courts in Nyala for attacking and torching villages in the area. We now have credible news that all the prisoners shown in that programme were convicts who have been in Nyala prison for over three years and have nothing to do with the Janjaweet. It is a further attempt by the Sudanese government to deceive the international community and thwart the international pressure." (e-mail, received by this source July 25, 2004)
These judicial travesties are the perfect exemplum of how Khartoum expects to be able to respond to international demands that the Janjaweed be disarmed and controlled.
Just as disturbingly, the regime continues to make fully clear its determination to obstruct humanitarian operations. Yet another example of the regime's resourcefulness in this arena is cited in the most recent US Agency for International Development (US AID) "Fact Sheet" on Darfur, reporting that its Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) presently in Darfur finds that Khartoum is now, "imposing rigorous registration requirements that hinder qualified health workers from entering Darfur. These regulations are severely affecting relief agencies' capacity to respond to disease outbreaks anticipated in the coming weeks." (US AID "Fact Sheet #15," Darfur---Humanitarian Emergency, July 23, 2004)
And most ominously, Khartoum continues to give evidence that it is now set upon a policy of forcing highly vulnerable populations out of camps for the displaced back into rural areas that are completely lacking in security. This extremely serious new development is again highlighted in the most recent US AID "Fact Sheet" [July 23, 2004]: "The humanitarian community is concerned that the Government of Sudan (GOS) is planning to forcibly return internally displaced persons (IDPs). Although not yet implemented, the Wali (Governor) of West Darfur informed the U.N. that 25 percent of the population of Mornei (nearly 20,000 people) would be relocated. In North Darfur, the Wali announced the GOS intention to move approximately 200,000 IDPs [from] approximately eight sites near urban centers. On July 18, [2004] the GOS officials in South Darfur announced plans to begin immediate evacuation of IDPs from the Kass schools, allegedly following requests from the IDPs to be relocated." (US AID "Fact Sheet #15," Darfur---Humanitarian Emergency, July 23, 2004)
US AID and others report that internally displaced persons insistently and fearfully deny any such requests to be "relocated."
Sanctions against Khartoum as a response to such present critical threats to over 2 million people are a shameful irrelevance. The putative pressure of sanctions simply cannot feed people, or provide them with medical treatment, clean water, or shelter. Nor can it produce security in Darfur. To pretend otherwise is a callous and disingenuous refusal to confront the situation at hand. The world must either respond to the massive, deliberate destruction of the African tribal peoples of Darfur---"as such"---or we are acquiescing in mortality rates that are presently claiming almost 2,000 people per day according to data from the US Agency for International Development (these data are borne out by several recent studies of Global Acute Malnutrition by humanitarian organizations operating in Darfur).
For it cannot be stressed too often that the present immense humanitarian crisis in Darfur is not accidental, the work of natural forces, or even a cataclysmic example of so-called "collateral damage." The destruction and violence that has displaced at least 1.5 million people within Darfur and into Chad, that has produced almost 150,000 casualties to date, and that is set to take enormous tolls among the aggregated populations of "war-affected persons" (presently at least 2.3 million), is deliberate---it is, as the US Congress declared in a moment of extraordinary bipartisan, bicameral resolve, "genocide." (The sources for and statistical analyses underlying these figures are available upon request.)
Though there continue to be perplexing expressions of doubt about genocidal intent, these doubts simply cannot withstand the overwhelming evidence of deliberate, systematic, and ongoing efforts by the Khartoum regime to accelerate the very destruction that is so clearly in evidence. That this destruction has purposely focused on the African ethnic tribal groups---the Fur, the Massaleit, the Zaghawa, and others---is simply beyond reasonable dispute.>
THE TEMPTATIONS TO TEMPORIZ
Despite the moral clarity of the obligation to intervene in Darfur, various international actors are showing signs of temporizing or simply ignoring evidence available. The European debate about sanctions against Khartoum (see above) is but one version. Egypt, guided by a Sudan policy that is viciously expedient to the core, declared yesterday that:
"Sudan should be given time to implement its commitments to the United Nations and the United States over the situation in the troubled western Darfur region, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Saturday.
Ahmed Abul Gheit. [ ] 'We cannot tell Sudanese officials, "you have signed with us today and tomorrow you should immediately achieve complete calm,"' the Egyptian minister said." (Agence France-Presse, Cairo, July 24, 2004)
The time frame-frame suggested here is disingenuously forgiving. UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell made clear weeks ago their expectation that Khartoum immediately begin to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed: to date, nothing has changed. Indeed, security for humanitarian operations has deteriorated over many weeks. Various promises have been given by the regime for months now; not one of them has been kept. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and Egypt are perfectly prepared to countenance the genocidal destruction of African populations in Darfur, as Egypt has for decades in the Nuba> Mountains and southern Sudan.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) can hardly be accused of temporizing; on the contrary, a recent propaganda "report" (published by Khartoum's South African embassy website) has nothing but praise for the regime: "Contrary to the reports of international organizations and the international media, the mission found the Government of Sudan to be exerting all possible and sustained efforts, within their own scarce resources, to peacefully resolve the Darfur crisis and to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region."
"The mission did not find any evidence of there being the 'worst humanitarian situation in the world' or any comparison whatsoever with the well-documented and substantiated genocide and ethnic cleansing which occurred in Rwanda in 1994.
"The Government of the Sudan was also found to be actively involved with, fully cooperating with and facilitating the work of international and regional organizations as well as national and international NGO's in the provision of urgently required humanitarian assistance to the IDP's in the Darfur region." (Available on the website of the Khartoum embassy in South Africa:
Such disgusting mendacity, while obviously useless in assessing the situation in Darfur, gives some indication of the international political obstacles to an appropriate response in Darfur. The Arab League for its part is all too well represented by Egyptian views.
To its great credit, the African Union is undertaking an unprecedented "peace-monitoring mission" in Darfur, and while this doesn't represent full African unanimity, it is an effort that must be supported in all possible ways, and made into a bridgehead for much more robust intervention. They key here will be to ensure full diplomatic and political support, as well as substantial logistical and material assistance. But this force can only be a bridgehead: it cannot possibly help in the massive augmentation of logistics and humanitarian transport capacity called for by the International Rescue Committee. Nor can it do anything but begin the equally massive task of providing physical security to the more than 1.5 million people displaced by the predations and violence of the Janjaweed and Khartoum's regular military forces.
Here, as the Washington Post rightly argued in an editorial today, Colin Powell and the Bush administration---"which has been generous with relief and which has led the charge for tough action at the United Nations" is "guilty of equivocation" ("Mr. Powell's Mistake," Washington Post editorial, July 25, 2004): "The equivocation hinges on the question of who must restore peace in Darfur. On Thursday Secretary of State Colin L. Powell offered his answer: 'The burden for this, for providing security, rests fully on the shoulders of Sudan's government.' This view conveniently absolves outsiders of responsibility for getting a civilian protection force into Darfur and reassures Security Council members such as China and Russia that Sudan's sovereignty will be respected. But it is naive."
"Asking a government like [the Khartoum regime] to provide security in Darfur is like calling upon Slobodan Milosevic to protect Albanian Kosovars. The real solution is the reverse of the one Mr. Powell appears to believe in. Rather than summoning Sudan's government into Darfur to protect refugees, the United States should be calling upon the government to pull back from the region. Just as was the case in Kosovo, security in Darfur is going to require a foreign presence, preferably an African one that builds on the small African Union observer mission that is already in the region. Mr. Powell may fear that calling for such a force is risky: What if no Africans come forward, and the job of peacekeeping falls to the United States? But the secretary must weigh that risk against the opposite one. What if Sudan's government maintains control of Darfur and uses it to exterminate hundreds of thousands of people?" (Washington Post, July 25, 2004)
These are precisely the terms in which we must think about the issue of security in Darfur, which by all accounts continues to deteriorate, with significantly increased threats to humanitarian personnel, vehicles, even convoys. In moving the international community toward such thinking about human security in Darfur, Secretary Powell must also expedite the genocide determination currently being undertaken by the State Department.
Mr. Powell recently declared, in commenting upon the State Department investigation of genocide, that "'the initial reporting that I have received is very disturbing as to the actions of the Janjaweed and how the Janjaweed were supported by the government of Sudan'" (Associated Press, July 22, 2004). But this is already a full month after Pierre-Richard Prosper, US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes, testified to the Congress: "'I can tell you that we see indicators of genocide and there is evidence that points in that direction,' said Pierre Prosper, the US ambassador-at-large for war crimes." (Agence France-Presse, June 24, 2004)
In this same Congressional testimony, Ambassador Prosper troublingly declared that State Department lawyers and investigators "are not in a position to confirm" a genocide determination, for "in order to do so, Darfur needs to be opened up" (Agence France-Presse, June 24, 2004). Yet again, it becomes difficult to know whether this commentary on the Darfur crisis is ignorance or disingenuousness. For of course Khartoum will not "open up" Darfur to US investigators involved in a genocide determination: to expect such is absurd. To make a genocide determination in any way contingent upon such an "opening up" is perverse and unjustified delay.
NOW
There is no time for confusion, disingenuousness, or lack of moral clarity. All available evidence clearly indicates that genocide is occurring; moreover, there is no disconfirming evidence. The deliberate effects of this genocide are accelerating mortality rates and a growing mismatch between humanitarian capacity and humanitarian need. If the international response is governed by irrelevant debates about sanctions, dilatory gathering of evidence, or indeed anything other than the immediate need to plan for robust humanitarian intervention, with all necessary military support, then this response is but a ghastly reprise of the world's failure in the face of Rwanda's genocide in 1994.
For there is no lack of evidence, no lack of clarity, no lack of statistical data pointing to the imminent, deliberate destruction of hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings.
Every day of inadequate response brings us closer to the point, sometime in the next six months, when US Agency for International Development mortality data indicate that 20 human beings per 10,000 of "war-affected" population will die per day. With a "war-affected" population of well over 2 million, this means that we are relentlessly approaching the point at which approximately 5,000 people will be dying daily.
This was the world in the spring of 1994; this is the world as we find
it in July 2004.
Remarks by Fr. Keith Roderick
Washington Representative for Christian Solidarity International
7/22/2004
Buried in the throes of every great tragedy is the seed of mercy. One heart moved by the misery of another becomes a movement of compassion. You are here for one reason and one reason only, that you have been moved to compassion. And while we all can not cradle in our arms a child racked by disease and near death or carry on our backs individually to the remote places of Sudan the food and medicine that will end this calamity, we can press the governments of the world to stop this genocide against black Africans by the Sudanese government.
This movement of compassion has no politics. It is neither an issue of right or left, but of doing what is right. Flannery O'Connor's wrote: "All things that rise must converge." There is a convergence of perspectives because pressuring Sudan to stop its campaign of death and destruction is the right thing to do.
We are grateful to President Bush who was the first president to put Sudan on the agenda. We are grateful for this leadership that sent Ambassador Danforth to help resolve the civil war and move toward a permanent peace and that sent the Secretary of State to Sudan. It demonstrates a continued commitment to work on behalf of ending this terrible calamity. Having said, we are now urging the administration to do one more thing, declare what is happening in Sudan a genocide and then lead the international community in a humanitarian effort to prevent a more horrific situation.
Nearly a month ago the Sudan Campaign issued a call to action to all people of good-will. Without U.S. pressure the international community will not act. The black oil underground should not be more important than the black people above ground. The United States must press the UN Security Council to apply strict sanctions on the Sudanese government. It must lead the fight to have Sudan immediately removed as a member of the UN Human Rights Commission and to establish a tribunal to hold those responsible for atrocities accountable. The United States must organize a coalition of compassion to insure that all measures for the rescue and rehabilitation of the victims of Sudanese atrocities be free of interference and mischief. If the UN will not act then it must act.
The Sudanese government has spent more time in public relations denying what is happening that it has spent in ending it. If Sudan wants these demonstrations to end it must:
- Disarm the Arab militias
- Set the slaves free, rehabilitate the refugees that have fled and the internally displaced.
- Allow unfettered access for humanitarian workers and supplies by air and land.
- Allow unimpeded access of non-governmental organizations to observe the progress of assistance to all areas.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Demonstrations and Arrests Continue at Sudan Embassy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS ALERT
July 7, 2004
The Sudan Campaign has called for daily demonstrations and non-violent civil disobedience to Stop the Genocide and Free the Slaves at the Sudanese Embassy, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. at noon.
On June 29, Sudan Campaign partners, marched on the Sudanese Embassy in Washington D.C., protesting against state-sponsored genocide and slavery. Two Sudan Campaign members, former Congressman Rev. Walter Fauntroy and radio talk show host Joe Madison, were arrested by Secret Service agents protesting through non-violent civil disobedience. Yesterday, two more protesters, a Muslim and a Christian were arrested at the embassy. This week marks the first full week of the protests and arrests that the organizers promise will continue until Sudan is charged with "genocide" or the Sudanese government stops genocide, rehabilitates refugees and frees slaves it sanctioned during its jihad on Black Africans in the south.
These photographs chronicle recent trips by Rev. Walter Fauntroy and Joe Madison into the Sudan. Their efforts have resulted in the freeing of over 6000 slaves.
Rev. Walter Fauntroy (left) and Joe Madison meet Sudanese slaves freed through Sudan's Underground Railroad
/images/Amputees6in.jpg
Amputees, Garang Dengyel and Athian Athian Athian arms were chopped off with an ax by slave owners when they tried to rescue their enslaved wives and children
The Sudan Campaign calls on the Security Council of the United Nations to adopt Chapter 7 sanctions on Sudan, to suspend the membership of the Government for Sudan on the U. N. Human Rights Commission, and to enable victims of ethnic cleansing to return to their homes.
President George W. Bush, Sen. John Kerry and both Houses of Congress have identified the Government of Sudan as a perpetrator of acts of "genocide". (Sudan Peace Act, 2002.)
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Washington, D.C.
PRESS ALERT
Monday, July 12, 2004
Contact: Joia Nuri
301-920-0670
Mounting Protests against Sudanese Genocide
Rep. Charles B. Rangel to be arrested at the Sudanese Embassy
Radio Talk Show host Joe Madison Begins Hunger Strike
Tuesday, July 13, 2004, Noon
Embassy of Sudan, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
At 12:00 noon on Tuesday, July 13, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, (D. NY) will be among the protesters arrested at the Sudanese Embassy, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. Congressman Rangel, along with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), are calling for an end to the genocide in Sudan. The CBC is demanding sanctions against the government of Sudan. Many of the protesters are planning to get arrested. In addition to being arrested, radio talk show host and civil rights leader, Joe Madison, will launch a hunger strike. Madison demands an immediate end to the Sudanese government’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to victims of the Sudanese genocide. Madison says if trucks filled with food and medicines are not allowed through to the victims before rainy season begins hundreds of thousands of people could die needlessly.
Sudan Campaign organizers pledge to continue demonstrations until the Sudanese government stops the genocide and returns over one million displaced civilians to their homes. Demonstrations are also planned in Boston, New York City, San Antonio, San Diego, and Toronto. On Wednesday, July 14th the Hon. Robert Edgar, former Member of Congress and current President of the National Council of Churches will be arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy at noon.
The Sudan Campaign calls on the Security Council of the United Nations to adopt Chapter 7 sanctions on Sudan, to suspend the membership of the government for Sudan on the U. N. Human Rights Commission, and to enable slave and other victims of the Sudanese government’s declared jihad against Black Africans to return to their homes.
The Sudan Campaign is the direct action effort of a coalition of organizations working on behalf black Africans in Sudan that have suffered violence and slavery at the hands of their government. Partner organizations include The Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, the American Anti-slavery group, the Wilberforce Project, Christian Solidarity International and others.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is a Christian human rights organization for religious liberty helping victims of religious repression, victimized children and victims of disaster. CSI was founded by Rev. Hans Stückelberger, following silent demonstrations in Switzerland in support of persecuted Christians in 1977. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland but has office in several countries, including the U.S.
For more information contact, Joia Jefferson Nuri at 301-920-0670 or Keith Roderick 202-498-8644.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Washington, D.C.
PRESS ALERT
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
Contact: Joia Nuri
301-920-0670
Mounting Protests against Sudanese Genocide
Head of National Council of Churches to be arrested Wednesday at the Sudanese Embassy
Former Member of Congress joins Rep. Charles B. Rangel in being arrested
Radio Talk Show host Joe Madison goes into second day of hunger strike
Wednesday, July 14, 2004, Noon
On Wednesday, July 14th at noon, the Hon. Robert Edgar, former Member of Congress (D-Pa.1975-1987) and current President of the National Council of Churches will be arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy, 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington D.C. Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar follows New York Congressman Charles B. Rangel who was arrested on Tuesday.
Rev. Dr. Edgar joins Congressman Charles B. Rangel and the Congressional Black Caucus in demanding the Sudanese government end its support of rebels who are murdering hundreds of people a day. The protesters are demanding an end to the genocide in Sudan. The CBC is demanding sanctions against the government of Sudan. Rep. Rangel was arrested by the Secret Service. Last week former Congressman Walter Fauntroy and talk show host Joe Madison were arrested. On Friday, July 16th political comedian and activist Dick Gregory will be arrested. High profile arrests will continue until the world community wakes up.
In addition, radio talk show host and civil rights leader, Joe Madison, launched a hunger strike. Madison demands an immediate end to the Sudanese government’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to victims of the Sudanese genocide. Madison says if trucks filled with food and medicines are not allowed through to the victims before rainy season begins hundreds of thousands of people could die needlessly.
The Sudan Campaign calls on the Security Council of the United Nations to adopt Chapter 7 sanctions on Sudan, to suspend the membership of the government for Sudan on the U. N. Human Rights Commission, and to enable slave and other victims of the Sudanese government’s declared jihad against Black Africans to return to their homes.
The National Council of Churches, founded in 1950, is the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox member denominations include almost 50 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.
The Sudan Campaign is the direct action effort of a coalition of organizations working on behalf black Africans in Sudan that have suffered violence and slavery at the hands of their government. Partner organizations include The Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, the American Anti-slavery group, the Wilberforce Project, and others
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is a Christian human rights organization for religious liberty helping victims of religious repression, victimized children and victims of disaster. CSI was founded by Rev. Hans Stückelberger, following silent demonstrations in Switzerland in support of persecuted Christians in 1977. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland but has office in several countries, including the U.S.
Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Washington, D.C.
PRESS ALERT
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Contact: Joia Nuri 301-920-0670 and Keith Roderick 202-498-8644
Pa. Congressman Joe Hoeffel and his wife are arrested at Sudanese Embassy along with activist Dick Gregory
Talk Show host Joe Madison closes seventh day of hunger strike
Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Hoeffel (Pa., 13th District), his wife, Francesca Hoeffel, and political comedian and activist Dick Gregory were all arrested at the Sudan Embassy at 2210 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. today at 12:15pm. The Congressman and Mrs. Hoeffel and Mr. Gregory follow Washington, D.C. Pastor Raymond Bell, Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), former Congressman Bob Edgar, now the President of the National Council of Churches, and New York Congressman Charles B. Rangel who were all arrested by the United States Secret Service last week.
Congressman Hoeffel supports a joint resolution before Congress that calls on the United States to declare the Sudan slaughter genocide. Hoeffel says, "I am here today to add my voice to the outrage that is building throughout our nation and across the world in response to the crisis in Sudan. The crisis in Darfur fits every definition of genocide, and must be labeled as such by the United Nations and its member countries. The UN Security Council must immediately pressure the Sudanese government to end its support for the violence and to drop its restrictions on the delivery of much needed aid to the region. We must act now before this catastrophe escalates any further."
Both Rep. Joe Hoeffel and Dick Gregory are joining the cries of the Congressional Black Caucus and other international protesters in demanding the Sudanese government end its support of the militia who are murdering hundreds of Black Africans everyday. The protesters are demanding that the United Nations and the world call this government supported genocide. The CBC is demanding sanctions against the government of Sudan. The Sudan Campaign calls on the Security Council of the United Nations to adopt Chapter 7 sanctions on Sudan, to suspend the membership of the government for Sudan on the U. N. Human Rights Commission, and to enable slave and other victims of the Sudanese government’s declared jihad against Black Africans to return to their homes. Now in his third term, Rep. Joe Hoeffel, has worked hard on promoting fiscal restraint, balancing the federal budget, paying down our national debt, reforming education, improving international relations, protecting the environment and expanding health care. Dick Gregory is a world renowned comedian, civil rights leader and nutritionist. For more than 40 years he has used his talents to point a distinctive finger at human and civil rights abuses throughout the world.
In addition to the arrests, radio talk show host and civil rights leader Joe Madison is entering the seventh day of a hunger strike. Madison demands an immediate end to the Sudanese government’s obstruction of humanitarian aid to victims of the Sudanese genocide. The series of arrests at the Sudanese Embassy began on June 29th with former Congressman Walter Fauntroy and talk show host Joe Madison. High profile arrests will continue until the world community wakes up.
Statement Against Genocide in the Darfur Region of Sudan, Africa Joe Madison, President of the Sudan Campaign Sudan Embassy
Washington, DC
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Today a Coalition of Conscience has stepped forward to declare in a single voice, "Enough is Enough." "We are representatives of individuals, groups and organizations that will not stand silently by while genocide is being committed against Africans in Sudan.
Ten years ago, the world stood idly by as 800,000 Rwandans were slaughtered. Today the human destruction unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan could potentially be greater.
What is happening in Darfur is nothing short of criminal. The acts of violence and destruction are not random or a result of war. Simply put, they are by-products of ethnic cleansing and a scorch earth policy.
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Without immediate action over 350,000 men, women and children will lose their lives in the next nine months from starvation and disease.
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Some 1.1 million people have been driven from their homes; many lack water, food and sanitation.
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35,000 are already dead
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Women, and girls as young as 12 have been raped outside of refugee camps
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Drinking wells have been poisoned
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Villages destroyed by aerial bombardments.
The Sudanese government incorrectly believes that if it denies the by-products of genocide; hunger, malnutrition, and epidemic disease, then they and the governments of the world don’t have to address the "genocide". Sudan’s plan is as evil as Nazi Germany’s "Final Solution"; use government supplied and sponsored militias to drive the people out of their villages and then allow starvation and disease to finish the job.
Sudan may continue their official denials, but like Abraham Lincoln said, " It is true that you may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time." Therefore, we are asking all people of conscience world-wide to speak now for those in Darfur whose lives have been undervalued and marginalized. We are calling for demonstrations at Sudanese Embassies around the world and continued demonstrations here in Washington, DC and at the United Nations in New York City.
Concerted international pressure was required to end the 20-year civil war in Sudan that took 2 million lives. It will take an even greater intensity to end the genocide in Darfur. We cannot turn our backs as many did 10 years ago in Rwanda. Mr. President, Secretary of State Powell and U.N. Secretary General Annan, call it like you see it in Sudan, read my lips, "It is genocide pure and simple." There is still just enough time to stop another African genocide, but we must take action now.
HCON 467 IH 108th CONGRESS 2nd Session
H. CON. RES. 467 Declaring genocide in Darfur, Sudan. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 24, 2004
Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. WYNN, Ms. LEE, Ms. MAJETTE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. WATERS, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. RUSH, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. OWENS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. WATT, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Ms. WATSON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. FORD, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. TANCREDO, and Mr. BISHOP of Georgia) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Declaring genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Whereas Article 1 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide states that `the contracting parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish';
Whereas Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide declares that `in the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group';
Whereas Article 3 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide affirms that the `following acts shall be punishable: (a) genocide; (b) conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) attempt to committed genocide; and (e) complicit in genocide';
Whereas in Darfur, Sudan, an estimated 30,000 innocent civilians have been brutally murdered, more than 130,000 people have been forced from their homes and have fled to neighboring Chad, and more than 1,000,000 people have been internally displaced; and
Whereas in March 2004 the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator stated: `[T]he war in Darfur started off in a small way last year but it has progressively gotten worse. A predominant feature of this is that the brunt is being borne by civilians. This includes vulnerable women and children . . . The violence in Darfur appears to be particularly directed at a specific group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be systemized.': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--
(1) declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide;
(2) reminds the international community, including the United States Government, of their international legal obligations, as affirmed in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
(3) urges the Bush Administration to call the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan by its rightful name: `genocide';
(4) calls on the Bush Administration to lead an international effort to prevent genocide in Darfur, Sudan;
(5) urges the Bush Administration to seriously consider multilateral or even unilateral intervention to prevent genocide should the United Nations Security Council fail to act;
(6) demands that the Bush Administration impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and the freezing of assets of the National Congress and affiliated business and individuals directly responsible for the atrocities in Darfur, Sudan; and
(7) calls on USAID to establish a Darfur Resettlement, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Fund so that those driven off their land may return and begin to rebuild their communities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 18, 2004
9:59 PM
CONTACT: The Green Party of the United States
Scott McLarty, 202-518-5624
Nancy Allen, 207-326-4576
Greens to all US Candidates: Unite to stop the Genocide in Sudan
WASHINGTON - July 18 - "Unless we act right away in cooperation with the international community, 350,000 people will die in the Sudan from disease, starvation and murder," said David Cobb, Green Party presidential candidate. "We urge President Bush, Sen. Kerry, and all presidential and congressional candidates and officeholders to join with the Green Party in our call to stop the unfolding genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. This crisis is one that can and should unite all Americans, regardless of political persuasion, behind the goal of international action to save Sudanese lives before it's too late. Either we set aside our political differences and act right now to stop genocide or we will share responsibility for it."
As many as 350,000 Sudanese civilians will die if no action is taken, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development.
"The Bush Administration has the power to push the United Nations towards action and provide necessary resources, and to persuade Arab nations to help stop the militias that are committing the massacres," said Terry Baum, California Green candidate for Congress (8th District). "If we don't, we'll see a repeat of the horror of Rwanda in 1994, when the U.S. and U.N. looked the other away as 800,000 people were slaughtered."
Greens recommended several measures that the U.N. can undertake immediately:
-- The U.N. Security Council must levy effective sanctions against Sudanese leaders to compel them to disarm the militias that are behind the massacres.
-- The U.N. must establish a multinational force, under the leadership of African nations, to ensure access to the humanitarian relief that the Sudanese government has blocked in Darfur and to continue to monitor the conflict and the current ceasefire. African Union forces are already present and ready to mobilize, but need global support. The U.S. can assist the African Union's efforts by relieving the massive external debt that is choking many African nations.
"Hundreds of thousands of human lives are at stake, as is the credibility of the U.S. as a defender of human rights in the wake of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay and the War on Iraq in general," said Pat Gray, Green candidate for Congress in California (12th District). "The Darfur crisis is one of many examples of genocidal famines and epidemics that, while exacerbated by environmental factors, are chiefly the result of war, suppression of human rights, forced relocation, rape, and imposed suffering for purposes of 'ethnic cleansing.' Since the crisis has a political cause, we can use political means to prevent mass death."
The Sudan Campaign
1023 15th St. NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036