DO Something!!
i read a column in the NYTIMES about Sudan this week. It talks about what is happening RIGHT now in the Sudan:
The Secret Genocide Archive
So what can stop this genocide? At one level the answer is technical: sanctions against Sudan, a no-fly zone, a freeze of Sudanese officials' assets, prosecution of the killers by the International Criminal Court, a team effort by African and Arab countries to pressure Sudan, and an international force of African troops with financing and logistical support from the West.
But that's the narrow answer. What will really stop this genocide is indignation. Senator Paul Simon, who died in 2003, said after the Rwandan genocide, "If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different."
The Sudanese Government, using Arab "Janjaweed" militias, its air force, and organized starvation, is deliberately and systematically killing the black Sudanese of Darfur.
Photo taken in the village of Hamada on Jan. 15, right after a Sudanese government-backed militia, the janjaweed, attacked it and killed 107 people.
During past genocides against Armenians, Jews and Cambodians, it was possible to claim that we didn't fully know what was going on. This time, President Bush, Congress and the European Parliament have already declared genocide to be under way. And we have photos.
This time, we have no excuse.
If Bush is going to talk about freedom and democracy, why doesn't he start here? Where is the leadership?
Don Cheadle from the movie hotel rwanda:
And again we're seeing what's going now in Darfur in the Sudan. And, you know, close to 300,000 killed, at 10,000 a month, 1.8-2.0 million displaced. And we're still sitting here quibbling over, “Is it a genocide; where do we try the criminals?”..It's reprehensible. I mean, we could start with just strengthening the African Union's mandate right now. Basically, there's 3,000-5,000 soldiers there to monitor an area roughly the size of Texas. I mean, you couldn't get 3,000 soldiers to lock down L.A. if something went down, you know. So you really have to - we have to strengthen their mandate. All they're allowed to do now is to observe and basically, you know, take reports and send them back to the U.N. They can't even defend the civilians. They can only defend themselves.
If you have the time, please contact your representatives. Information and petitions can be found here:
Non-partisan Contacting Congress site
Darfur, a genocide we can stop
Save Darfur
For move on members:
Call now to stop genocide in Sudan
Please feel free to post any other information or to copy somewhere else.
The Secret Genocide Archive
So what can stop this genocide? At one level the answer is technical: sanctions against Sudan, a no-fly zone, a freeze of Sudanese officials' assets, prosecution of the killers by the International Criminal Court, a team effort by African and Arab countries to pressure Sudan, and an international force of African troops with financing and logistical support from the West.
But that's the narrow answer. What will really stop this genocide is indignation. Senator Paul Simon, who died in 2003, said after the Rwandan genocide, "If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different."
The Sudanese Government, using Arab "Janjaweed" militias, its air force, and organized starvation, is deliberately and systematically killing the black Sudanese of Darfur.
Photo taken in the village of Hamada on Jan. 15, right after a Sudanese government-backed militia, the janjaweed, attacked it and killed 107 people.
During past genocides against Armenians, Jews and Cambodians, it was possible to claim that we didn't fully know what was going on. This time, President Bush, Congress and the European Parliament have already declared genocide to be under way. And we have photos.
This time, we have no excuse.
If Bush is going to talk about freedom and democracy, why doesn't he start here? Where is the leadership?
Don Cheadle from the movie hotel rwanda:
And again we're seeing what's going now in Darfur in the Sudan. And, you know, close to 300,000 killed, at 10,000 a month, 1.8-2.0 million displaced. And we're still sitting here quibbling over, “Is it a genocide; where do we try the criminals?”..It's reprehensible. I mean, we could start with just strengthening the African Union's mandate right now. Basically, there's 3,000-5,000 soldiers there to monitor an area roughly the size of Texas. I mean, you couldn't get 3,000 soldiers to lock down L.A. if something went down, you know. So you really have to - we have to strengthen their mandate. All they're allowed to do now is to observe and basically, you know, take reports and send them back to the U.N. They can't even defend the civilians. They can only defend themselves.
If you have the time, please contact your representatives. Information and petitions can be found here:
Non-partisan Contacting Congress site
Darfur, a genocide we can stop
Save Darfur
For move on members:
Call now to stop genocide in Sudan
Please feel free to post any other information or to copy somewhere else.