More Darfur massacre-related news

[RonOnGuitar]

From "The Hill" (newspaper for/about US Congress)

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Rush to be arrested in Sudanese protest

By Tom Sullivan



Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) will be arrested today in front of the Sudanese Embassy as part of an ongoing protest against what members of the Congressional Black Caucus say is genocide in the country’s Darfur region, Rush’s spokesperson confirmed yesterday.



“He is angry at the fact that at the dawn of the 21st century we are still at a place in this world where innocent people are being killed and subjected to torture, rape and displacement based on skin color and religious belief,” Tasha Harris said. “He feels a responsibility to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves,” she added.



Rush will be the second congressman to be arrested in front of the embassy, joining Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who was arrested Tuesday.



The protests are being organized by the Sudan Campaign to End Slavery and Genocide, which has called on the United Nations to place sanctions on Sudan.

Organizers have promised there will be protests and arrests of prominent figures, including other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, until conditions improve in the African country.



Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he will submit himself for arrest sometime after July 25.

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And this from allAfrica.com, (Democrats and Republicans join to condemn genocide in Darfur)





Congress Set to Declare Darfur Region a Zone of Genocide



July 13, 2004

Posted to the web July 14, 2004



By Bruce Greenberg

Washington, DC



Senate resolution complements House condemnation



Calling the present humanitarian crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur an irrefutable example of genocide, Senator Sam Brownback (Republican of Kansas) said July 13 that the Senate would immediately introduce a resolution condemning the Sudanese government and calling for international intervention.



"This resolution will require the United Nations and the international community to take decisive action. Sudan will be put on notice. It will become a pariah among nations," Brownback told a news conference.



He noted that the United States had given Khartoum the opportunity two weeks ago to take immediate action to disarm the Arab "Jingaweit" militias and provide security and protection to thousands of displaced persons, while allowing unrestricted access on the ground by NGOs and foreign aid relief workers. "As of today, nothing has changed. The two weeks are up," Brownback said.



The lawmaker added that the government of Sudan continues to deny that there is any form of ethnic cleansing going on in Darfur, even though reliable sources in that region continue to claim otherwise. "Refugees are harassed; foreign aid workers are still being denied access to critical areas. While the world debates what should be done, people in Darfur die," he said.



Brownback drew a parallel between the Rwandan massacre of a decade ago and what is happening in Darfur, saying that "though the world pronounced Rwanda a genocide after 800,000 had perished, here will be a chance for the world to stop the deaths in Darfur now."



Brownback was joined at the news conference by Senator Jon Corzine (Democrat of New Jersey); Representatives Donald Payne (Democrat of New Jersey), Frank Wolf (Republican of Virginia), Tom Tancredo (Republican of Colorado); and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The proposed Senate resolution is similar to House Concurrent Resolution 467, introduced recently by Payne.



"It is time for Congress to act, America to act," said Senator Corzine. "More than 30,000 people have died. This must stop."



Both Brownback and Payne have been recent visitors to Darfur, and Payne recounted instances of government cover-up and obfuscation there.



"We have seen the government and the Jingaweit cooperate on countless occasions in attacks on civilian villagers," Payne said. "Khartoum police shot at student protesters while U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was on an official visit there. They prevented people from approaching both Annan and Secretary of State Powell on their tours of refugee camps by driving these people back with whips.



"We know that this is a government which must be held accountable. We must make this an issue that the entire world will join with us on," he added.



Congressman Wolf declared that the crucial issue is not so much the delivery of needed medical and food supplies, but the actual right of return by a million people forced to flee their farms and homesteads. "And we must monitor all this, and employ forensic experts now to preserve any evidence that may be useful in future war crimes prosecutions," he said.



Wolf said that the United Nations, in conjunction with the African Union (AU), needs to be on the ground to monitor and control the situation.



"While Sam [Brownback] and myself were in the country, we heard from some of the women who had been raped by militiamen, and were told that this was because they were African. One woman said that she was being raped to create lighter-skinned babies," Wolf added.



The chairman of the 39-member Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Elijah Cummings, stressed: "We [the United States] have a duty to act. If we do not act today, we leave the door open for many more women to be abused, many more children to be orphaned. It affects us all. This is not a Democratic issue, nor a Republican issue. It's a humanitarian issue. Our world is a very, very small world. We are all affected."



Congressman Tancredo echoed these sentiments. "We are past the time where we could see the possibility of a genocide-like situation. It is here; it is now. We must recognize this, and act."

Edited by: RonOnGuitar at: 7/16/04 2:58