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Posted by Austin Evers at 10:20 am

A friend of mine sent this to me. This is a serious subject that is getting attention but isn’t getting much help:

Dear Friends:

The twentieth century is familiar with Genocide: Armenian (1915-18, 1.5 million), Holocaust (1938-45, 6 million), Rwanda (1994, 800 thousand), Bosnia (1992-95, 200 thousand). Now, so is the twenty-first: Sudan (2005, 100 thousand—and climbing). This year, the Sudanese government systematically aggravated ethnic tensions between Arab herdsmen and the black African population until the situation exploded. Then, the government military supported the Arab ‘pogroms’, equipping them with weapons and conducting air raids. The UN describes Darfur as the No. 1 humanitarian crisis in the world today. The US Agency for International Development estimates at best 320,000 more people will still die of hunger or disease this year, or significantly more if we continue to do nothing.

Background Information:

Darfur is situated in the West of Sudan and covers an area the size of France. For a number of years it was the scene of sporadic clashes between farming communities such as the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, and nomadic groups, which led to many deaths and the destruction and looting of homes. The government blamed competition over scarce resources for the clashes.

In February 2003 a new-armed opposition group, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) took up arms against the government, because of what they perceived as the lack of government protection for their people and the marginalization and underdevelopment of the region. The support base of this armed group came mainly from the agricultural groups in the region.

The government of Sudan responded by allowing free rein to Arab militias known as the Janjawid (guns on horseback) who began attacking villages, killing, raping and abducting people, destroying homes and other property, including water sources and looting livestock. At times, government troops attacked villages alongside the Janjawid, and government aircraft have bombed villages before Janjawid attacks. The Janjawid are now wearing uniforms provided by the army.

Why should something be done?

Political Reasons: 1. Sudan’s Chaos is destabilizing surrounding countries, especially Chad, which is an important source of oil. 2. When states collapse into chaos, they become staging grounds for terrorism. 3. If we do not act, it makes the Genocide Convention meaningless, and deals a hard blow to one of the most important human institutions—International Law. Under the convention, the United States is obligated to interfere if Genocide is occurring. Genocide is defined as: ‘any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such a) killing members of that group, b) causing serious bodily and mental harm to members of that 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, e) forcibly transferring children of the group to another group’. All a, b, c, and d conditions for genocide have been satisfied by the situation in Darfur; however, the UN fact-finding mission has not declared the situation genocide because they allegedly report that there is not sufficient evidence for ‘genocidal intent’. Most NGO’s and the United States Senate disagree. Not acting, in at least some capacity, will destroy the spirit of the Genocide Convention, causing the phrase ‘never again’ to be said again, and again, and again, and again, and again…

Moral Reasons: As a citizen of the world, it is our responsibility not to idle while thousands die when we have the ability to stop or curtail the killing. These atrocities are only able to take place, because the perpetrators believe they can get away with them. On the individual level, you do not have to do much to make a difference: donate, be aware of the situation, and email your congressman.

Can you help?

YES!

1. DONATE: The refugees absolutely need to be provided for. The world easily has the capacity to save thousands and thousands of lives, if it can keep its attention on Sudan, for more than five minutes.
2. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN: The more international attention, the less easily the Sudanese government can continue genocidal policies. Economic and Arms sanctions, support of African Union Peacekeepers all help stem the tide of killing—to a degree. The last resort (and probably the most effective but least probable) is multilateral military intervention. The world, at the least, needs to make a decision and live with it, instead of merely ignoring the situation. Write your congressman to pressure the United States to bring up this measure in the Security Council.

If you want to donate to tax-deductible organizations, follow this link:
http://interaction.org/sudan/index.html.

Democratic National Committee	$