House Republican Urges Obama To Reject Lobbying Attempt From Sudan Government

By Julianne LaJeunesse- University of New Mexico

U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf's (R-Va.) objection to a Sudan lobbyist presence in Washington, D.C. didn't find much of an audience Thursday, but the Congressman moved past the small crowd, calling on President Barack Obama to reject the Sudanese government's prospective representation at the Capitol.

"Today, I am sending a letter to President Obama urging him to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, to both the State Department and the Treasury Department's office of Foreign Assests Control, that under his administration, the government of Khartoum, will not be granted the necessary waiver to hire a lobbyist," Wolf said. "A modern day accused war criminal is sitting as a head of the state of government of Sudan."

Wolf noted Sudan President Omar al-Bashir's March 2009 arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, and said in June 2004, he was part of a delegation of Congressmen who went to Sudan, where he witnessed what he described as "the nightmare."

When al-Bashir was issued an ICC warrant, the Sudan government said they did not recognize the ICC as a legitimate agency.

Wolf said new consideration of Sudanese representation in the nation's capital, "would be a disgrace and must not be permitted to take place under any circumstances."

The Sudan government has not been represented in Washington, D.C. for more than four years, largely due to what the U.S. government once said was genocide in the country's Darfur region.

US Works to Change Of Relations With Sudan Must Be A Priority

By Michael Combier-Talk Radio News Service

The Obama Administration is working on new foreign policy initiatives to strengthen relations between the U.S. and Sudan.

The press conference organized yesterday by the Salam Sudan Foundation stressed that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 ended a fifty year long conflict between the North and South of Sudan and that it was supposed to normalize U.S.-Sudan relations something that has not yet been done.

“We must engage more honest conversations here, in Sudan and globally about how to connect our increasingly diverse communities across differences of race, class, religion, politics and culture,” said Dr. Hashim El-Tinay, President of the SSF. He added that the international community should “let the Sudanese show the world, as the Americans have done, their commitment to justice, peace, democracy, human rights and development.”

Since the 9/11 attacks, the Sudan has cooperated with the U.S. in its fight against international terrorism yet it remains on the state sponsors of terrorism list. In 2007, economic sanctions were voted on Sudan after the Bush Administration considered the country to be accomplice in the violence occuring in the Darfur region.

“The policy gap could only be addressed if adequate knowledge is received,” said Sulayman Nyang, Professor at Howard University, adding that “the Darfurian issue should not be used against the Sudanese government.” Getting information from organizations like the SSF would help and change the debate in Washington and elsewhere.

The rest of the conference was devoted to the criticism of external groups to the conflict which are bringing more harm than help to the Sudanese people. For example, when the U.S. based Save Darfur Coalition (SDC) charged the government of Omar al-Bachir with intending to carry out genocide against the insurgents, it brought hostility and skepticism from the local population to foreign entities.

Mae King, another Professor from Howard University, observed that the U.S. is the only country to have declared that a genocide was being committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. “No one would question that there has been serious violations of human rights in Darfur, of course there have,” said King, and pointed out that the African Union as well as the United Nations have not found evidence of genocide.

For these reasons, Professor King complained that the indictment of Omar al-Bachir by the International Criminal Court was more of a political act than a legal one.

No Longer Just "Bystanders to a Genocide"

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Black Caucus welcomed actress and activist Mia Farrow Tuesday for the launch of the Darfur Fast for Life Campaign. According to a press release form Congressman Donald Payne’s office, the campaign calls on the CBC and others “to fast in solidarity with the Darfuri people who are suffering at the hands of the Omar al-Bashir regime in Sudan.”

Farrow discussed her experiences while in the region and said, “I was there when a school on the edge of the Darfur-Chad border was named the Obama school and with it there were so many expressions of hope.”

Farrow also said that as she stood in front of the Capitol she was reminded of how the American people are defining themselves. She commented that Americans are “bystanders to a genocide.”

Farrow is working to change this image and fasted for twelve days to call attention to the problems in Darfur. United States Representative and Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Donald Payne (D-NJ) began a three-day water-only fast of his own on May 11, 2009, to prompt congressional leaders and the Obama administration to keep Darfur high on their list of priorities.

Omer Ismail, a Sudanese and senior advisor for Enough:the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity said, “We are trying to see to it that the United States is going to help end this tragedy in Darfur and bring peace to the whole Sudan because Darfur is a state or a region in Sudan that is ridded with problems. But it is part of the bigger problem of Sudan that is security, democracy, peace and a rule of law.”

McGovern calls for military options in Darfur

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

One week after thirteen international aid organizations were expelled from Darfur, and one day after President Obama named Former General J. Scott Gration as a special envoy to Sudan, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said that military options to stop the genocide should not be ruled out. These military options could come to fruition as a no-fly zone. McGovern hopes the Obama administration’s diplomacy can prevail, but went on to say that time is running out and that Obama should work with NATO, the African Union, and the Arab League to stop the violence immediately, since more people are dying each day.

The Congressman said, “What we have done up to this point has not worked.” He said that genocide, violence, and rape are continuing, and now the government is “going to starve people to death.” McGovern went on to say that the Sudanese government is “determined to kill the people of Darfur” and drew similarities between the situation and the Holocaust

The Save Darfur Coalition said that since the aid organizations were expelled by President Omar al-Bashir, approximately 1.1 million civilians have been left without food aid, 1.5 million without health care, and almost 1 million without drinking water. In the crisis at large, the United Nations states that since 2003 over 200,000 people have been killed, and over 2 million people have been displaced.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir expelled the aid organizations after being indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.) charged, “this expulsion of aid workers further confirms the legitimacy of the indictment,” and that the president is guilty as charged.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) continued that he thinks there is no “political will” right now to send more troops into harm’s way considering America’s presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and feels that African Union forces should be left to do the job. African Union troops have unsuccessfully tried to quell the violence in the past. Smith said he believes a renewed effort by the African Union forces will yield better results.