May 31st, 2008 - Nikki Serapio  Permalink  View & Add Comments

An important Sudan action for Californians

[From the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition:]

Dear Darfur Activist:

Sudanese civilians have endured even more suffering at the hands of their government than usual during the month of May. See the report referenced at the end of this email.

The U.S. is the President of the U.N. Security Council during June and has the power to set the Council’s agenda.

Please sign on to the letter below TODAY by replying to this email with your:
Name, Street Address, Town, and Zip Code. Your personal information will be used for no purpose other than as a signatory to the letter.

The letter will be faxed to the named U.S. leaders on Monday, June 2.

Please forward this email to family and friends.

Thank you,
SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition

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Text of letter:

June 2, 2008

The Honorable George W. Bush, President, United States
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Department of State
The Honorable Richard S. Williamson, U.S. Special Envoy, Sudan
The Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senate
The California Congressional Delegation Representing the Signatories to this Letter

Gentlemen/Ladies:

We write to you as California citizens urging the United States, including in its role as President of the UN Security Council during June, to take immediate and effective action to end the genocide in Darfur and bring peace to all of Sudan.

You are all aware of the recent escalation of violence in Sudan:
- The Justice and Equality Movement attack on Khartoum to which the Government of Sudan (GoS) responded with indiscriminate arrests, beatings, executions and torture of Darfurian civilians ;
- The GoS attack in May on Abyei, resulting in its total destruction and the displacement of an estimated 90,000 civilians, and gravely threatening the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 (2005) which the U.S. helped to negotiate; and
- Attacks on UNAMID and humanitarian aid personnel in Darfur, in part responsible for the increased insecurity and suffering of Darfurians.

We urgently and respectfully request the Executive Branch to:

1. Lead the international community in introducing a new UNSC resolution that authorizes targeted multilateral sanctions against the senior leaders of the GoS as well as rebel leaders obstructing peace in Sudan;
2. Move the UNSC to (a) improve the security situation for the humanitarian operation in Darfur, and (b) ensure that the UNMIS presence in Abyei is reinforced with a permanent UN military and civilian presences to effectively monitor and report the situation and promote reconciliation ;
3. Support the International Criminal Court’s efforts to pursue justice for the crimes committed in Darfur, including by providing information in US possession about the perpetrators of the Darfur genocide;
4. Provide Mr. Williamson with both of the deputies (one for Darfur and another to monitor CPA implementation) that he has requested; and
5. Postpone any “normalization” talks with the GoS.

We urgently and respectfully request that the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives:

a. Increase its oversight of the Executive Branch regarding its dealings with Sudan during this period leading up to a transition in administrations; and
b. Consider actions constraining the Executive Branch with respect to such dealings.

President Bush, we believe we represent millions of Americans who believe it is your Administration’s duty to finish what it started and then inexplicably abandoned: bringing peace to Sudan. The CPA cannot be implemented without peace in Darfur, and peace will not come to Darfur absent implementation of the CPA. We ask that you use the means at the disposal of the President of the United States during the remainder of your administration to work with the other nations of the world to bring peace, democracy and liberty to the people of Sudan.

Very truly yours,

—
For more information: please see the ENOUGH Project’s “Abyei Aflame: An Update from the Field”