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News Archives
| Rations Cut
in Half and U.S. Congressmen Arrested
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The United Nations has reported that it will be cutting its
daily rations in Sudan's Darfur region in half due to a
severe funding shortfall. "This is one of the hardest
decisions I have ever made," James Morris, head of the UN's
World Food Program, is
quoted as saying. Starting in May, the rations will be
half of the minimum amount required to sustain life each
day. The cut comes just after the UN confirms Darfur's
malnutrition rates are rising again. Nearly three million
in Darfur are totally reliant on food aid after being driven
off their land by three years of conflict.
Furthermore, the Sudanese government has launched a new
military assault in southern Darfur, attacking villages and
displacing thousands more civilians just before the deadline
for the conclusion of peace talks. Simultaneously, arms are
still pouring into the Darfur region in violation of a UN
arms ban. United Nations experts stated on Thursday that the
government is transfering equipment and weapons into Darfur
from other parts of the country to supply the Janjaweed (an
Arab militia group).
Meanwhile, in the United States, five members of Congress
were arrested this morning at a demonstration held at the
Sudan embassy. The lawmakers, all Democrats, were
Representatives Tom Lantos of California, James McGovern and
John Olver of Massachusetts, James Moran of Virginia, and
Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. To support these
Representatives' efforts and take a stand, remember that
protests are being held this weekend. To learn more on
their arrests, click
here. |
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| MoveOn.org:
Virtual March to End the Genocide in Darfur
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Political Action Comittee,
MoveOn.org, has launched their "Virtual March" petition
in honor of the rallies being held in Washington D.C. and
San Francisco this Sunday, April 30th.
We'll present the total number of signers and comments to
Congress, the President and the national media at the rally
in Washington. If we can sign up 100,000 virtual marchers
this week, our voices will combine with thousands of others
in the "Million Voices for Darfur" campaign organized by the
Save Darfur Coalition and give our leaders a powerful
mandate to act.
By joining the "virtual march" we're affirming this simple
statement:
Congress and President Bush must support an international
force to protect the civilians of Darfur and end the
genocide -- now.
You can join the virtual march
here. |
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| US
organizations gather together for Darfur genocide rally
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Although NATO head Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on PBS' "The
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" that Africans should take care of
their problems on their own continent, and that one "should
be careful" about imposing oneself on them, around 160
humanitarian organizations have joined in the Save Darfur
Coalition rally on Sunday, April 30.
The "Rally to Stop Genocide" will take place between 2 p.m.
and 4 p.m. at the National Mall, between Third and Fourth
streets in front of the U.S. Capitol Metro Station Federal
Center SW. The crowd will assemble from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00
p.m.
The organizations include: The American Jewish World
Service, the American Society for Muslim Advancement, the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National
Association of Evangelicals, Amnesty International, the
United States Holocaust Museum, National Black Church
Initiative and an array of regional and local organizations.
This just in: Our very own Elysa Montfort, co-founder
of www.operationsudan.org, will be representing us at the
rally. Keep an eye out for updates; she'll be reporting back
with pictures and personal experiences to share with all of
us. Congratulations, Elysa! Do us proud! |
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| Rice
encourages intervention in Darfur
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After a meeting with Canada's Foreign Minister on Thursday
concerning the Darfur crisis among other issues, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice stated that action must be taken,
and the U.N. must intervene to end the killing in Sudan.
The Security Council informed the Sudanese government this
week that peace must be reached by April 30th. In addition,
U.N. military experts are planning a peacekeeping force in
the western region of Darfur.
"I understand that the Sudan government sometimes says
that they don't favor this, but they have failed in their
obligation to protect the people of Darfur and they clearly
need international help." Rice also added, "The world
needs to act. We really can't afford to wait." |
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| Chad facing
Sudanese Genocide |
Sudanese refugees have been pouring over Chad's eastern
border to seek safety from the Janjaweed and the murderous
government for quite some time now. However, in the past few
months, Chad has become no more safe than Darfur, as the
government funded militia has crossed the border. There, the
Janjaweed continue their brutal task of ethnic cleansing,
often resulting in the torture and destruction of Chad's
residents, as well as its Sudanese refugees. Unfortunately,
this past Friday Chad closed all diplomatic relations to
Sudan, blaming the country for a rebel attack which resulted
in the deaths of 350 people in the country's capital. In
addition, President Idriss Deby has threatened to banish
200,000 refugees back to Sudan by June 30th if the UN and
African Union do not take action against the violence
radiating from his neighboring country in what he calls an
attempt to destabilize his government.
Numerous times Deby has accused the Sudanese government of
trying to weaken his country, to which Sudan responded with
accusations of Deby's involvement with supporting the
genocide in Darfur. Deby had this to say about the
situation:
"It is up to the international community to find a
solution to the Darfur crisis between now and the month of
June and to make the refugees return to their country. If
after June, we can't guarantee the security of our citizens
and the refugees, then it is up to the international
community to find another country to shelter these
refugees." |
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| U.S. Rises
to Challenge; Crisis Rages on in Darfur
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This week has brought encouraging news from the United
States and distressing news for the Sudanese people.
The United States' Senate Appropriations committee has passed an
amendment which added an additional $50 million for Darfur
Peacekeeping missions to the FY06 Emergency Supplemental
Funding bill. Assuming this survives the upcoming conference
committee, it will bring the total for Darfur peacekeeping
within this funding bill to $173 million.
Furthermore, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of
the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (H.R. 3127) on
Wednesday, the 5th of April. The Act will place further
penalties on the government of Sudan and on those persons
complicit in the genocide. It also calls for stronger U.S.
participation in the Darfur peace process, and certainly
leaves humanitarians hopeful for change.
In Sudan, however, a Norwegian humanitarian aid agency has been refused
the necessary renewed permit for continuations of their
efforts. This may set the precedent for the few other aid
agencies who are currently trying to bring food, shelter,
and aid to the refugees. Additionally, attacks have
continued in the Darfur region, and as DemocracyInAction.org
reports, "Camps for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad are
swelling with hundreds of new arrivals each week. Much of
the region is beyond the reach of relief agencies, and the
U.N. World Food Program says several thousand people will go
hungry in the coming months."
While the news coming from the United States government has been
positive reinforcement for our resolves, it hardly means we
can stop fighting. Now that we've caught the ear of the
politicians, we need to support their efforts and endorse
legislation. Keeping quiet now will only allow this progress
to dwindle. Be sure to
write or call your representative(s), and keep us moving
in the right direction. |
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Operation Sudan is a nonprofit, charitable organization aimed at raising awareness for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. 100% of all proceeds go directly to the Save Darfur Coalition and are used to aid the refugees and coalition programs. Please direct any further questions, comments to the webmasters Go here for web hosting Special thanks to Handcrafted for getting the website back for us. And lastly Netcraft for getting it all done.
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