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“STOP THE GENOCIDE IN THE DARFUR REGION OF SUDAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E692-E693 on May 3, 2006.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STOP THE GENOCIDE IN THE DARFUR REGION OF SUDAN
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HON. BETTY McCOLLUM
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, April 30, 2006, hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered in cities across the U.S. to rally to stop the murder, end the suffering and call for action to stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
As many as 400,000 children, men and women have been murdered in Darfur by the Janjaweed militia with direct support from the Government of Sudan. More than 2 million people have been displaced both inside Sudan as well as into the neighboring nation of Chad. Villages have been burned, rape and sexual violence has been used as a terrorist weapon against women and girls. The terror, horror, and evil perpetrated in Darfur is an ulcer on humanity that must be treated immediately. If not, the terrorist tactics used by the Janjaweed and their state sponsors will be a model for rogue nations and their non-
state allies in every corner of the world. Ending the genocide in Darfur, providing on-going humanitarian assistance and protection to the victims, and bringing the perpetrators--both the Janjaweed terrorists and their government sponsors--to justice requires the U.S. and the world to act. Action is what citizens across our country are calling for.
I attended the rally in St. Paul, MN and I want to express my sincere appreciation to all of the organizations that worked hard to sponsor the rally and raise awareness regarding an international issue that speaks to our very humanity. It was a rainy day but those in attendance had warm hearts and their presence was a reflection of the fact that we are a free people--free from the fear, the misery and the horror facing our brothers and sisters in Sudan and Chad. Their calls to ensure that Congress, the White House and the world are held accountable for allowing the killing in Darfur to continue were heard and I hope these voices continue to speak out for action until the day arrives when peace in Darfur triumphs over violence.
We must have the courage of our convictions to stop the genocide in Darfur--this is a test of our humanity and we are failing the test. I have had the privilege to travel twice to Darfur--to meet with the survivors of the genocide in January 2005 and again in January 2006. The women and children I spoke with have escaped the killing but continue to suffer and struggle for survival. Their courage is an inspiration and it humbles me. And, as a citizen of the riches, most powerful nation on earth, it is shameful to meet survivors of genocide and know we are watching as this horror continues.
It is shameful to know that for 3 years the U.S. and other free nations around the world have not had the political courage or the military will to stop the mass murder. World leaders continue to say
``genocide, never again,'' and yet the genocide continues. The murder and rapes continue. The terrorism and ethnic cleansing continues. The genocide by starvation and disease continues. Darfur is a horror the world knows about, a horror we all watch on television. So why are our leaders not acting to end the genocide?
I am outraged to say that one reason the world is not acting is because governments are collaborating with the perpetrators of genocide. China wants Sudan's oil and therefore the genocide in Darfur does not concern them. They stand in the way of the United Nations Security Council taking strong action to end the violence.
The U.S. government rightly condemns the genocide. But on April 28, 2006, the Bush administration released its annual report on terrorism and commended, that's right, commended, the Government of Sudan. Let me quote from this official report, ``Sudan continued to take significant steps to cooperate in the global war on terror.''
Excuse me President Bush, the victims of bombs, bullets, machetes, and rapes, the victims burned alive, are these citizens of Sudan, these victims of genocide, not also the victims of terrorism? The Government of Sudan is officially designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. Department of State. Why is the U.S. cooperating with a government committing genocide?
We should all be outraged that our government is cooperating with the Government of Sudan as it sponsors terrorism and commits genocide against its own citizens.
Unfortunately, this counterterrorism collaboration with the terrorist Khartoum regime is not new. On May 12, 2005, in a hearing before the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, I had the opportunity to question the Honorable Philip D. Zelikow, Counselor, U.S. Department of State, who testified regarding the release of last year's Country Reports on Terrorism. The following exchange from that hearing is insightful for Americans who believe ending genocide in Darfur is not separate from the war on terrorism. Yet it appears that the genocide does not deter the U.S. intelligence community's ability and desire to collaborate in the shadows with the regime in Sudan.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well, I had some questions that I had prepared. They are based on a statement that was made in the testimony about Libya and Sudan, offering significant cooperation in the war on terrorism, therefore, they were being given kudos for having improved their behavior, I found this offensive and outrageous. Is the janjaweed militia committing acts of terrorism in Sudan? The answer is yes, unless you want to argue that they are not. Are they a terrorist organization? Yes. Is the janjaweed including excursions into Chad out of Sudan as part of their war on terrorism? The answer would be yes. Is Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism when they send in airplanes and helicopter gun ships to murder women and children? The answer would be yes.
Our country has used the term genocide in what is going on in Sudan. We just spent $4 million providing relief to the victims of genocide in Darfur. Up to 300,000 people have been murdered in Sudan, with two million displaced refugees, and yet we are giving them glowing reports for cooperating on the war on terrorism. I think we do need a definition, because other than that, we are being hypocrites in this room, talking about fighting the war on terrorism.
Mr. Zelikow. Congresswoman, I am sympathetic to your concern. We have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks and months actually working on the problems of Darfur and the North-South Peace Accords and trying to get help to combat just the kinds of horrific depredations that so trouble you. They trouble us, too.
Question: Is Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism? Yes, and it is so designated by the United States Government. Question: Do we regard the acts committed by the janjaweed militia as terroristic? Yes, we do. And therefore, we believe that action including forceful, violent action needs to be directed by the international community to curb those abuses and mitigate the suffering that they have caused.
The problem that we confront, the dilemma that we confront, is, in fact, in the intelligence world; in the netherworld where a lot of counterterrorism work goes on, Sudan actually--one part of the Sudanese Government actually has done a number of cooperative things with us in that world. And so then you have to figure out how do you acknowledge that fact, which has helped us, and it has helped us with people who are targeting us outside of Sudan. How do you acknowledge that fact without appearing to turn a blind eye to the horrors that so trouble you and trouble us? And that is the dilemma that we are trying to balance and that is why I have approached your question the way I have.
Ms. McCollum. Well, I am very concerned when we have government officials saying that they are cooperating on the war on terrorism. Whose war on terrorism? I am very concerned about the safety of Americans. I take an oath of office to protect that. I take it very seriously, but we also have human rights hearings and try to hold ourselves up to a high standard and we slip and fall down sometimes. But when we are saying, well, because they are with us on the war on terrorism against who we are fighting with, we are going to say that they are moving forward on the war on terrorism, when horrific acts that are state-sponsored are taking place. I think at a minimum, if you are going to describe what is going on in Sudan, it would only be respectful to the people who have been murdered and displaced, to recognize in the same breath that there are significant problems out there. And then the question becomes, whose side are we on?
Mr. Zelikow. Right, no, it is a fair point--
Mr. Speaker, this is not the time to look for excuses that allow our government to collaborate with a nation that is complicit in murdering hundreds of thousands of its own citizens. The hour is late, people continue to die, but it is still not too late for action in Darfur that will save lives and bring peace. We don't need more words and feigned gestures of concern. A superpower's impotence in the face of genocide is a signal to every dictator, terrorist and militia leader who seeks power or wealth through murder and mayhem that the U.S. will condemn with words, but take no action to stop the cleansing of entire families, villages and entire regions of a country.
It is time for the world, including the United States, to stop watching this horrific genocide and start using our collective political will and military power to protect lives. Americans care deeply about human rights, human dignity and our brother and sisters in Sudan. We must commit ourselves to hold our government accountable to act to end this genocide. Laws are important, but they are only words if there is no action.
The time is now for action--action to stop the killing, start the healing and ensure justice is achieved for the people of Darfur.
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