Genocide: Darfur: Today's summary of USA diplomatic efforts to end the genocide of Black Sufi Muslims
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excerpt from transcript of
USA State Dept. Daily Press Briefing (Dec21,2k6)
Press Release: US State Department
Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
December 21, 2006
QUESTION: Sudan. The Government of Sudan has launched an offensive in Darfur just the day the UN envoy arrived in Khartoum. Do you have any comment on that?I also found the following newsitem summary on Daily Digest:
MR. MCCORMACK: I don't have specific information on the offensive that you mentioned, Sylvie. But there's been a lot of violence and there's been an upsurge in the level of violence in Darfur and that's of grave concern to us as well as others around the globe. We are working very hard, as you heard from the Secretary yesterday, to try to move this process forward to get peacekeepers -- not peacekeepers -- to get an Africa Union UN force into Darfur. We have not -- the international community has not been successful in that regard as of yet.
We have seen an increasing intensity of the international participation and focus on this issue and that's good and we welcome that. So we hope that with that concerted diplomatic effort we can impress upon the Government of Sudan the importance of implementing the Darfur Peace Agreement, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and most importantly and immediately, implementing the Addis Ababa understandings that relate to implementation of [UN] Resolution 1706.
Yes, ma'am.
n his last official news conference, outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that more could be done in Darfur: "There are measures short of force that could be used: political pressure, economic sanctions, isolation, and of course in the last resort, there is the use of force." The Bush administration must quickly move from words to real actions. Maximum political and diplomatic pressure should be used at all possible points to force Sudan to accept additional peacekeepers. Key Security Council members, especially Russia and China, are obstructing U.N. action; the U.S. needs to increase its efforts to gain their cooperation. And additional actions should be taken against Sudan, including targeted sanctions against top government officials while enforcing existing sanctions. During the recent visit of British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Washington, he and the president discussed measures that included a no-fly zone over Darfur and a possible naval blockade.On this, Annan comes off better than the USA State Department, sad to say.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, let us keep in our hearts, our prayers, and our actions the people of Darfur, Iraq, and everywhere in this troubled world where there is no peace. Their lives may depend on us.
--Politicarp
Further Research:
200 Darfur rebels killed in fresh attack: Sudan army
SaveDarfur organization and petiton to Prez Bush
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