Bush on Darfur – All Talk, No Walk?

Dear Activist,

You have been such faithful advocates for Darfur – and we have seen some progress – but we need your voices now as much as ever. There is a lot of confusion about what is happening in Darfur in light of the fragile peace deal struck in Abuja and some powerful statements from President Bush in recent weeks. While these are indeed hopeful signs, the reality on the ground in Darfur is still desperate, and without an international intervention, the peace deal will remain only in paper and not in practice. The Bush administration now carries the correct message, but when it comes to turning rhetoric into real action to protect the people of Darfur, we are not seeing the results we need in the United Nations, much less on the ground in Darfur. Please take action today by writing to President Bush and his key deputies to let them know that we will not be silenced by rhetorical commitments to justice but will continue to raise this issue until we see results on the ground in Darfur and eastern Chad.

Jan Egeland of the United Nations (UN) has declared 2006 the worst year thus far in the crisis that started three years ago. The humanitarian crisis is aggravated by continued violence as the genocide continues to creep further into eastern Chad. The desperation that results from the escalating humanitarian crisis and the continued violence has given rise to deadly protests that have called for a UN intervention and that have criticized the peace deal, which refugees and internally displaced Darfuri people fear will not provide the security that they need. A full campaign update that analyzes the recent peace agreement and our most recent press release can be found at www.africaaction.org. Click here for an interesting article on "Preventing Genocide".
President Bush has become more vocal – and is now carrying the same message that advocates carry, saying, "The vulnerable people of Darfur deserve more than sympathy. They deserve the active protection that U.N. peacekeepers can provide.” But this rhetoric continues to stand in stark contrast to the reality that President Bush and his administration continue to fail to take the steps necessary to achieve the protection force needed in Darfur.

Join us today as we let the Bush administration know that we will not stand idly by as this genocide continues.

April was a month of activism for many of us working to stop the genocide. Africa Action has raised more than 300,000 voices to stop the genocide and delivered over 200,000 during the April 30th rally in Washington, DC. There were rallies and events all over the country on that day, raising awareness about the genocide. The challenge is now to show the decision-makers that we are not only raising awareness but also becoming advocates for Darfur. There are several ways to continue activism on Darfur. Please consider taking one of them today.

Click here to send a message to the Bush administration today. You can also host our exhibit of children’s drawings in your community. This exhibit of 8 drawings made by children in refugee camps in Darfur is a powerful witness to the genocide and has engaged people in activism across the country.. Contact us today to have the exhibit come to your hometown. If you are in the Washington, DC area on June 16th, come out to the White House and join us in an action to keep the pressure on President Bush.

Thank you for your continued activism in support of the people of Darfur.

Yours in the struggle for peace,

The Staff @ Africa Action

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Invisible Children

IN OTHER NEWS: Click on Links Below:

A forum “Federal Constitution: Protection For All”
People want forum reconvened

Good news but we still need to show our continued support and need to keep the pressure on our government to enforce the agreements. Below is the emaile update I received just this morning!!

I have some good news to report! Earlier today, the Sudanese government and two of the main Darfur rebel factions signed a peace agreement to end three years of fighting that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions from their homes.

This is only the first step toward ending the violence in Darfur and putting a stop to the tragic genocide.

You and others have sent over 800,000 Million Voices postcards to President Bush. And just a day after over 50,000 rallied on the National Mall in Washington, and thousands joined rallies in cities across the country, President Bush dispatched Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick to the peace talks.

You helped make the issue of genocide in Darfur a top priority for the Bush Administration.

The momentum is building and we can make a difference!

Click here to tell your friends and family about our campaign. And thank President Bush for his leadership so far - but let him know there is more work still to be done.

The peace agreement has been signed, but we must make sure that both sides live up to the terms. The millions of men, women, and children who have been displaced or have had their lives rocked by violence will not know peace until the government and the rebels live up to theses agreed terms.

The Bush Administration must continue to play a leading role.

On a more personal note, I am incredibly grateful to the Save Darfur Coalition staff, our volunteers, member organizations and all of you for your incredible efforts over the past weeks and months. Each of you helped us reach this historic point - but it is only the first step.

As we continue the fight, there will be many more opportunities for you take action and help make a difference.

Best regards,

David Rubenstein
Save Darfur Coalition

Continue to show your support by clicking on the links below and doing what you can!
The woman, children and displaced families of Darfur Thank You.
The Name Campaign
No Cost- Just Some Typing
Pass Out Some Postcards
Invisible Children

2 rebel groups refuse to sign Darfur peace plan

U.N. leader says force may be necessary to protect Sudanese civilians

ABUJA, Nigeria - Two of three rebel groups battling the Sudanese government for control of the country’s Darfur region resisted intense international pressure on Friday to sign an accord aimed at ending a conflict that has claimed at least 180,000 lives.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all countries to press the warring parties to reach agreement but warned the international community has an obligation to protect civilians in Darfur, by force if need be.
The small Justice and Equality Movement was the first to walk out overnight. Abdel Wahid Nur, of a faction of the main rebel Sudan Liberation Army, followed before dawn Friday saying: “We are not going to sign.”
But another faction, led by Nur’s rival Minni Minnawi, said it was willing to sign despite reservations believed linked to rejected rebel demands for Sudan to have a vice president from Darfur, said AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni. The issue of the vice presidency was believed the main reason the other factions had rejected a deal.
Mezni also said the Minnawi faction was willing to resume direct talks with the government; the parties have been negotiating through intermediaries in recent days.


Click photo for more from MSNBC

All-night session
Days of negotiations culminated in an all-night session with the African Union, rebels and envoys from the United States, Britain, the European Union and the Arab League. Deadlines have been extended twice since Sunday and Thursday’s session went five hours beyond the midnight time limit.
Sudan’s government was not involved because it already had agreed to the initial proposal drafted by AU mediators, and negotiators were waiting for the rebels to agree.
“These are all opportunities, but it requires leadership on the part of the movement that, frankly, is in question,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told reporters.
The last-ditch diplomatic efforts appeared doomed to failure, but Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of the Republic of Congo and current head of the 53-nation African Union, said “It has not yet ended.

Large-scale violence
Decades of low-level tribal clashes over land and water in Darfur, a vast region about the size of France, erupted into large-scale violence in early 2003 with rebels demanding regional autonomy. The government is accused of responding by unleashing Janjaweed militias upon civilians, a charge Sudan denies.
Sudan’s government has shown increasing flexibility since the United States and Britain sent top envoys to the talks, indicating Wednesday that it could accept the U.S.-drafted changes.
“We hope that the Americans’ suggestion will be agreed upon,” government spokesman Abdulrahman Zuma told the AP.
Revisions to the peace plan made available to AP called for 4,000 rebels to be integrated into Sudan’s armed forces and another 1,000 into the police force. In addition, 3,000 rebels would be given training and education at military colleges. The initial proposal mentioned no figures.
The new deal would give the rebels 33 percent of all newly integrated battalions nationwide, and 50 percent in areas to be agreed, notably Darfur.
It also called for a speedy disarmament of the Janjaweed militia that is accused of some of the worst atrocities in Darfur — an issue Zuma said Khartoum was willing to agree to. The initial proposal was for the militia to be confined to barracks.
Other significant changes included giving the rebels 70 percent of all legislators’ seats in the three Darfurian provinces. It would be a major concession from Sudan’s government but still does not meet rebel demands for the second vice presidency instead of the proposed special adviser to the president, which would be the No. 4 instead of No. 3 position in the Khartoum government hierarchy.

Please click on the Photos and Links below to give your support and give your voice for those that dont have one. The links below range from just a few minutes of typing to the cost of a DVD, or a night out for dinner.







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Give A Moment Of Your Time: Free Of Charge

"Over the last three years, tens of thousands of children from a single area smaller than Los Angeles County have been kidnapped in the dead of night. Thousands of boys and girls forced from their beds at gunpoint, tortured, terrorized. They are ordinary kids – going to school, listening to hip-hop, dreaming of their futures – but nightly they face a terrifying and all-too-real possibility: being kidnapped by a rebel leader named Joseph Kony, who heads a group called “The Lord's Resistance Army.” He claims he's a Christian and that he wants to take over the country in order to run it according to the Ten Commandments. He’s doing what he’s doing in the name of God. And the rest of the world is, for the most part, standing by and letting it happen."

When I heard this it shocked me and made me very sad. I had to get involved and hope that you will click and read these links below and get involved yourself. We can go on living our small smug lives or we can take the time and/or a small amount of money that we normally spend on dvds, eating out, video games, our 5th pair of shoes, and instead donate it to help these children that our being kidnapped, raped and tortured and often end up dead! We can help the families being slaughtered nightly for just being who they are.
Below are several links about the international atrocities that are currently happening. Please take a moment to read them and share them with your friends. The more that know and get involved the greater chance they have for a future without fear.


The Name Campaign



Invisible Children

Crisis in Darfur: (Click here to give a voice to those that dont have one)

Nearly three years into the crisis, the western Sudanese region of Darfur is acknowledged to be a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order. Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. The Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages.

The Janjaweed continue to undertake attacks against villages, prey on IDPs, and obstruct aid activities. Many Janjaweed have been integrated into the army and police; no one has been charged with any crime, and their actions are not being challenged. There remains a state of total impunity.
Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. I The Sudanese government continues to flout international law with impunity.

~Please dont turn a blind eye, click this link and at least fill out the post card and send it to some of your friends to fill out too. It will take just a few minutes of your time. Blog this onto your blog sites and help spread the word and help get more people involved!

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