[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 55 (Monday, May 9, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    CALL FOR SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today I come to the floor to share my very 
deep disappointment with the Clinton administration for not appointing 
a special envoy for Sudan. Those of us who listened to the news 
yesterday saw that the President appointed a special envoy, a former 
colleague of ours, Bill Gray, former Congressman from Pennsylvania from 
Philadelphia, to be a special envoy to Haiti.

                              {time}  1300

  That is fine, Mr. Speaker. We commend him for appointing Mr. Gray, 
and we would hope and pray that Mr. Gray is successful in bringing an 
end to the violence that is taking place with the dictatorship in 
Haiti.
  Having said that, Mr. Speaker, we wonder why President Clinton has 
been negligent for not appointing a special envoy to Sudan. Nine months 
ago, Mr. Speaker, and countless thousands of lives ago, I first wrote 
the President urging the immediate appointment of a high profile envoy 
to address the worsening crisis in Sudan.
  As many people know, Mr. Speaker, in Sudan in the last 10 years, 1.4 
million people have died of famine and starvation and have been killed 
in the fight that has taken place in southern Sudan. In southern Sudan 
we have black Christians who are being persecuted for their faith, and 
yet we get very little response from the West.
  In spite of the promises earlier this year that the administration 
made that they would appoint a special envoy, this crucial post has not 
been filled. Mr. Speaker, let me ready to the Members a resolution that 
the House and the Congress passed on November 22, 1991, under the 
leadership of the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Johnston], who has done 
yeoman work on this issue. When this resolution passed, I still 
remember that it was just hours before the Congress adjourned to leave 
for the Thanksgiving recess, to go home and have turkey with all the 
trimmings and all the food while the people of southern Sudan had 
absolutely nothing. In that resolution, on page 5, we called upon the 
President to appoint a special representative for mediation and 
reconciliation and peace in humanitarian affairs in Sudan.
  Also, Mr. Speaker, on September 22, 1993--how the time passes; how 
many people have died since then--a number of the Members of Congress 
wrote to Secretary Christopher saying this: ``Mr. Secretary, we are 
writing to express our continued concern about the situation in Sudan 
and to offer some recommendations.''
  We went on to say this: ``In recent months humanitarian and political 
conditions have deteriorated significantly. An estimated 500,000 people 
have died in the past 2 years while 2 million southern Sudanese have 
been displaced internally. Moreover, the United States has a moral 
responsibility to help the victims of the 10-year-old civil war and 
people who have escaped the notice of the community of nations. 
Ignoring the plight of millions of citizens of Sudan need not become a 
viable option.''

  Then we went on to say, among many other things: ``We strongly 
recommend the United States appoint a special envoy for mediation and 
reconciliation.'' And yet, not to belittle the situation in Haiti 
because it is a serious situation, many more have died in southern 
Sudan than have died in Bosnia and Haiti combined. Yet we get nothing 
from the Clinton administration. We get rhetoric, words, and facial 
expressions, but we got nothing else during this period of time.
  Also, before I came over, I pulled out a letter that the President 
sent to me, along with many other letters, saying the same thing. This 
is April 6, 1994. This is what he said:

       Dear Representative Wolf: Thank you for your recent letter 
     regarding the situation in Sudan. As you know, ending the 
     conflict and human suffering in Sudan is one of my highest 
     priorities in Africa.

  I ask if this is true. If it were the highest priority in Africa, 
they would have had a special envoy appointed, and we are no closer 
than we were when Congress passed the resolution in November of last 
year.
  Mr. Speaker, since August the Sudanese Government has launched its 
greatest offensive to date against the helpless southern Sudanese, 
bombing innocent civilians and forcing refugees to flee from what they 
call the triple A camps and the scarce safe havens during much of the 
war.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been in southern Sudan three times in the last 
several years. The last time was in January of last year, and I took a 
series of pictures.
  I do not know if the camera can pick up on these pictures, but this 
was in that area we call the triple A camps, and here is a young boy 
who probably had only about 30 percent of his body weight then. He 
almost certainly perhaps died several days or weeks after I left this 
camp.
  We also, Mr. Speaker, have another picture of another camp. We can 
see the extended stomachs of most of these young boys who have lost 
their moms and dads. Many have had to swim in crocodile-infested 
rivers. In southern Sudan, it is not like you having the Red Cross in 
these camps or these camps being someplace where there is plenty of 
help and supplies. The temperature is about 110 degrees in the shade, 
and yet there is very little shade. They have very little, if any, 
clothing. They have no food to speak of except a little porridge once 
and sometimes twice a day. They get water from polluted streams where 
cattle and animals and everyone goes to the bathroom in the streams. 
The streams are very, very polluted.
  They get a few supplies of what you would call medicine, like maybe 
an aspirin or two, but it is like being sick with the flu with a 104-
degree temperature.
  Think about that, how it was the last time you were sick. And they 
have no medicine; but you had medicine. They have no place to lie; but 
you had a place to lie in bed. The chances are you had a loved one who 
stayed home to take care of you; they have no one there to take care of 
them. The water is polluted.
  But on top of that, Mr. Speaker, they bomb them almost every day. 
High-altitude bombers come in from the Khartoum government in northern 
Sudan, killing these people. Yet we get no action on the part of the 
Clinton administration.
  Here is another picture of a refugee camp, and we can see many of 
them are very, very young people. Mr. Speaker, we ask the President to 
imagine his own child. Imagine our sons and daughters living in an 
environment like this, with high-altitude bombing coming on top of 
them. And, Mr. Speaker, the President has not appointed a special envoy 
after 6 months? I say, Mr. Speaker, shame on the President. He had an 
opportunity, and he has failed. He has failed the people in southern 
Sudan, and he has failed the history this great country has had.
  I can remember when President Jimmy Carter sensitized this country 
and sensitized this world for human rights. Probably very few people 
have done more than President Carter to stand up for human rights 
around the world, and, frankly, this Clinton administration has done 
almost nothing. It appointed a special envoy for Haiti, and I say, 
congratulations, but we have not seen it do very much in other areas of 
the world. The fact is we have seen it do absolutely nothing, Mr. 
Speaker, the President and the State Department, has failed to do what 
it knows is right and what it said it was going to do.
  This closing picture is taken of a mother with a little boy. I don't 
know if the television camera will pick this up to clearly see the ribs 
of this young boy. He probably died several days or maybe several hours 
after we left the camp. This is a TB hospital, too.

                              {time}  1310

  The people had TB and were sick with all kinds of diseases, and yet 
nobody has gone to their aid. Hundreds of thousands have died since 
that time.
  Mr. Speaker, millions--millions, we are not using the word lightly as 
sometimes you use the words thousands and millions--millions are at 
risk of starvation. Even as the Clinton administration has put on hold 
the special envoy's appointment and much needed Security Council 
attention in the United Nations to Sudan, deferring to largely 
ineffective IGGAD talks.
  Mr. Speaker, in fairness, I want to recognize the National Security 
Advisor, Anthonly Lake's leadership on this issue, and the good 
proposals out of the National Security Council to address the worsening 
crisis in the Sudan. I will give good marks to the National Security 
Council, and I will give good marks to Tony Lake. But I would flunk the 
President of the United States for this failure to let so many continue 
to die everyday.
  Hopefully, by the end of this day, if the President wants to be 
consistent, having appointed a Special Envoy to Haiti, he will quickly 
by the end of this week or end of this day, Mr. Speaker, appoint a 
Special Envoy to southern Sudan.
  Now, the good thing about Haiti is that Americans know what is going 
on in Haiti, because we are able to go to Haiti. Fortunately, the press 
has done a relatively good job of letting the world know. But no one 
goes to southern Sudan. It is dangerous. You might die in southern 
Sudan. So we do not see every day what is taking place to hundreds of 
thousands of women and children and men that are dying.
  Mr. Speaker, I question the long delay in the face of the brutal 
genocidal war, and in light of the President's letter to me stating 
that: ``Ending the conflict and human suffering in Sudan is one of my 
highest priorities in Africa.''
  I say, Mr. Speaker, if this were one of the President's highest 
priorities, he would have appointed a special envoy. Or if he wants the 
opportunity still, he will appoint one this week.
  Why? The poor people of southern Sudan, the Christians who have been 
persecuted for their faith, they don't have a powerful lobby here in 
Washington. They don't have a powerful law firm downtown on K Street to 
lobby. They don't have the interest that the people in Haiti have. So 
they continue to suffer.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress has spoken clearly about the need for a special 
envoy and Security Council action thought the passage of House 
Concurrent Resolution 131 last fall. But the President has failed to 
carry through with these critical policies. When I was in Sudan, Mr. 
Speaker, many of the people came, and I have pictures that I can make 
available, and spoke out the name of President Clinton, as they said, 
``President Clinton.'' I interviewed one young man who urged me to come 
back and tell President Clinton to help the people of southern Sudan. 
He begged and begged, and we have it on videotape. So on behalf of that 
man, and a woman named Rebecca who was written up in Vanity Fair who 
said: ``In the United States you have groups that are there to save the 
whales and save animals. Why won't you save us?''
  I say Mr. Speaker, on behalf of them, and on behalf of all the 
children who did not know what to say, who were just sitting in the Sun 
doing nothing, waiting for their daily porridge that would come, and 
sometimes not getting anything, and then worrying about the high 
altitude bombing that was coming.'
  On behalf of the woman we saw in a makeshift hut they called a 
hospital who has shrapnel in the head because the Khartoum government 
had high altitude bombing, on behalf of her, and clearly she died. I 
say, Mr. Speaker, the President has an opportunity to act on their 
behalf.
  We have waited 6 months. We have waited 1\1/2\ years. When we first 
came back from the Sudan Members of Congress on both sides of the 
aisle, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, liberal 
newspapers and conservative newspapers, all humanitarian groups from 
World Vision, and all the other groups have begged and pleaded for you 
to appoint a special envoy.
  Mr. Speaker, history will judge President Clinton on his actions 
here, whether he wants to speak out and help these people. They do not 
seek American financial support. They do not seek American soldiers. 
They do not want American troops to come there. They want a special 
envoy and some humanitarian efforts whereby humanitarian groups can 
come in and help.
  When I was there the last time, early last winter, the only two 
groups left there, because four relief workers had been killed, were 
Norwegian People's Aid, and Catholic Relief Services. Now, quite 
frankly, they were doing what Christ said in the Bible in Matthew 25. 
You remember when he said when I was hungry, you fed me. When I was 
naked, you clothed me. When I was in prison, you visited me. And it 
says in the Bible, and I say, when do we do that, Jesus? We did not see 
you. He said when you have done it unto the least of these, you have 
done it unto me.
  This, in southern Sudan, is a Matthew 25 situation. These people are 
hungry, these people are naked, these people are in a prison that you 
cannot even imagine, and yet they get no assistance from this 
administration, from this President.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on the President, today, after now appointing 
Bill Gray, our former colleague, to be the special envoy for Haiti, and 
let the record state that I salute the President for that appointment. 
And now, Mr. Speaker, I beg the President, on behalf of the suffering 
people of Sudan, to do what he said he was going to do, do what the 
Congress has urged him to do, do what the people of southern Sudan have 
begged him to do. Appoint this week a special envoy to bring about 
reconciliation and end the killing, the starvation, and the death in 
southern Sudan.
  I include the following matter for the Record.

                            H. Con. Res. 131

       Whereas the war-induced famine in southern Sudan is 
     threatening the lives of an estimated 4,000,000 people, and 
     an estimated 80 percent of children in some areas of southern 
     Sudan are reportedly malnourished;
       Whereas the civil war between the Government of Sudan and 
     the factions of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army, as 
     well as fighting within the Sudanese People's Liberation 
     Army, have resulted in the displacement of millions of 
     civilians;
       Whereas the United States Government has provided over 
     $130,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to Sudan in fiscal 
     years 1992 and 1993;
       Whereas access for humanitarian relief organizations has 
     been inconsistent and subject to the military and political 
     objectives of the Government of Sudan and Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army factions;
       Whereas a human rights group reported in early 1993 that 
     the Government of Sudan ``is engaged in a program of military 
     action which appears to amount to ethnic cleansing'' in the 
     Nuba Mountains and that it continues to torture political 
     prisoners;
       Whereas an estimated 500 unarmed civilians were reportedly 
     executed by security forces on suspicion that they had 
     collaborated with the Sudanese People's Liberation Army after 
     its incursions into Juba in June and July of 1992;
       Whereas the Government of Sudan executed Andrew Tombe and 
     Baudoin Talley (Sudanese employees of the United States 
     Government) and Mark Laboke Jenner (an employee of the 
     European Community) in Juba in mid-August 1992;
       Whereas all factions of the Sudanese People's Liberation 
     Army also are responsible for serious abuses of human rights, 
     including the killing in September 1992 of 4 foreign 
     citizens, the reported killing of 87 civilians by the Nasir 
     faction of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army in January 
     1992 in Pagarau, and the reported killing of 200 
     ``deserters'' by the Torit group near Tonj in Bahr al-Ghazal;
       Whereas the government of General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, 
     which came to power by overthrowing the democratically 
     elected civilian government on June 30, 1989, formed a 15-
     member Revolutionary Command Council, abolished the 
     constitution, the National Assembly, political parties, and 
     trade unions, and declared a state of emergency;
       Whereas the political, religious, and military policies of 
     the Bashir government have heightened political and religious 
     tensions in the country;
       Whereas the military government in Khartoum has become a 
     threat to regional stability in part because of its reported 
     activities in neighboring countries and its relations with 
     known terrorist and political extremist groups;
       Whereas the conflict in southern Sudan, which has dragged 
     on for over 3 decades, is the result of decades of political, 
     religious, and economic discrimination against the people of 
     southern Sudan by successive governments in the north;
       Whereas the people of southern Sudan have never exercised 
     their political rights freely, except for a brief period 
     after the Addis Ababa agreement, and the lack of serious 
     efforts by successive governments in Khartoum has resulted in 
     deep mistrust;
       Whereas the divisions within the Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army in 1991 have resulted in untold suffering for 
     the people of southern Sudan; and
       Whereas the resolution of the conflict in southern Sudan 
     will not guarantee respect for human rights and political 
     freedom in other regions of the country, and a number of 
     peace talks between the Government of Sudan and the 
     Sudanese People's Liberation Army have failed to produce 
     lasting, tangible results: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) strongly condemns the Government of Sudan for its 
     severe human rights abuses, and calls upon that government to 
     improve human rights conditions throughout the country;
       (2) deplores the internecine fighting among the Sudanese 
     People's Liberation Army factions which has caused untold 
     suffering for the people of southern Sudan;
       (3) calls on all factions of the Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army to cease hostilities and resolve their 
     differences through peaceful means;
       (4) urges the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army factions to provide full access for and to 
     cooperate with relief organizations;
       (5) encourages the military government of Sudan to hand 
     over political power to an elected civilian government as 
     soon as possible;
       (6) urges the Government of Sudan to lift the press ban 
     which was imposed after it took power in June 1989;
       (7) recognizes the right of the people of southern Sudan to 
     self-determination;
       (8) urges the Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army factions to allow free access to human rights 
     organizations;
       (9) commends the Government of Nigeria, the Government of 
     Uganda, and the Organization of African Unity for their 
     mediation efforts;
       (10) calls upon the President--
       (A) to appoint a special representative for mediation, 
     reconciliation, peace, and humanitarian affairs in Sudan;
       (B) to increase the levels of humanitarian assistance for 
     Sudan that is provided through nongovernmental organizations, 
     including local church groups,
       (C) to place the Government of Sudan on the list of states 
     that support international terrorism;
       (D) to oppose all loans and credits for Sudan from the 
     International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development and the International 
     Development Association, and the African Development Bank, 
     and all nonhumanitarian assistance from United Nations 
     agencies; and
       (E) to explore other means necessary to force the 
     Government of Sudan to halt its war policies should the 
     humanitarian conditions further deteriorate and the 
     Government of Sudan continue to impede relief efforts; and
       (11) further calls upon the President--
       (A) to urge the United Nations to exert all efforts to 
     bring an early end to the conflict in Sudan;
       (B) to urge that the situation in Sudan be brought to the 
     attention of the United Nations Security Council; and
       (C) to urge the United Nations Security Council--
       (i) to consider the creation of demilitarized zones for war 
     and famine victims in southern Sudan that would be off limit 
     to all warring factions;
       (ii) to consider the creation of safe havens for war and 
     famine victims should the warring factions reject the 
     creation of demilitarized zones;
       (iii) to facilitate safe passage for war and famine victims 
     to and from conflict zones; and
       (iv) to impose an arms embargo on Sudan.
                                  ____



                                              The White House,

                                    Washington, DC, April 6, 1994.
     Hon. Frank R. Wolf,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC
       Dear Representative Wolf: Thank you for your recent letter 
     regarding the situation in Sudan. As you know, ending the 
     conflict and human suffering in Sudan is one of my highest 
     priorities in Africa.
       I understand that you met recently with Tony Lake on this 
     issue. As Tony mentioned, my Administration has taken several 
     measures to address the crisis in Sudan. At the start of the 
     current offensive, we made a demarche to the Sudanese 
     Government both here and in Khartoum to underscore the horror 
     with which we view the military operation and the bombing of 
     civilians. We followed immediately with a strong press 
     statement condemning the blatant lack of concern for the 
     lives of innocent Sudanese and the interruption of the one-
     going international humanitarian relief effort. We also have 
     provided continuous support for the Intergovernmental 
     Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) peace effort 
     which we hope will lead to a comprehensive settlement between 
     the parties in Sudan. I will appoint a special envoy to Sudan 
     to work with the IGADD leaders in this effort.
       I share your concern regarding the humanitarian crisis in 
     Sudan and look forward to working the Congress to end this 
     tragedy.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bill Clinton.
                                  ____


     Statement by U.S. Representative Frank R. Wolf--Congressional 
   Delegation to the Horn of Africa, February 5 to February 12, 1993

       I recently returned from an official visit to the Horn of 
     Africa. Using Nairobi, Kenya as a staging point, I visited 
     southern Sudan for a two-day period followed by one day's 
     stop in Baidoa, Somalia.
       The Sudan is far, far away. Not only in terms of the 20 
     hour flight to get there, but it is a distant place in a 
     distant time. The refugees in southern Sudan are a forgotten 
     people in a remote corner of the world whose story is an 
     untold tragedy of oppression, of cruelty and of hopelessness. 
     The ravages they continue to endure seem worse because they 
     result not only from drought, plague and natural holocaust, 
     but also spring from man's inhumanity to man.
       On Monday, February 8, I flew in a small twin engine plane 
     carrying relief medical supplies into southern Sudan from the 
     Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) organization. I arrived at the 
     base camp which is home to the NPA, the only Non-Government 
     Organization (NGO) today with a permanent round-the-clock 
     presence in Sudan since four relief workers were recently 
     killed in a skirmish involving factions of the Sudan People's 
     Liberation Army (SPLA). Joining the NPA in Sudan is the 
     Catholic Relief Service (CRS), another outstanding group 
     whose vital role is convoying life-giving food supplies from 
     outside the country to three refugee feeding camps in the 
     southern region: Aswa, Ame and Atepe. These loosely defined 
     camps are located in proximity to the main road bisecting 
     Sudan on which hundreds of thousands of refugees make their 
     way southward driven by the relentless and unforgiving army 
     of the Sudan government in Khartoum. People are without food, 
     without medicine, without clothing and without hope. These 
     are people who would surely perish without the bare 
     subsistence provided by the Norwegian People's Aid and 
     Catholic Relief groups.
       I visited two of these three camps and saw the relief 
     efforts which seem, at best, to fend off starvation and 
     sickness for the moment, rather than provide lasting 
     sustenance to the refugees. Twice each day, infants and 
     children with their feeding bowls formed an endless line to 
     receive meager rations of food to prolong their existence 
     until they again line up and repeat the process. In these 
     camps, I listened to the refugees and to the people, I heard 
     Rebekka, a woman from the Dinka tribe who was angry and 
     upset. She had lost her husband and three children. She told 
     me three things which I heard again and again all throughout 
     the region.
       First, she said that the world is silent to the suffering 
     in southern Sudan because, she thought, the victims are 
     black. The reluctance to act, in her view and others was a 
     matter of race discrimination and would not be tolerated 
     in any other part of the globe. The second point is, she 
     felt, that they were being persecuted, starved, bombed and 
     killed because they were Christians. The last point on 
     which there is near universal agreement by the southern 
     Sudanese refugees is that the other humanitarian groups 
     such as World Vision and others who do a wonderful job 
     should come back to help with their life-giving 
     assistance. These groups left the region after the relief 
     workers were killed and have been reluctant to return 
     until some measure of security for the care-givers can be 
     assured. These three points were echoed by others with 
     whom I met. A pharmacist who provided the only medical and 
     health care at the Ame camp made a similar plea and asked 
     for the return to Sudan of the private humanitarian relief 
     groups.
       Until significantly more relief is available, there is 
     little medical care, no health care, insufficient food to 
     sustain life--people are starving to death every day--no 
     opportunity to educate the children and no chance for 
     tomorrow. The people in Sudan have literally lost a 
     generation and maybe more.
       I also met with representatives of the SPLA, the Sudan 
     Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA), with a number 
     of Catholic Priests, local officials and a number of ``old 
     hands'' in Sudan. I visited hospitals including one 
     exclusively for those with tuberculosis. I saw first hand 
     recent damage in the town of Kajo Keji on the western bank of 
     the Nile where the Khartoum government bombed the crowded 
     town market square, killing and injuring many. The Khartoum 
     government conducted high altitude bombing on this village 
     when there was no military presence. I saw bomb craters where 
     they hit huts and destroyed the market place. I visited what 
     was termed a hospital but what was in reality a filthy, rat 
     infested place where the injured were gathered. One woman, 
     injured in the air-raid, had shrapnel still in her head. She 
     had no hope and little chance for tomorrow. When it seemed 
     conditions were as bad as they could be, they got worse.
       This is a story that must be told. This was my third trip 
     to Sudan. I first travelled there in 1988 and then again in 
     1989. Conditions there are worse today than they were before. 
     This situation must not be permitted to last. It need not 
     last; there is much that can be done.
       I want to summarize some recommendations. Our government 
     must work for relief from the Khartoum government. Pressure 
     must be put on them to stop the bombing and stop the killing. 
     In the southern region of Sudan, buffer zones around pockets 
     of refugees should be agreed to by the Khartoum government 
     and the SPLA, to keep soldiers out and allow relief groups 
     the freedom to administer food, medical and humanitarian aid. 
     Humanitarian relief organizations must be encouraged to 
     return to the region. Stepped-up efforts to provide medical 
     teams to help out for short but frequent periods is 
     essential. Failure to act soon will surely result in still 
     more tragic loss of life and possibly the loss of an entire 
     culture.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                               Washington, DC, September 22, 1993.
     Hon. Warren Christopher,
     Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing to express our continued 
     concern about the situation in Sudan and to offer some 
     recommendations. Your decision to add the Government of Sudan 
     to the list of states that sponsor terrorism was welcome news 
     to many Members of Congress. This kind of assertive move on 
     the part of the United States will send a very strong message 
     to Khartoum that Washington and the international community 
     will not tolerate Sudan's support for terrorist groups. But 
     the placing of Sudan on the list is not enough--pressure must 
     be continuously focused on the government, which has shown 
     wanton disregard for human lives over the past several years.
       In recent months, humanitarian and political conditions 
     have deteriorated significantly. An estimated 500,000 people 
     have died in the past two years, while over 2 million 
     southern Sudanese have been displaced internally. Many 
     languish in refugee camps in Uganda, Kenya, and other 
     neighboring countries. The children of southern Sudan 
     continue to die in large numbers as a result of starvation, 
     disease, and war, while the international community's 
     attention continues to focus on Somalia and Bosnia. The Sudan 
     People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) factions have also been 
     reckless. Many innocent civilians have died and scores of 
     people have been forced to flee their homes because of SPLM 
     factional fighting since November 1991.
       The United States has played a limited role in addressing 
     the North-South conflict and the factional fighting within 
     the SPLM. We strongly believe that the United States should 
     play a greater role in Sudan. Efforts by other countries in 
     Africa, such as Nigeria and Kenya, have not produced tangible 
     results over the past several years. The United States has 
     assumed paramount responsibilities in the new international 
     order, almost as an unavoidable consequence of its Cold War 
     victory. Sudan represents an extreme case of a situation by 
     no means unusual, in which nations are torn apart by identity 
     crises. The situation in Sudan, because it is so dire, begs 
     for U.S. active engagement in mediation and reconciliation 
     efforts.
       Moreover, the United States has a moral responsibility to 
     help the victims of the ten year old civil war, people who 
     have escaped the notice of the community of nations. Ignoring 
     the plight of millions of innocent civilians in Sudan need 
     not become a viable option. The people of Sudan have suffered 
     enough, it is time for the international community to act. 
     The likelihood of a Somalia-like scenario is high unless the 
     international community acts soon. In the case of Sudan, 
     there is still time to address the problem.
       We strongly recommend that the United States appoint a 
     Special Envoy for mediation and reconciliation. Ambassador 
     Herman Cohen, who has expressed an interest in facing this 
     challenge, would be an excellent choice for the post. As 
     Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1989 to 
     1993, Ambassador Cohen showed profound knowledge about the 
     complex political problems in Sudan. Appointing a Special 
     Envoy for mediation and reconciliation will be seen by the 
     international community as evidence of commitment to find a 
     solution. Any measure short of this could be considered 
     window-dressing for lack of policy, complacency, and the 
     shelving of the case. The recent appointment of a Special 
     Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs only addresses one aspect of 
     the Sudan problem. We believe the humanitarian issue can best 
     be addressed by the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum since it will 
     require continual monitoring and coordination with other 
     donors.
       We are hopeful that you will give serious consideration to 
     our recommendation. The United States can play a pivotal role 
     in mediation and reconciliation efforts in Sudan. We cannot 
     afford to stand by and watch the tragedy unfold, evolve, and 
     come to a catastrophic conclusion.
           Sincerely,
     Harry Johnston,
       Chairman, House Subcommittee on Africa.
     Donald M. Payne.
     Alcee L. Hastings.
     Dan Burton.
     Eliot L. Engel.

     Paul Simon,
       Chairman, Senate Subcommittee in Africa.
     Nancy Landon Kassebaum.
     James M. Jeffords.
     Claiborne Pell.
     Frank R. Wolf.
                                  ____



                                     House of Representatives.

                                   Washington, DC, August 5, 1993.
     Hon. Warren Christopher,
     Secretary of State, Department of State, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: I appreciate your personal attention to 
     the worsening situation in Sudan. I believe the Clinton 
     Administration has taken positive steps to bring an end to 
     the suffering in Sudan, but I believe that the United States 
     must do more.
       I commend their appointment of Ambassador Frances Cook as 
     Special Envoy to Sudan for humanitarian issues. This 
     appointment made clear to the government of Sudan that the 
     United States considers the crisis in Sudan very serious and 
     Ambassador Cook has made progress in alleviating much 
     suffering in Sudan. I am distressed that Ambassador Cook will 
     soon be leaving her post as Special Envoy.
       To ensure that the positive efforts of Ambassador Cook are 
     not interrupted, I strongly encourage the prompt appointment 
     of a new Special Envy to Sudan. I believe this special envoy 
     should have expanded powers which allow him or her to address 
     political issues as well as the humanitarian ones. To simply 
     ensure the safe passage of humanitarian assistance to the 
     people is not enough; this envoy must have the authority to 
     help bring an end to the decade-old civil war. Further, to 
     gain the respect of all parties, this person must be of the 
     ambassadorial rank and must have a thorough knowledge of East 
     African issues.
       It is becoming more clear that establishing a lasting peace 
     in Sudan between the government of Sudan and the rebel 
     factions is a very elusive proposition. One major obstacle to 
     peace is the apparent unwillingness of the two major rebel 
     factions in Southern Sudan, the SPLA United under the 
     leadership of John Garang and the Nasir faction headed by Lam 
     Akol, to meet together with the Sudanese government. While I 
     believe the United States must continue to pressure the 
     Khartoum government to negotiate an end of the civil war, so-
     called ``south-south'' negotiations between the two SPLA 
     rebel factions must be convened to end inter-SPLA fighting. 
     (Right now some of the violent human rights abuses recently 
     in Sudan have been perpetrated by SPLA rebels.) The United 
     States must immediately begin work with other nations to 
     bring together these two rebel factions to negotiate a 
     settlement to their differences.
       Peace can and must be brought to Sudan. But it can only be 
     achieved with strong American leadership. Please ensure that 
     a new Special Envoy is appointed and work to make peace a 
     reality in Sudan.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____



                                     House of Representatives,

                                   Washington, DC, August 5, 1993.
     Hon. William J. Clinton,
     The President, The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I appreciate your personal attention to 
     the worsening situation in Sudan. I believe the Clinton 
     Administration has taken positive steps to bring an end to 
     the suffering in Sudan, but I believe that the United States 
     must do more.
       I commend the appointment of Ambassador Frances Cook as 
     Special Envoy to Sudan for humanitarian issues. This 
     appointment made clear to the government of Sudan that the 
     United States considers the crisis in Sudan very serious and 
     Ambassador Cook has made progress in alleviating much 
     suffering in Sudan. I am distressed that Ambassador Cook will 
     soon be leaving her post as Special Envoy.
       To ensure that the positive efforts of Ambassador Cook are 
     not interrupted, I strongly encourage the prompt appointment 
     of a new Special Envoy to Sudan. I believe this special envoy 
     should have expanded powers which allow him or her to address 
     political issues as well as the humanitarian ones. To simply 
     ensure the safe passage of humanitarian assistance to the 
     people is not enough; this envoy must have the authority to 
     help bring an end to the decade-old civil war. Further, to 
     gain the respect of all parties, this person must be of the 
     ambassadorial rank and must have a thorough knowledge of East 
     African issues.
       It is becoming more clear that establishing a lasting peace 
     in Sudan between the government of Sudan and the rebel 
     factions is a very elusive proposition. One major obstacle to 
     peace is the apparent unwillingness of the two major rebel 
     factions in Southern Sudan, the SPLA United under the 
     leadership of John Garang and the Nasir faction headed by Lam 
     Akol, to meet together with the Sudanese government. While I 
     believe the United States must continue to pressure the 
     Khartoum government to negotiate an end of the civil war, so-
     called ``south-south'' negotiations between the two SPLA 
     rebel factions must be convened to end inter-SPLA fighting. 
     (Right now some of the violent human rights abuses recently 
     in Sudan have been perpetrated by SPLA rebels.) The United 
     States must immediately begin work with other nations to 
     bring together these two rebel factions to negotiate a 
     settlement to their differences.
       Mr. President, peace can and must be brought to Sudan. But 
     it can only be achieved with strong American leadership. 
     Please quickly appoint a new Special Envoy and work to make 
     peace a reality in Sudan.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Frank R. Wolf,
     Member of Congress.

                          ____________________