[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SUDAN PEACE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. LEE TERRY

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 7, 2002

  Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5531, the 
Sudan Peace Act.
  Sudan is a nation ravaged by 19 years of vicious civil war. Over 2 
million Sudanese have been killed, and thousands more are starving from 
war-induced famine. According to the U.S. Commission on International 
Religious Freedom, the Khartoum government of Sudan continues to 
murder, rape, and torture citizens who refuse to convert to the state-
sponsored version of Islam. Villages have been burned and looted, women 
and children enslaved, hospitals and relief camps bombed, and civilians 
arrested or killed for refusing to betray their personal religious 
convictions. Most recently, the Khartoum government walked away from 
promising peace negotiations and banned international relief flights 
for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
  I have personally listened to the heart-rending stories of Sudanese 
refugees who escaped the brutality by settling in the United States. 
Many of them were tortured, and saw their loved ones beaten, executed, 
or sold into slavery. The United States Congress must not stand idly by 
while these human rights abuses continue; we must take action to help 
end the bloodshed.
  H.R. 5531 would begin an important policy shift in how our government 
deals with the horrors in Sudan. It sets a six-month deadline for the 
Khartoum government to take effective and measurable steps towards 
peace and an end to the violence. If this deadline is not met, our 
President would broaden sanctions against the Khartoum government, and 
take measures such as petitioning the United Nations Security Council 
for an embargo on oil and arms in Sudan. The President will also have 
the authority to redirect humanitarian aid to ensure it reaches the 
people it is intended to help, irregardless of the Khartoum 
government's conscienceless dictate.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
H.R. 5531 to help bring peace, hope and relief to the war-torn Sudanese 
people.

                          ____________________