[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 51 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E692-E693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            STOP THE GENOCIDE IN THE DARFUR REGION OF SUDAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          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

[[Page E693]]

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.

                          ____________________