[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 117 (Tuesday, September 19, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H6663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                A CRITICAL TIME FOR THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR

  (Mr. MORAN of Virginia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, this week marks a critical time 
for the people of Darfur and for this administration's role in ending 
the 3-year genocide in Sudan. Hundreds of thousands of innocent 
civilians have been murdered by the government-backed Janjaweed, and 
the African Union's peacekeeping mission mandate is set to expire 
within a couple of weeks.
  It has been 2 years since the President declared that genocide was 
taking place in Darfur, but we are still allowing the Government of 
Sudan to act with impunity and commit crimes against humanity.
  Today President Bush addressed the crisis in Darfur before the United 
Nations and appointed Andrew Natsios as the U.S.' Special Envoy to 
Sudan. This is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. The 
United States must push to keep an international peacekeeping force in 
Darfur, and this force must be stronger and more robust, with the 
authority to use force to protect the innocent civilians who are 
trapped in this nightmare. This has to happen as quickly as possible.
  Would we be this complacent if the genocide was not in Africa? Would 
the administration act any differently if claims of ethnic cleansing 
were in Europe or the Middle East? What in the world does it take for 
us to stand tall against the evil of genocide wherever it is taking 
place?
  We have to act before September 30. We have to require that President 
el-Bashir stop the indiscriminate killing and slaughter of the helpless 
and the weak in his country.

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