[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE AT BABI YAR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 65th anniversary of the 
massacre at the Babi Yar ravine near Kiev, Ukraine. On September 29, 
1941, German occupying forces ordered the city's Jewish population to 
assemble at the ravine. The Jews complied, assuming they would be 
placed in a ghetto.
  Instead, they were herded together and ordered to strip. Nazi machine 
gunners then systematically and brutally cut them down. That first day 
more than 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children were put to death. As 
the war continued, more mass slaughters occurred at Babi Yar; by the 
end, more than 100,000 people are thought to have been murdered there.
  We mourn the tragic deaths of these innocent people at Babi Yar, 
along with the 55 million who perished in other places, during the 
Holocaust and World War II, as a result of the brutal and sadistic 
policies of Adolf Hitler.
  To prevent future genocides, we must dedicate ourselves to the 
promotion of human rights for all people. Humanity should never again 
have to suffer through such a nightmare.
  As the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, I am firmly 
committed to this effort. Since early 2004 I have been working to draw 
the world's attention to the genocide that is occurring in Darfur, 
Sudan. The international community must act now to safeguard innocent 
lives in Darfur, as I noted in a September 26 Financial Times op-ed 
piece--which I would like to insert into the Congressional Record--and 
in legislation that passed the House this week (H. Res. 723). This 
resolution calls on the President to take immediate steps to help 
improve the security situation in Darfur, and particularly to protect 
civilians.
  Unfortunately, while the world community in general has been quick to 
condemn the genocide, mobilization in support of the Sudanese civilians 
has been slow. Evidently, the world needs reminding that the genocide 
in Darfur, like the Holocaust before it, is not just a local crisis. It 
is a crisis for all humanity and obliges all of us to act with urgency. 
Words without deeds trivialize the lessons that humanity professes to 
have learned from the Holocaust, and they betray the people of Darfur.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to reflect on the tragedy currently 
occurring in Darfur, and to recommit themselves to making every effort 
to end such global outrages.

               [From the Financial Times, Sept. 27, 2006]

           We Must Mobilize Pressure and Fear to Save Darfur

                            (By Tom Lantos)

       History will regard the situation in Darfur, Sudan, as an 
     African holocaust if the international community fails to 
     protect innocent lives. The African Union's decision late 
     last week to extend its mandate in Darfur has bought just 
     three more months for the rest of the world to persuade 
     Sudanese leaders not to start another round of slaughter. 
     Khartoum still refuses to agree to let United Nations 
     peacekeepers take over from the AU troops when they go home.
       The U.N. Security Council voted last month to deploy 20,000 
     peacekeepers to replace the AU troops; the Sudanese 
     government immediately rejected that resolution and announced 
     that the AU had no authority to transfer its mission to the 
     U.N. Then Sudan began to fan out more than 30,000 of its 
     troops, allegedly to bring peace and stability to Darfur and 
     to protect civilians.
       Imagine if Hitler had offered to ``protect'' Europe's Jews. 
     As a Holocaust survivor, I cannot think of a more despicable 
     act than to have Khartoum send soldiers--who have raped and 
     slaughtered thousands and displaced 2 million people--to 
     ``protect''--civilians.
       Evidence is mounting that the Sudanese government is 
     positioning air and ground forces to complete the genocide in 
     Darfur that began 3 years ago. There is ample reason to fear 
     a full-scale and imminent onslaught against civilians.
       The U.S. government declaration calling the situation in 
     Darfur genocide and a growing international civilian movement 
     raised the expectations of the helpless. But we have failed 
     to galvanize sufficient global commitment to protect victims 
     of genocide. The May 5 signing of the Darfur peace agreement 
     seemed to offer a ray of hope that the darkest days were 
     behind the innocent men, women and children of Darfur. But 
     that agreement is now on the verge of collapse because of 
     resurgent violence.
       The international community must put actions behind its now 
     myriad words and commit to civilian protection by supporting 
     the transition of the AU mission to the U.N. NATO must also 
     broaden its support to the AU through this perilous and 
     crucial transition to a U.N. peacekeeping mission that should 
     deploy with or without the consent of the Sudanese 
     government.
       The past few years have shown that two things move 
     Khartoum--pressure and fear. After September 11 2001, the 
     thugs in the government there feared the consequences of 
     harbouring Osama bin Laden and his terrorist cohorts, and 
     they began to co-operate in the war against terrorism.
       We must now mobilize those two powerful factors in the 
     interest of civilian protection in Darfur, hold Khartoum's 
     leaders accountable for the atrocities that continue to take 
     place and make sure that Darfurians can return safely to 
     their homes.
       Whether to end genocide in Darfur is not a choice for 
     Khartoum to make; it is a requirement to avoid not only 
     international condemnation and isolation, but also an imposed 
     civilian protection regime. I was proud to author a 
     resolution calling on George W. Bush, the U.S. president, to 
     take immediate steps to help improve the security situation 
     in Darfur, with a specific emphasis on civilian protection 
     (H. Res. 723).
       If Khartoum continues to reject the deployment of U.N. 
     peacekeepers, an imposed civilian protection regime in Darfur 
     should be the priority of the AU, the U.N., NATO, the 
     European Union and the U.S. government. I will continue to 
     push for the immediate deployment of Nato assets as part of a 
     transitional operation to stop the atrocities while the U.N. 
     forces are deployed.
       If Khartoum persists in pursuing genocide, I support 
     military action to neutralize those military forces employed 
     by Sudan to attack civilians or to inhibit peacekeepers from 
     their deployment. Khartoum must be made to understand that 
     there will be severe consequences for a further genocidal 
     assault on the people of Darfur. Its reaction to the Security 
     Council resolution authorizing a peacekeeping operation is no 
     surprise. Neither is its attempt to bully the AU into 
     submission by issuing an ultimatum for the union to reject 
     the U.N. resolution or leave Darfur.
       Evidently, the world needs reminding that the genocide in 
     Darfur is not just an African crisis. It is a crisis for all 
     humanity and obliges all of us to act with urgency. Words 
     without deeds betray the people of Darfur.