[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 21, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE CRISIS IN KORDOFAN AND BLUE NILE

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, today, in Sudan, tens of thousands of men, 
women, and children are huddled in caves in the Nuba Mountains of South 
Kordofan and at Blue Nile state, where they're hiding from aerial 
bombardment and rocket attacks unleashed by the Sudanese Government in 
Khartoum.
  They have nothing to eat because they've not been able to plant crops 
this year. And although the world stands ready to provide lifesaving 
assistance, that same government in Khartoum refuses to allow them 
access to it. When the rainy season descends on Sudan in the coming 
weeks, it will be too late to get food in and these people will face 
starvation.
  Madam Speaker, for decades, this Congress and successive U.S. 
administrations have expressed the will of the American people that we 
will not allow so many innocent people to die in a struggle for land 
and power.
  I ask my colleagues to condemn the Sudanese Government's assault on 
innocent people and denounce President Omar al-Bashir's decision to use 
food as a weapon of war.
  We have little economic or political interest in this situation, but 
we do have a profound moral obligation to speak out. Khartoum must 
withdraw its armed forces, stop attacking civilians, and allow 
humanitarian access immediately.

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