[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 48 (Thursday, April 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E425-E427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A FAILED POLICY ON SUDAN
______
HON. FRANK R. WOLF
of virginia
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, as of Friday, March 15, the position of Sudan
special envoy at the State Department has been vacant.
This vacancy is symptomatic of a president that has all but forsaken
the people of Sudan.
Last December a group of prominent Sudan activists and advocates
wrote a letter to the administration, which I submit for the Record,
expressing their ``grave concerns that the current U.S. policy is
ineffective at stopping mass atrocities in Sudan.'' They urged
President Obama, in his second term, to embrace ``an urgent shift in
the U.S. policy to finally end the humanitarian crises and bring about
a just and lasting peace in Sudan.''
The letter cited the president's own words from 2007 when he rightly
called the genocide in Darfur a ``stain on our souls'' and said that
``as a president of the United States I don't intend to abandon people
or turn a blind eye to slaughter.''
And yet, I can't help but wonder if the people of Darfur, who have
been displaced from their homes and brutalized by violence for ten
years now, do in fact feel abandoned by this president and this
administration.
On March 7, CNN featured a piece by the chairman of the Darfur Union
in the United Kingdom, himself a Darfuri. Tellingly, he wrote, ``. . .
Khartoum's attempt to establish a racially pure Islamic state involves
waging war against its own unarmed civilians, systematically and with
impunity. In Darfur this has lasted a decade. The U.N. estimates that
300,000 Darfuris have died since 2003, but it hasn't bothered to
estimate casualty numbers since 2008. With fighting continuing to this
day, the number is likely to be far higher. The world assumes `Darfur
is over.' It isn't.''
Not only is Darfur's nightmare ongoing, but Khartoum's brutality has
only spread, consistent with its decades' long effort to systematically
and ruthlessly consolidate power resulting in the death and
displacement of untold thousands. More recently the Nuban people have
been driven from their homes, targeted for killing and terrorized
because of the color of their skin. Khartoum has indiscriminately
bombed civilian populations--disrupting an entire way of life for this
largely farming population. Starvation, death and despair have
followed. I have visited the refugee camps and talked with the people
personally. I have heard their pleas for help and I have conveyed their
message to this administration--a message which fell on largely deaf
ears.
On March 19, USA Today featured a joint op-ed by actor and co-founder
of the anti-genocide organization Not On Our Watch, Don Cheadle, and
John Prendergast the co-founder of the Enough Project, in the op-ed
wrote, ``By excluding all but a narrow clique of Sudanese from access
to the power and wealth of the country, marginalized groups from the
west (Darfur), south (Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains) and east have
all taken up arms against that regime. . . . Any peace effort should
deal comprehensively with all the rebel movements, the unarmed
opposition, and civil society, in search of a solution for the whole of
Sudan. Until the abusive governing system in Sudan is radically
reformed, there will be blood.''
Indeed, much blood has been shed, and yet inexplicably this
administration has embraced a policy of engagement marked by
conciliatory outreach to Khartoum, including the prospect of debt
relief for a genocidal government, and a perverse sense of moral
equivalence in dealing with South Sudan and Sudan.
While there has been criticism of two successive special envoys,
ultimately they were merely the implementers of a policy that is
inherently flawed and ultimately ineffective. In fact, I am grateful
for the dedication and efforts of both Ambassadors Scott Gration and
Princeton Lyman both of whom have poured much time and energy into a
daunting task. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
In a February 12 letter to Secretary of State Kerry I wrote, ``Our
approach to Sudan and South Sudan needs reinvigorating. It demands a
renewed sense of moral clarity about who we are dealing with in
Khartoum--namely genocidaires. It necessitates someone who can speak
candidly with our friends in South Sudan about their own internal
challenges, including corruption, and shortcomings as a new nation.
While an envoy alone does not a policy make, a high-profile special
envoy, from
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outside the department, with the knowledge and mandate to aggressively
pursue peace, security and justice for the people of Sudan and South
Sudan, is an important step in the right direction.''
Specifically, I recommended someone like former Senator Russ
Feingold.
Now there are whispers that the administration is considering former
U.S. ambassador to Sudan, Tim Carney. Many in the Sudan advocacy
community are deeply dismayed at this prospect and took the unusual
step of asking Secretary Kerry not to move forward with this
nomination.
In a March 19 letter, Act for Sudan wrote, ``It has come to our
attention that former U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney, is
being considered for the position of Special Envoy. . . . While
Ambassador Carney has experience in Sudan, we are concerned that his
publicly stated advice and guidance with regard to U.S. policy on Sudan
will prolong the suffering of the Sudanese people and will undermine
U.S. objectives to support a just peace and stable democracies in Sudan
and South Sudan, which ultimately are in the best interest of the U.S.
and the international community.''
The letter references a February 2009 Senate Foreign Relations
Committee hearing that Kerry chaired where Carney proposed offering a
series of carrots to Khartoum, including deferring the International
Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir,
sending an ambassador to Khartoum and removing Sudan from the State
Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.
If the past is any indication, this would be precisely the wrong
direction for U.S. policy. Khartoum has met this administration's
overtures with continued atrocities and intransigence. Khartoum has
rightly concluded that they incur no more blame than the leadership in
Juba for what has occurred since the independence vote of January 2011.
Meanwhile, this administration sought to block efforts in Congress,
which I initiated, to isolate Bashir. Last year I offered an amendment
to the State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill which would
have cut non-humanitarian foreign assistance to any nation that allowed
him into their country without arresting him. The amendment was adopted
with bipartisan support by voice vote despite the department's
opposition.
This approach of using our increasingly scarce aid dollars to
effectuate change and further our foreign policy objectives is a tried
and true method. When Malawi allowed Bashir to enter the country to
attend a regional trade summit I pressed the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) to end Malawi's compact. The MCC was initially
opposed to this course of action but ultimately, in the face of a
deteriorating human rights situation internally, reversed course and
suspended Malawi's compact, citing Bashir's visit as one of the
reasons.
Fortunately Malawi's new president, Joyce Banda, hoping to
reinvigorate her country's relationship with donor countries, last year
took a firm stand in refusing to allow Bashir to visit her country for
the African Union (AU) summit. President Banda went so far as to
decline to host the summit lest her country and her government be
placed in the position of being forced to host a war criminal. Given
her principled stand I made clear to the MCC Board that I supported
Malawi's compact being reinstated which it ultimately was.
However, other countries, including large recipients of U.S. foreign
assistance, have not followed suit and the administration has failed to
embrace this approach to spur such action.
The amendment I proposed would isolate Bashir and make him an
international pariah as is befitting a man with blood on his hands. It
is noteworthy that the amendment garnered the support of 70 prominent
Holocaust and genocide scholars. Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the
Wyman Institute, which initiated a letter of support to the
administration from these scholars, said: ``Halting aid to those who
host Bashir would be the first concrete step the U.S. has taken to
isolate the Butcher of Darfur and pave the way for his arrest. If the
Obama administration is serious about punishing perpetrators of
genocide, it should support the Wolf Amendment.''
Sadly that support never materialized.
Candidate Obama purported to be deeply concerned by the crisis in
Sudan and committed to bold actions.
Have we seen a fraction of that concern or anything close to bold
action since he became president?
Candidate Obama was sharp in his criticism of President Bush's
handling of Sudan.
Have we seen President Obama take even fleeting interest, beyond the
occasional talking point, in the deteriorating situation in Sudan
marked in part by a growing humanitarian crisis in the Nuba Mountains?
In a piece in the August 4, 2011 Christian Science Monitor, noted
Sudan researcher and activist Eric Reeves, wrote, ``If the world
refuses to see what is occurring in South Kordofan, and refuses to
respond to evidence that the destruction of the Nuba people, as such,
is a primary goal of present military and security actions by Sudan,
then this moment will represent definitive failure of the
`responsibility to protect.' ''
Meanwhile in an April 23, 2012 speech at the U.S. Holocaust Museum
President Obama lauded his commitment in the realm of genocide and
mass-atrocities prevention, saying, without a hint of irony, ``We're
making sure that the United States government has the structures, the
mechanisms to better prevent and respond to mass atrocities. So I
created the first-ever White House position dedicated to this task.
It's why I created a new Atrocities Prevention Board, to bring together
senior officials from across our government to focus on this critical
mission. This is not an afterthought.''
He continued, ``. . . we need to be doing everything we can to
prevent and respond to these kinds of atrocities--because national
sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your people.''
I couldn't agree more. And yet, I think most in the Sudan watchers
would hardly be able to claim that this administration has done
everything it can to prevent and respond to Khartoum's assault on its
own people.
With tensions between Sudan and South Sudan on the rise and nearing a
tipping point, thousands starving in the Nuba Mountains, refugees
fleeing aerial bombardment and pouring over the border into South
Sudan, violence persisting in Darfur and an internationally indicted
war criminal at the helm in Khartoum who travels the globe with virtual
impunity, it is time for a fresh policy and a renewed commitment to
peace and justice in Sudan.
To date, this president has offered nothing more than an abdication
of leadership and a failure of vision, which has culminated in human
suffering and misery.
December 11, 2012,
Hon. Barack Obama,
President of the United States,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President, We, the undersigned human rights
organizations, have grave concerns that the current U.S.
policy is ineffective at stopping mass atrocities in Sudan.
We write in the hope that the transition to your second term
in office will bring an urgent shift in the U.S. policy to
finally end the humanitarian crises and bring about a just
and lasting peace in Sudan.
As you know, genocide continues in Sudan. The National
Congress Party (NCP) regime in Sudan, led by a president
indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes, is causing the death,
starvation, displacement, and destruction of livelihood of
Sudanese civilians in Darfur, Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan
and the Blue Nile state.
When speaking about Sudan in 2007 you called the genocide
in Darfur a ``stain on our souls'' and said that ``as a
president of the United States I don't intend to abandon
people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.'' Vice President
Biden, the same year, called for military force in Darfur.
Yet five years later, the same genocidal regime, whose grave
human rights abuses have been left unchecked by the
international community, is emboldened to continue to
perpetrate atrocities, not only in Darfur but now in Sudan's
border regions.
In your first term, your administration pursued a policy of
engagement, marked by conciliatory diplomacy. Under the
oversight of two Special Envoys, this policy has failed to
stop the government of Sudan from committing ongoing mass
atrocities.
We now ask that you revamp your Sudan policy to address the
root cause of Sudan's multiple conflicts, the repressive and
genocidal Sudan regime.
Specifically, we ask that your administration:
(1) Deliver humanitarian aid to the starving Sudanese
civilians in the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile
State, with or without agreement from the government of Sudan
or the U.N. Security Council, with multilateral partners or
unilaterally, and with the urgency required to save starving
people.
(2) Instruct the National Security Council to accelerate
decisions and related actions regarding protection of Nuba,
Blue Nile, and Darfuri populations from air attacks and to
seriously consider the destruction of Sudan's offensive
aerial assets and/or the imposition of a no-fly zone pursuant
to the responsibility to protect doctrine.
(3) Support an end to the NCP regime's control of the
government of Sudan and support the movement within Sudan for
democratic transformation.
(4) Oppose debt relief and cash transfers to the government
of Sudan, thereby increasing pressure on that government and
strengthening the effects of U.S. sanctions.
(5) Demonstrate strong leadership to end the government-
sponsored violence in Sudan, protect civilians in Sudan and
South Sudan, ensure unhindered humanitarian access for those
in need, and bring the perpetrators of genocide and mass
atrocities to justice at the International Criminal Court.
The government of Sudan's blatant and longstanding abuse of
its citizens and disregard for the international community
clearly defines the nature of that government. Sudan's
repeated failure to abide by
[[Page E427]]
the outcome of negotiations is a well-established pattern.
After 23 years of mass atrocities committed by President
Bashir and his government, it is long past time for the
United States and the international community to confront
Bashir and the NCP and bring an end to their mass atrocities.
Sincerely,
Act for Sudan, Martina Knee, Co-Founder USA; African
Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo,
ND, USA; Americans Against the Darfur Genocide, Nikki
Serapio, Director, Washington, DC, USA; Amnesty Group
133, Robert Saulnier, Somerville, MA, USA; Dr. Kjell
Anderson, Senior Researcher/Project Leader, The Hague
Institute for Global Justice, Member, Advisory Board
International Association of Genocide Scholars, The
Hague, The Netherlands; Armenian Assembly of America,
Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA;
Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development,
Ibrahim T. Ahmed, Co-founder and Executive Director,
Fairfax, VA, USA; Blue Nile Association of North
America, Abdalla Babikir, Washington, DC, USA; Brooklyn
Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura
Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA; ``Change the
world. It just takes cents'' TM, Sara Caine Kornfeld,
Founder/Educator, Denver, CO, USA; Christian Solidarity
International--USA, Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of
Outreach, Denver, CO, USA.
Church Alliance for a New Sudan, The Institute on
Religion and Democracy, Faith J. H. McDonnell,
Director, Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Coalition for
Genocide Awareness and Action, Roz Duman, Founder/
Director Denver, CO, USA; Connecticut Coalition to Save
Darfur, Timothy Oslovich, Chairperson, Vernon, CT, USA;
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Mohamed
Yahya, Executive Director, Falls Church, VA, USA;
Darfur Action Group of SC, Richard Sribnick, Chairman,
Columbia, SC, USA; Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams,
Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ, USA; Darfur Association, Adam
Omer, President, Lincoln, NE, USA; Darfur Association
of the USA, Dr. Mahmoud Braima, President, Baton Rouge,
LA, USA; Darfur Association, Ahmed Adam Ali, Denver,
CO, USA; Darfur Community Organization, Bakheit A.
Shata, Founder/Executive Director, Omaha, NE, USA;
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA, Abdelgabar
Adam, Founder and President, Philadelphia, PA, USA;
Darfur Interfaith Network, Richard Young, Co-Chair,
Washington, DC, USA.
Darfur Leaders Network (DLN), Motasim Adam, Director,
Washington, DC, USA; Darfur People's Association of New
York, Ahmat Nour, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Darfur
Solidarity USA, Mohammed Ahmed Eisa, Executive
Director, Cambridge, MA, USA; Darfur Women Action
Group, Niemat Ahmadi, President, Washington, DC, USA;
Darfurian Association of Greater Houston, Sallah Yahya,
Executive Director, Houston, TX, USA; Dear Sudan, Love
Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon,
CA, USA; Tanya L. Domi, Adjunct Professor of
International and Public Affairs, Columbia University,
New York, NY, USA; Dr. Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, Independent
Scholar, Author of Biafra Revisited (Dakar and Reading:
African Renaissance, 2006) and Readings from Reading:
Essays on African Politics, Genocide, Literature (Dakar
and Reading: African Renaissance, 2011), London,
England; Essex County Coalition for Darfur, Gloria
Crist, Co-Founder, Montclair, NJ, USA; Mia Farrow,
Actor, CT, USA; Fur Cultural Revival, El-Fadel Arbab,
Executive Director and Lecturer, Portland, ME, USA;
Genocide No More, Mary Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding,
CA, USA.
Genocide Watch, George Mason University, Dr. Gregory
Stanton, President, Arlington, VA, USA; GeNoticed,
Elizabeth Blackney, Co-Founder, Author and Anti-
genocide advocate, Virginia Beach, VA, USA; Georgia
Coalition to Prevent Genocide, Melanie Nelkin, Chair,
Atlanta, GA, USA; Harry Potter Alliance, Andrew Slack,
Executive Director, Somerville, MA, USA; Help Nuba,
Rabbi David Kaufman, Founder, Des Moines, IA, USA; Dr.
Rick Halperin, Director, Embrey Human Rights Program,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA; Herbert
Hirsch, Professor of Political Science and Co-Editor,
Genocide Studies and Prevention, Virginia Commonwealth
University, Richmond, VA, USA; Human Rights & Advocacy
Network for Democracy (HAND), Abdalmageed Haroun,
Chairperson, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Humanity is Us,
Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder, New York, NY, USA;
Idaho Darfur Coalition, A. J. Fay, Co-Founder, Boise,
ID, USA; International Justice Project, Raymond Brown,
President, Newark, NJ, USA; Investors Against Genocide,
Eric Cohen, Chairperson, Boston, MA, USA.
Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention, Kristen Anderson,
Founder & 2011 Carl Wilkens Fellow, Des Moines, IA,
USA; Jewish World Watch, Vaughan Meyer, Advocacy
Committee Chair, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Jews Against
Genocide, Eileen Weiss, Co-founder, New York, NY, USA;
Joining Our Voices, Jack Slater Armstrong, Founder/
Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; George Kent, Professor
of Political Science, Emeritus, University of Hawaii,
Honolulu, HI, USA; Keokuk for Global Awareness and Aid,
Blake McGhghy, Co-Founder, Keokuk, IA, USA; Mr. David
Kilgour, J.D., Former Canadian Secretary of State for
Africa, Ottawa, Canada; Massachusetts Coalition to Save
Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA, USA;
Winter Miller, Writer, Greenfield, MA, USA; Paul
Mojzes, Ph.D., D.D, Professor of Religious Studies and
Genocide, Scholar, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA, USA;
Never Again Coalition, Diane Koosed, Co-Chair,
Portland, OR, USA; New York Coalition for Darfur and
All Sudan, Neiki Ullah, Communications Director, New
York, NY, USA; New York Darfur Vigil Group, Helga Moor,
Coordinator, New York, NY, USA.
Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition, Tito Elgassai, Founder,
Dallas, TX, USA; Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group, USA,
Abdelgadir Kurba, Secretary General, New York, NY, USA;
Nuba Mountains International Association USA, Magid
Kabashi, Secretary for Information, Ashburn, VA, USA;
Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc, Yassir A. Kori, Founder &
Executive Director, Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Nubia
Project, Nuraddin Abdelmannan, President, Silver
Spring, MD, USA; NYC Genocide Prevention Coalition,
Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins, Convener, NY, NY, USA;
Operation Broken Silence, Mark C. Hackett, CEO,
Executive Director, Memphis, TN, USA; Eric Reeves,
Sudan Researcher, Northampton, MA, USA; Hawa Abdallah
Mohammed Salih, U.S. Department of State 2012
International Women of Courage Award Winner,
Flemington, NJ, USA; San Francisco Bay Area Darfur
Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President, San Francisco,
CA, USA; Save Darfur Washington State, Ned Laskowski,
President, Seattle, WA, USA; Shine a Ray of Hope,
Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator, New Rochelle, NY, USA;
Robert Skloot, Professor Emeritus, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Society for Threatened People, Sharon Silber, US
Representative, New York, NY, USA; Stop Genocide Now,
Gabriel Stauring, Director and Founder, Redondo Beach,
CA, USA; Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor
Wright, Moderator, Birmingham, AL, USA; Sudan Human
Rights Network, Ismail Kardoly, Vice President,
Washington, DC, USA; Sudan Liberation Movement, Shafi
Aldin Mosa, Office Coordinator, Atlanta, GA, USA; Sudan
Rowan Inc., Ngor Kur Mayol, Founder, Atlanta, GA, USA;
Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Director, San
Francisco, CA, USA; Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA,
Gogadi Amoga, Chair, Batavia, OH, USA; The Advocates
for Human Rights, Robin Phillips, Executive Director,
Minneapolis, MN, USA; The Institute on Religion and
Democracy, Mark Tooley, President, Washington, DC, USA.
Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of
Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by
Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (Transaction, 2012),
Fayetteville, AR, USA; Triangles of Truth, Simon
Goldberg, Executive Director, Boca Raton, FL, USA;
Unite For Darfur, Bahar Arabie, CEO, Author of Darfur,
Road to Genocide, Rockville, MD, USA; United Sudanese
and South Sudanese Community Association (USASSCA),
Henry Lejukole, Chairman, Des Moines, IA, USA; Use Your
Voice to Stop Genocide RI, Sandra Hammel, Director,
Portsmouth, RI, USA; Village Help for South Sudan,
Franco Majok, Executive Director, Lynn, MA, USA; Voices
for Sudan, Jimmy Mulla, Founder and President,
Washington, DC, USA; Roger P. Winter, Former U.S.
Special Representative on Sudan, Woodbine, MD, USA.
____________________