[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17103-17104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 SUDAN

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I urge my colleagues to forcefully 
express themselves, to urge and perhaps even compel the Government of 
the Sudan to proceed to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force of 
some 20,000 to bring stability to that area. We have seen a drastic 
situation evolve where some 3 million people have been displaced--
perhaps a few more, perhaps a few less--and some 300,000 have been 
killed. The fighting goes on between the Government of Sudan and the 
rebels.
  And the prospects are for additional bloodshed and significant 
displacement of refugees are great unless there is some forceful action 
taken by the United Nations.
  The proposal has been made to have 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers deploy to 
Darfur to try to stabilize the situation. Regrettably, this has been 
rejected by the Government of Sudan.
  Just today, the New York Times reports that the Government of Sudan 
has given the African Union an ultimatum--either proceed under the 
terms of the Government of Sudan, which is characterized by the news 
report as ``blackmail,'' or for the African force of some 7,000 
proposed peacekeepers--they really are ineffectual in the job--to 
vacate the country by September 30.
  I participated last Thursday, August 31, in a forum in the Trinity 
Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh where concerned citizens gathered to 
decry the situation, to urge United Nations' action. The following day, 
I wrote to the President requesting that a Special Envoy to Sudan be 
appointed.
  I ask unanimous consent that my letter to President Bush, dated 
September 1, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     Hon. George W. Bush,
     The President, The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I write to express my support for your 
     efforts to bring an end to the ongoing crisis in the Darfur 
     region of Sudan and to urge the immediate appointment of a 
     Special Envoy to Sudan.
       I commend the hard work of your Administration to achieve 
     the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), which was signed by the 
     government of Sudan and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) 
     faction led by Minni Arku Minnawi on May 5, 2006. I also 
     applaud your efforts to mobilize international support for 
     the deployment of a United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping force 
     to replace the African Union (A.U.) force currently in the 
     region. I believe the DPA and deployment of a U.N. force are 
     important steps towards ending the crisis in Darfur, which to 
     date has led to over 200,000 deaths and 2 million people 
     displaced from their homes and dependent on international aid 
     agencies for survival.
       Unfortunately, the refusal of many rebel groups to sign the 
     DPA, the limited capabilities of the A.U. peacekeepers, and 
     rejection by the government of Sudan of the deployment of a 
     U.N. force, has led to continued violence and further 
     deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Darfur. In 
     July, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) reported that more 
     than 470,000 of 2.8 million planned beneficiaries did not 
     receive food assistance due to the deteriorating security 
     conditions. To make matters worse, reports indicate that the 
     government of Sudan is preparing a renewed assault against 
     rebel groups that remain outside the DPA. Aid officials, 
     cited in a August 31, 2006 article in The New York Times, 
     stated that a military offensive in Darfur could lead to the 
     ``complete evacuation of humanitarian workers in Northern 
     Darfur, which would leave millions without a lifeline'' and 
     that the resulting loss of life ``could dwarf the killings in 
     2003 and 2004''.
       The DPA was signed in great measure due to the work of 
     then-Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. However, in 
     light of his resignation and the fragility of the prospects 
     for a sustainable peace in Darfur, I urge that you 
     immediately appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan. With so many 
     lives hanging in the balance, it is vital that the U.S. 
     demonstrate its commitment at the highest level to the 
     success of the Darfur peace process. I believe the 
     appointment of a Special Envoy, charged to proactively work 
     with all parties to fully implement the DPA and secure the 
     deployment of a U.N. force represents the best prospect for 
     avoiding further catastrophe in Darfur.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Arlen Specter.

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that a report 
of USA Today, dated August 31, be printed in the Record. The headline 
is ``U.S. Reporter's Arrest Shows Sudan Has Something To Hide.'' The 
reporter was arrested because he reported the truth which the 
Government of Sudan is trying to conceal.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    [From USA Today, Aug. 31, 2006]

        U.S. Reporter's Arrest Shows Sudan Has Something To Hide

       The great journalists, writer Pete Hamill has said, are 
     ``men and women who take a torch to the back of a cave and 
     report what they see to the rest of the tribe.''
       One of the darkest places on earth today is the war-torn 
     Darfur region of Sudan, where at least 200,000 people have 
     been killed and 3 million rendered homeless since 2003.
       Award-winning U.S. reporter Paul Salopek was simply trying 
     to illuminate the situation there when he was detained 
     earlier this month, jailed and accused of espionage and 
     writing ``false news.''
       Looking for the truth in places such as Darfur, where truth 
     is in short supply and needed so much, is a dangerous 
     business. From 2001 through '05, 202 journalists were killed 
     on duty, up from 136 in the prior five years, according to 
     the Committee to Protect Journalists.
       If it weren't for reporters like Salopek, the world would 
     know little more than the twisted stories put out by the 
     Sudanese government about the genocide in Darfur. His arrest 
     is just one more of Sudan's increasingly shameless efforts to 
     keep outsiders from reporting on--or doing something to end--
     the killings and mass rapes. Those government efforts range 
     from shutting down many aid operations to refusing to accept 
     a force of United Nations peacekeepers.
       Similar attempts to bottle up truth or use journalists as 
     pawns are common:
       In China, Zhao Yan, a Chinese researcher for The New York 
     Times, was jailed in 2004 on charges of leaking state 
     secrets. He was acquitted of those charges last week but 
     sentenced to three years in prison on an unrelated charge. 
     Times executive editor Bill Keller said the only thing Zhao 
     ``committed is journalism.''
       In the Middle East, U.S. journalists have become targets. 
     Two Fox News journalists were snatched by militants in Gaza 
     and held for two harrowing weeks before their release Sunday. 
     Their concern? That the incident would deter others: ``I hope 
     that this never scares a single journalist away from coming 
     to Gaza to cover the story,'' said reporter Steve Centanni 
     after his release.
       Given the risks, even the severest press critic would 
     concede that reporters' willingness to venture into the 
     deepest caves is a courageous public service.
       That's all that Salopek was doing. A Chicago Tribune 
     reporter on a freelance assignment for National Geographic, 
     he sneaked across the Sudanese border from Chad without a 
     visa. For reporters, that's about the only way to get in. 
     Usually when they are caught, they are deported.
       This time, Sudan apparently chose to make a point. It did--
     that its claims about Darfur are not credible. The State 
     Department and others are pressing Sudan to set Salopek free.
       Salopek is anything but a spy. He is a veteran reporter who 
     has won journalism's highest honor twice. And, unfortunately, 
     he is the latest victim of those who seek to keep the public 
     in the dark.

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that my 
prepared written remarks be printed in the Record.

[[Page 17104]]

  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                   Statement of Senator Arlen Specter


                     the situation in darfur, sudan

        Mr. President, I seek recognition today to call attention 
     to the continuing crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Tensions are not 
     new to this drought plagued region where Arabic nomads and 
     African farmers have long competed for land and resources. 
     However, the current crisis began in February 2003 when two 
     non-Arab Darfur rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and 
     the Justice and Equality Movement, rose up against Sudan's 
     Arab dominated government, demanding the same resource and 
     power-sharing concessions being offered to rebels in southern 
     Sudan who were then engaged in peace talks to end a separate 
     conflict with the Government in Khartoum.
       The response from the Government of Sudan was swift and 
     brutal. An estimated 200,000 Sudanese refugees fled to 
     neighboring Chad telling of a scorched earth campaign being 
     carried out by armed militias, known as the Janjaweed, 
     supported by the Government of Sudan. While the Government 
     bombarded villages from the air, militias followed on the 
     ground murdering men and children, raping and branding women, 
     and pillaging and burning homes.
       The House and Senate declared the atrocities in Darfur 
     ``genocide'' in July 2004. Former Secretary of State Colin 
     Powell, in remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations 
     Committee on September 9, 2004, stated that, ``genocide has 
     been committed in Darfur and the Government of Sudan and the 
     Janjaweed bear responsibility.'' Further, the International 
     Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, in its January 25, 2005 
     report to Secretary General Kofi Annan, found that, ``the 
     Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed are responsible for 
     serious violations of international human rights and 
     humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international 
     law.''
       Today, the situation in Sudan represents the worst 
     humanitarian crisis facing the world. Since the start of the 
     conflict, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
     estimates that 350,000 people have died in the region as a 
     result of violence, disease or starvation. In addition, 
     according to the United States Agency for International 
     Development, the crisis has resulted in 1.8 million people 
     displaced from their homes and dependent on aid agencies for 
     survival.
       Due to continued pressure by the U.S. Government, in 
     particular the efforts of former Deputy Secretary of State 
     Robert Zoellick, the government of Sudan and the strongest 
     faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army signed the Darfur 
     Peace Agreement on May 4, 2006. Under the terms of the Darfur 
     Peace Agreement, the Janjaweed militias are to be disarmed, 
     rebel fighters are to be integrated into Sudan's national 
     forces or provided with the support necessary to assist their 
     return to civilian life, measures are to be implemented to 
     increase security for displaced persons and refugees, power 
     and wealth sharing mechanisms are to be established at the 
     national and local levels, and the Sudanese government is to 
     provide Darfur with robust reconstruction assistance 
     amounting to $700 million.
       Unfortunately, the Justice and Equality Movement and a 
     smaller rebel group formerly part of the Sudan Liberation 
     Army did not sign the agreement, the Janjaweed has not been 
     disarmed and violence persists resulting in the continued 
     deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation.
       I believe the Darfur Peace Agreement and deployment of a 
     United Nations force are important steps towards ending the 
     crisis in Darfur. I applaud U.S. efforts to mobilize 
     international support for the deployment of a U.N. 
     peacekeeping force to replace the African Union force 
     currently in the region. The African Union has a 7,500 
     peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur. However, The African 
     Union force is slow, poorly equipped and too small. Moreover, 
     this force is quickly running out of funding and has a 
     limited mandate that allows it to monitor but not enforce the 
     cease-fire agreement.
       On September 1, 2006 the U.N. Security Council approved a 
     resolution authorizing the deployment of a U.N. military 
     force of up to 17,300 members and a civilian police force of 
     3,300 with a Chapter VII mandate authorizing the use of force 
     to protect civilians, relief workers and U.N. workers. 
     Regrettably, the Government of Sudan has refused to accept a 
     U.N. deployment. In a statement reported by the New York 
     Times on August 22, 2006, Sudan's President, Omar Hassan al-
     Bashir, seemed to suggest he would resist such a deployment 
     with force when he stated Sudan would ``defeat any forces 
     entering the country just as Hezbollah has defeated the 
     Israeli forces.''
       On August 31, 2006, I attended a rally at the Trinity 
     Cathedral in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sponsored by the 
     Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition to call attention to 
     the crisis in Darfur. The following day, I wrote to President 
     Bush urging he appoint a Special Envoy to Sudan. With so many 
     lives hanging in the balance, it is vital that the U.S. 
     demonstrate its commitment at the highest level to resolving 
     the Darfur crisis. I believe the appointment of a Special 
     Envoy, charged to proactively work with all parties to fully 
     implement the Darfur Peace Agreement and secure the 
     deployment of a U.N. force represents the best prospect for 
     avoiding further catastrophe in Darfur.
       The crisis in Darfur can not be ignored. The international 
     community must be allowed to take action before the situation 
     deteriorates further. I urge the Administration to appoint a 
     Special Envoy to Sudan to work with all parties to bring an 
     end to the crisis, and urge the Government of Sudan to allow 
     the deployment of a U.N. force.
       I yield the floor.

  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, before proceeding to the nomination of 
Kimberly Ann Moore to be U.S. circuit judge for the Federal Circuit, I 
ask unanimous consent that I may proceed for 10 minutes as if in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________