[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17866-17867]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 DARFUR

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening to 
address an issue which I have addressed every week for several months 
now. It is the ongoing genocide in Darfur. How long are we going to 
allow this genocide to continue? How long will we allow mass killings, 
rapes, torture and the torching of homes and entire villages? How long 
will we tolerate 200,000, maybe 400,000 deaths? How long will we 
tolerate 2.5 million people displaced from their homes, a refugee 
crisis in Chad and other nearby crises? How long will the global 
community tolerate such brutality in today's world.
  In May, more than 4 years after the crisis in Darfur began, President 
Bush said:

       For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at the 
     hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, 
     murder, and rape of innocent civilians. My administration has 
     called these actions by their rightful name: genocide. The 
     world has a responsibility to help put an end to it.

  I agree with the President. I agree, and I call on the President to 
help America take action by use his upcoming visit with Russian 
President Vladimir Putin to demand a halt to Russian military sales to 
the Sudanese Government, sales that fuel the violence and are in 
violation of the U.N. arms embargo. My colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle--Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas; Russ Feingold, 
Democrat of Wisconsin; Gordon Smith, Republican of Oregon--have joined 
me in a bipartisan request. Together we wrote President Bush asking him 
to take action on this urgent issue when he meets with the President 
Putin. Russia can't claim to be a responsible leader in the global 
community and at the same time flaunt United Nations sanctions 
established to help end this ongoing genocide. Mr. Putin cannot have it 
both ways.
  Amnesty International recently reported that Russia and China, two 
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, are supplying the bulk 
of weapons to Sudan. That is right. Two permanent members of the U.N. 
Security Council are providing the weapons and ammunition being used by 
the Sudanese Government to perpetuate the genocide, killing innocent 
life. That is unacceptable. Mr. Putin must put an end to weapons sales. 
Weapons sold to the Sudanese Government contribute to the massive human 
misery and violence in Darfur. As I speak today, human rights 
violations, rapes, murders, attacks on humanitarian workers continue 
without end. The accounts are ongoing and widespread.

[[Page 17867]]

  For example, the Associated Press recently reported a horrible story, 
one that is sadly too common in Darfur. Seven women at a refugee camp 
in Kalma, Darfur, pooled their money to rent a donkey and a cart. They 
ventured out of the camp to gather firewood, which they hoped they 
might be able to sell and use the proceeds to feed their families. A 
few hours away from the camp, they were attacked and robbed by the 
Janjaweed militia. They were gang raped and beaten. They had to flee 
naked back to the camp.
  According to Amnesty International, in recent years, Russia exported 
to Sudan $21 million worth of aircraft and related equipment and more 
than $13 million worth of helicopters. Witnesses have documented 
Russian attack helicopters used by the Sudanese Air Force during 
Janjaweed attacks. Russian-built Antonov aircraft have been seen 
bombing areas along the border with Chad.
  I have photos I will share with those following the debate. This is 
an MI-24 attack helicopter at Nyala airport in Darfur, March 2007. It 
is a Russian helicopter. According to the United Nations, the sales of 
this aircraft are prohibited. The Russians make these sales, and these 
helicopters are used to kill innocent people. President Bush is meeting 
with the President of Russia. I hope he will mention this attack 
helicopter and how it is being misused in violation of U.N. 
resolutions.
  Similarly, this is the Antonov-26 aircraft spotted in many places in 
Darfur between January and March 2007, parked here at Nyala airport in 
late March 2007, another Russian aircraft sold in violation of U.N. 
resolutions that can be used, unfortunately, to sustain a government 
which is perpetuating a genocide. Russia should not be helping the 
genocidal efforts of the Sudanese Government.
  It has been 2\1/2\ years since President Bush decisively called the 
crisis in Darfur a genocide. We have tightened sanctions and called for 
greater action to stop it, and I applaud that. But we must do more. I 
have appealed to the President personally and directly on three 
different occasions. Last week, I appealed to Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice to seize every single opportunity to make the genocide 
in Darfur a big issue, an issue of diplomacy and for action.
  I say to the President, we have many issues to discuss with our 
Russian partners, ranging from cooperation in preventing the spread of 
nuclear weapons and materials to reaffirming support for basic 
democratic principles and institutions in Russia. Our relationship with 
Russia is a very important one. But we can't look the other way when an 
ally is aiding in a genocide. I hope President Bush will use his visit 
with President Putin to help highlight an issue that requires immediate 
attention, helping to stem the crisis in Darfur. Put an end to this 
genocide by putting an end to Russian weapons sales to the Sudanese 
Government.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.

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