    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [May 8, 2006]
    [Pages 890-893]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on a Peace Agreement in Sudan
    May 8, 2006

        I want to thank the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, for joining me, and I also want to thank Deputy
    Secretary of State Bob Zoellick. He has
    just briefed me on his trip to Abuja, where he has played a very
    important role in setting up a peace agreement between the Government of
    Sudan and a major rebel group in the Darfur region.
        Congratulations on a job well done, Bob. Thank you.
        Last week, we saw the beginnings of hope for the people of Darfur.
    The Government of Sudan and the largest rebel group signed an agreement
    and took a step toward peace. Many people worked hard for this
    achievement. I'm particularly grateful for the leadership of President
    Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Sassou-
    Nguesso of Congo. Deputy Secretary
    Zoellick told me of their really fine
    work, and I had the honor of calling both of them to thank them over the
    phone the other day. Their personal hands-on involvement was vital.
        We're still far away from our ultimate goal, which is the return of
    millions of displaced people to their homes so they can have a life
    without fear. But we can now see a way forward.
        Sudan is one of the most diverse nations in Africa and one of the
    most troubled countries in the world. A 22-year-old civil war between
    north and south took more than 2 million lives before a peace agreement
    was made that the United States helped to broker. About the same time,
    another conflict was raging in the west, and that's in Sudan's vast
    Darfur region.

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        Darfur rebel groups had attacked Government outposts. To fight that
    rebellion, Sudan's regime armed and unleashed a horse-mounted militia
    called the Janjaweed, which targeted not only rebels but the tribes
    thought to be supporting them. The Janjaweed murdered men, and they
    raped women, and they beat children to death. They burned homes and
    farms and poisoned wells. They stole land to graze their own herds.
    Hundreds of villages were destroyed, leaving a burnt and barren
    landscape.
        About 200,000 people have died from conflict, famine, and disease.
    And more than 2 million were forced into camps inside and outside their
    country, unable to plant crops or rebuild their villages. I've called
    this massive violence an act of genocide, because no other word captures
    the extent of this tragedy.
        A cease-fire was declared in this conflict in April 2004, but it has
    been routinely violated by all sides. The Janjaweed continued to attack
    the camps and rape women who ventured outside the fences for food and
    firewood. The Government took no effective action to disarm the
    militias, and the rebels sometimes attacked food convoys and aid
    workers.
        An African Union force of about 7,200 from the region has done all
    it can to keep order, but they're patrolling an area nearly the size of
    Texas, and they have reached the limits of their capabilities. With the
    peace agreement signed on Friday, Darfur has a chance to begin anew.
    Sudan's Government has promised to disarm the Janjaweed by mid-October
    and punish all those who violate the cease-fire. The main rebel group
    has agreed to withdraw into specified areas. Its forces will eventually
    be disarmed as well, and some of its units will be integrated into the
    national army and police. The African Union will meet a week from today,
    urge its members to help implement this new agreement.
        Our goal in Darfur is this: We want civilians to return safely to
    their villages and rebuild their lives. That work has begun and
    completing it will require even greater effort by many nations. First,
    America and other nations must act to prevent a humanitarian emergency
    and then help rebuild that country. America is the leading provider of
    humanitarian aid, and this year alone, we account for more than 85
    percent of the food distributed by the World Food Programme in Sudan.
        But the situation remains dire. The World Food Programme has issued
    an appeal for funds necessary to feed 6 million people over the next
    several months. The United States has met our commitment, but other
    major donors have not come through. As a result, this month, the World
    Food Programme was forced to cut rations by half.
        So I proposed in the emergency supplemental before Congress to
    increase food aid to Sudan by another $225 million. I hope Congress will
    act swiftly on this true emergency. To get food to Darfur quickly, I've
    directed USAID to ship emergency food stockpiles. I've directed five
    ships and ordered them to be loaded with food and proceed immediately to
    Port Sudan. I've ordered the emergency purchase of another 40,000 metric
    tons of food for rapid shipment to Sudan. These actions will allow the
    World Food Programme to restore full food rations to the people of
    Darfur this summer.
        Americans who wish to contribute money to help deliver relief to the
    people of Darfur can find information about how to do so by going to the
    USAID web site at www.usaid.gov and clicking on the section marked
    ``Helping the Sudanese People.''
        Moving forward, we cannot keep people healthy and fed without other
    countries standing up and doing their part as well. The European Union
    and nations like Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Japan
    have taken leadership on other humanitarian issues, and the people of

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    Darfur urgently need more of their help now.
        In addition, the Government of Sudan must allow all U.N. agencies to
    do their work without hindrance. They should remove the visa and travel
    restrictions that complicate relief efforts. And all sides must cease
    attacks on relief workers.
        And finally, the United States will be an active participant in the
    Dutch-led reconstruction and development conference. And it's an
    important conference. It will take place within the next couple of
    months, to help the people get back on their feet so they can live
    normal lives in Darfur.
        Second, America and other nations must work quickly to increase
    security on the ground in Darfur. In the short term, the African Union
    forces in Darfur need better capabilities. So America is working with
    our NATO allies to get those forces immediate assistance in the form of
    planning, logistics, intelligence support, and other help. And I urge
    members of the alliance to contribute to this effort.
        In the longer term, the African Union troops must be the core of a
    larger military force that is more mobile and more capable, which
    generates better intelligence and is given a clear mandate to protect
    the civilians from harm. So I'm dispatching Secretary Rice to address the U.N. Security Council tomorrow.
    She's going to request a resolution that will accelerate the deployment
    of U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur. We're now working with the U.N. to
    identify countries that contribute those troops so the peacekeeping
    effort will be robust.
        I've called on President--I just called President Bashir of Sudan, both to commend him on his
    work for this agreement and to urge the Government to express clear
    support for a U.N. force. The vulnerable people of Darfur deserve more
    than sympathy; they deserve the active protection that U.N. peacekeepers
    can provide.
        In recent weeks, we've seen drastically different responses to the
    suffering in Darfur. In a recent audio tape, Usama bin Laden attacked American efforts in Sudan and urged his
    followers to kill international peacekeepers in Darfur. Once again, the
    terrorists are attempting to exploit the misery of fellow Muslims and
    encourage more death. Once again, America and other responsible nations
    are fighting misery and helping a desperate region come back to life.
    And once again, the contrast could not be more clear.
        In late 2004 in Darfur, the Janjaweed attacked a village of a
    woman named Zahara. They raped her,
    murdered her husband, and set fire to their home. One of the attackers
    told her, ``This year there's no god except us. We are your god now.''
    But you and I know that at all times, in all places, there is a just God
    who sides with the suffering and calls us to do the same. America will
    not turn away from this tragedy. We will call genocide by its rightful
    name, and we will stand up for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is
    secured.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:43 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Usama bin Laden, leader of
    the Al Qaida terrorist organization.

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