Do you think that President Obama has kept his campaign promise about the genocide in Darfur? Many Darfur advocates do not. Please read the reasons below and decide for yourself. For daily updates on the news from Darfur from the viewpoint of those who live there, visit http://whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com

If you agree that Obama has broken his promise, send an email to the “Obameter” at obameter@politifact.com and tell the editors why you believe Obama has broken Promise #430.

If we can tilt the Obameter to count immediate action on Darfur as one of Obama’s broken promises, we just might get his long overdue attention.

President Obama’s Promise on Darfur

“As president, Obama will take immediate steps to end the genocide in Darfur by increasing pressure on the Sudanese and pressure the government to halt the killing and stop impeding the deployment of a robust international force.”

Source – The Change We Need – Foreign Policy

Has Obama’s promise been broken? You decide.

FACT: Over four months after inauguration, Government of Sudan (GoS) planes have been bombing defenseless Darfuri refugees in camps in Chad and its own citizens in IDP camps in Darfur.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: None

FACT: Nearly three months after the GoS expelled 13 foreign aid groups from the country, 1.5 million people are still waiting for adequate food, water, sanitation and medical care to be restored. The GoS has repeatedly refused to permit these humanitarian aid organizations to return, instead claiming to provide aid itself. This claim is disputed by Darfuris and the expelled organizations.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: On March 10, Obama said it is “not acceptable to put that many people’s lives at risk” and “We need to be able to get those humanitarian organizations back on the ground.” No further response since then.

FACT: Four months after inauguration, the US State Department, has yet to unveil its long-awaited Sudan policy review.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: Since the State Department answers to the White House, the slow pace of this review is a direct contradiction of his promise for “immediate” steps.

FACT: Retired Maj. General Scott Gration, the President’s Special Envoy to Sudan, spoke of the need to “look, learn and listen” from the regime of indicted war criminal President Omar al-Bashir and has extended the hand of America in friendship.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: Under Obama, the new administration has not made any comments regarding “increasing pressure” on the GoS.

FACT: Three months after inauguration, the State Department released a report which, according to Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., overstates Sudan’s cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism. Feingold has asked for a response from the State Department.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: None

FACT: Efforts to convene a civil society conference on Darfur with the aim of building what its organizers call “a mandate for peace” were derailed by the GoS.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: None

FACT: The GoS executed 9 men on April 1, who may have been innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. Over 70 more men await a similar fate. Their confessions were reported to have been extracted under torture.

OBAMA’S RESPONSE: None

The facts speak for themselves. If you agree that President Obama has broken his promise, send an email to the “Obameter” at obameter@politifact.com and tell the editors why Obama has broken Promise #430. It’s not too late to get the President to live up to his word.

For daily updates on the news from Darfur from the viewpoint of those who live there, visit http://whilewewaitsudan.blogspot.com

Call the State Department’s public comment line 24/7 at 202-647-6575 and the White House (9 AM – 5 PM EST weekdays) at either 202-456-1111 or 1-800-GENOCIDE with this message:

I’m calling to ask President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador Rice to embrace their responsibility to protect the tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Darfur who are in immediate danger due to this weekend’s alarming escalation of violence by the government of Sudan.

President Obama, please issue immediate warnings to Bashir and the government of Sudan specifying consequences of attacks on civilians. Please also prepare an emergency response plan to address further violence and appoint a full-time senior level envoy.”