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During the campaign, when asked about the genocide in Darfur, Candidate Obama said, “We can’t say ‘never again’ and then allow it to happen again. And, as President of the United States, I don’t intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” The candidate also spoke of “ratcheting up sanctions” and “organizing the European Union to be a part of those sanctions.” His campaign’s policy paper, titled the “Obama-Biden Plan,” stated, “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.”
Fast forward to June 2009. Thus far, President Obama and his Administration have displayed no “immediate” response to the Darfur crisis or any willingness to “pressure” the Sudanese government. Instead we have seen stalls, delays and a very worrisome conciliatory tone in the U.S. response to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, Obama’s Special Envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, has advocated easing some American sanctions and upgrading U.S. diplomatic relations with Sudan’s government to induce cooperation.
To read complete article on Huffington Post, click here.
Darfur activists across the country are asking concerned citizens to join with them in calling upon the President to 1) replace General Scott Gration as Special Envoy to Sudan and 2) to follow through on his campaign promise to take IMMEDIATE action to PRESSURE Sudan to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. (Please take the suggested actions at the bottom of this post.)
According to leading Darfur activists, yesterday’s press conference with General Scott Gration confirmed their worst fears that he is the wrong person for the job. “I fear we are going from bad to worse with Envoy Gration,” said Eric Cohen, Chairperson of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur.
Cohen was responding to the very concerning article in the Washington Post which reports that Gration has advocated easing some American sanctions and upgrading U.S. diplomatic relations with Sudan’s government to induce cooperation. According to the Post, Gration’s conciliatory approach has stalled high-level talks within the Obama administration to finalize a comprehensive policy plan to be presented to Cabinet members and later to the president.
In Gration’s first press conference, he contradicted US policy by downplaying the genocide (referring to “remnants of genocide” only) and declaring over the humanitarian crisis that was brought on by GoS expelling 16 NGO (“we’ve closed the gap.”)
Having come to the Special Envoy role with no experience with Sudan nor diplomacy, one has to wonder what lessons Gration has learned from President Omer al-Bashir’s catastrophic 20-year reign of terror in Sudan.
Activists understandably feel betrayed by the Administration. Tough talk regarding Darfur helped get Obama elected. Then after a long delay, Obama finally selected Special Envoy Gration. Gration then travels to Sudan with “no preconceptions” and visits model IDP camps under the supervision of the GoS and proclaims, in essence, “it’s not so bad.” Gration has had no tough reactions nor suggested any consequences for the expulsion of 16 NGOs, the ongoing bombings, the executions of Darfuris without due process and other ongoing atrocities comitted by the Government of Sudan.
According to Darfuri sources here in the United States, the NCP leadership is doing cartwheels of delight following this press conference. Khartoum seems to have the man they want in Washington — Scott Gration.
Please contact the White House in any of the following ways immediately and call for the replacement of Envoy Gration with someone ready to take IMMEDIATE action to PRESSURE Sudan, as Obama promised during the campaign:
1) Call the White House at 202-456-1111. Lines are often busy. Keep trying.
2) Fax the White House at 202-456-2461
3) Email the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
4) Become a fan of the WH Facebook page and post a comment at http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse
5) Send a message via Twitter to @whitehouse. Follow at http://twitter.com/whitehouse
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
In spite of a human rights screening policy, Vanguard continues to invest in oil companies that help to fund the ongoing genocide in Darfur Sudan, according to a recent Associated Press column on mutual funds.
In contrast, a shareholder proposal now being voted on by Vanguard customers would “go further than the company’s screening policy, requiring Vanguard to ‘institute procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in the judgment of the board, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity,’” says the article.
Vanguard claims that its policy and the one proposed by the shareholder proposal are “substantially identical.” To me, they seem “substantially different.” That’s why, as a Vanguard customer, I voted “yes” on Question 3 on my proxy ballot.
Read more about the vote at Vanguard and how you can help promote genocide-free investing at the Investors Against Genocide website.
Sandra Bullock lights a candle for Rwanda