Washington, DC — A growing chorus of voices in the U.S. Congress is appealing for urgent action to halt the ongoing killings in the Darfur region of Sudan. Two Republican U.S. lawmakers who visited the area at the end of June issued a plea this week for an immediately stepped-up response by the global community to avert heightened tragedy.
Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia, who spent three days and two nights in Darfur, issued a graphic report this week in which they cite the legal definition of genocide and say "we believe what is happening there may very well meet this test." More high-profile visits are needed to keep the dying in Darfur from "sliding out of view," Brownback said.
"Time is absolutely of the essence, and I would urge Condoleezza Rice to travel to the region as soon as possible," the Senator said, following on visits last week by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Visits have an important role to play in bringing the killing to an end, Brownback said. "The government of Sudan has the chance to stop this but they must act now," he said. " If they fail, we could see dying on a massive scale."
To avoid a repetition of the massive deaths in Rwanda a decade ago, the world "has to take action now," Wolf said in an interview. "If something isn't done, we'll have war crimes trials in five years. If you want to save a life, now is the time."
"What Frank and I saw was absolutely horrific," Brownback told a press briefing on Tuesday, following a video showing of the visit to five camps for internally displaced people in the region. Although the number of victims is not known, he said, "It is ethnic cleansing and I believe clearly that the seeds of genocide have been sown."
Another Republican Senator, Mike DeWine of Ohio, who has been vocal on the issue for several weeks, said in a floor statement on Wednesday: "We need to classify what is going on in Darfur as genocide." Peacekeepers authorized by the United Nations are needed to save lives, he said. "I know the Government of Sudan likes to deny that this is a crisis, but we all know this is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today."
"This crisis is totally man made," Wolf said. Security is the biggest problem both for people still residing in villages and those living in camps for those who have been displaced by the marauding bands of militia known at the Janjawid. "These guys in the Janjaweed are brutal," Wold said.. "If you are a man and you decide to go out to collect wood, which you need to cook food, you may be killed. If your wife goes out, she may be raped."
Wolf recounted meeting four women - two of them sisters - who had been raped days earlier. He said they and others showed extraordinary bravery in bringing their stories to the Congressional visitors, who withheld the names of their informants to shield them. "We were given a letter in Arabic from 44 rape victims, women who have nowhere to go for protection," he said. "The police won't help them." He said Sudan's government allows the Janjaweed to operate with impunity.
In an appearance Tuesday on the U.S. public broadcasting show "Newshour," Wolf accused the government of actively collaborating with the militias. He said he "saw with my own eyes" the military and the Janjaweed together.
Although the African Union this week pledged to send a peacekeeping force of about 300 to Darfur, Wolf said a much larger presence is required. "The United Nations has authorized 15,000 peacekeepers for Liberia," he said, a country with a land area about half that of the Darfur region. Darfur, which is about the size of France or Texas, has a population estimated at almost double that of Liberia's 3.3 million.
Brownback and Wolf praised the Bush administration for taking a strong stand. "Secretary Powell has done a lot, U.S. Agency for International Development teams, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios and [assistant administrator] Roger Winter have done a lot," he said. In their report, Brownback and Wolf call on the United States to "publicly identify those responsible for the atrocities" and impose targeted sanctions against them. They also call for a "strict timetable" for the government to stop the attacks on civilians and allow full access for admittance of international aid to Darfur.
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"What is needed now is a resolution from the UN Security Council," where a resolution is being considered. "If this were happening in the south of France or in Bavaria in Germany, the world would be outraged." Human life in Darfur has just as much value, and the world must show it, Wolf said,
"We have a chance to stop this, but the window is small and the need for aggressive action is now, " Brownback said.
