[Peace-discuss] Fwd: UPDATE: Sudan Petition Delivered to Powell; House and Senate Declare 'Genocide'

[Alfred Kagan]

>From: Africa Action <africaorganize at earthlink.net>
>Subject: UPDATE:   Sudan Petition Delivered to 
>Powell; House and Senate Declare 'Genocide'
>To: africaaction_list at mailmanager.net
>Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 09:01:14 -0400 (EDT)
>
>Petition with 28,000 Signatures Delivered to Secretary of State Colin Powell;
>U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Pass 
>Historic Resolutions Declaring Genocide in Darfur
>
>Because of your commitment and involvement we 
>have made a real impact on the national dialogue 
>about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.  Your 
>efforts have supported the biggest grassroots 
>mobilization in the country on this issue, and 
>it has led to real results:
>
>***The petition started by Africa Action calling 
>on Secretary of State Colin Powell to recognize 
>the genocide and take action to stop the 
>atrocities in Darfur generated 28,800 
>signatures!  This outpouring of concern 
>pressured Secretary Powell to travel to Sudan ñ 
>the highest level U.S. delegation to the country 
>in 25 years.
>
>***Last Friday members of the Congressional 
>Black Caucus delivered the petition to Powell 
>during a meeting in Washington, D.C.  Throughout 
>the meeting Secretary Powell flipped through the 
>more than 600 pages of signatures from around 
>the world, forced to reflect on the demand for 
>him to take real action to recognize and stop 
>the genocide in Darfur.
>
>***At the end of last week the U.S. Senate and 
>House of Representatives passed historic 
>resolutions declaring the events unfolding in 
>Sudan ìgenocideî.  The resolutions mirrored the 
>Africa Action petition by calling on the U.S. 
>government to recognize the genocide and support 
>a U.S.-led multilateral intervention to stop the 
>genocide should the United Nations Security 
>Council fail to act.
>
>Together we generated nearly 750 messages to 
>Congress encouraging these resolutions to pass. 
>Never before has the Congress acted to declare 
>genocide while the act was still occurring.  As 
>we learned in Rwanda, pronouncements of genocide 
>after millions have been killed are 
>insufficient; with your support this set an 
>important precedent for the U.S. Congress to act 
>in the critical case of genocide.  It also sent 
>a strong message to Colin Powell and the Bush 
>Administration that the time for action is NOW.
>
>We Still Need Your Support -- Join our Upcoming 
>Days of E-Action on Genocide in Sudan
>
>Across the next two weeks Africa Action will 
>continue to apply pressure on policy-makers to 
>ensure that our successes thus far translate 
>into concrete action to stop genocide in Darfur. 
>We will send out several e-actions across this 
>period that we strongly encourage you take part 
>in and share with concerned friends and family 
>members.
>
>In August we will target:
>
>1.  The Bush White House for its Silence on the Genocide in Darfur;
>
>2.  The United Nations Security Council to 
>Ensure a Strong Resolution to Prevent and Punish 
>Genocide in Darfur;
>
>3.  The State Department's Lawyers -- the same 
>individuals who refused to recognize genocide in 
>Rwanda continue to play the same deadly 
>political games today.
>
>
>Be sure to Join us for these Actions!
>
>Thank you for your support.
>Africa Action
>
>
>
>---
>You may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by visiting
>http://capwiz.com/africaaction/lmx/u/?jobid=43788321.


-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu