Genocide Intervention Network calls for firing of Sudan lobbyist
Genocide Intervention Network
Contact: Ivan Boothe, Communications Director, Genocide Intervention Network
(202) 557-1636, [email protected], www.GenocideIntervention.net
Jan 30, 2006 (WASHINGTON) — The Genocide Intervention Network today announces its opposition to the presence of an official lobbyist for the genocidal government of Sudan in the United States, and urges U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to revoke the sanctions exemption that allows the lobbying work to continue.
On Aug. 12, 2005, Rice exempted Sudan from long-standing sanctions to permit the hiring of a Washington lobbyist and former State Department official. The State Department claims that the lobbyist is helping the United States and Sudan communicate. Yet throughout September of last year, the government of Sudan systematically attacked civilians in Darfur, as reported by the African Union and in numerous U.S. and foreign news outlets. The genocide on civilians in Darfur continues to this day.
Clearly, GI-Net argues, the lobbyist is not getting the right message to the government of Sudan.
“The State Department should not reward the government of Sudan until the Janjaweed militias are disarmed and the Darfurians can return home,” says GI-Net Director of Advocacy Sam Bell. “A government that is unwilling or unable to protect its own people should not be given the privileges enjoyed by responsible governments.”
On Friday, The New York Times reported that Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir “denied that the government-financed Janjaweed militias existed.” By making an exception for the government of Sudan, the United States is sending the wrong signal. Sudan must be held accountable for its active role in perpetrating genocide against its own citizens.
The Genocide Intervention Network and its members will continue to urge Sec. Rice to revoke the exemption granted to the government of Sudan until it ceases perpetrating genocide on its own civilians.
The Genocide Intervention Network works to mobilize an anti-genocide constituency in the United States and Canada to raise the costs for inaction by politicians in the face of genocide. Accessible online at GenocideIntervention.net, GI-Net empowers its members with the tools to support initiatives that prevent and stop genocidal violence, in particular by protecting civilians in Darfur, Sudan.