A (separate) "Orlando Sentinel" op-ed from today (thanks to the "CFD")...
For too long the government of Sudan has permitted the continuation of violence in Darfur by thwarting diplomatic efforts and refusing to accept a robust international peacekeeping force. The situation in Darfur is deteriorating, and immediate actions must be taken to protect civilians and halt ongoing atrocities.
Since 2003, more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million people have been displaced. This is an entirely unacceptable situation.
Last year, violence in Darfur displaced 500,000 innocent civilians; 1,800 attacks on aid workers took place, an increase of 67 percent over the previous year. As a result, many aid workers were forced to evacuate the region, leaving only 13,000 workers to care for roughly 4 million people, 2.5 million of whom have been displaced from their homes. Increased attacks on civilians and aid workers have hampered the flow of aid and assistance to displaced civilians, resulting in dangerously high levels of disease and malnutrition in some camps.
Compounding the problem, regional instability is growing around Sudan. Sections of neighboring Chad and the Central Africa Republic have been pulled into the vortex of violence.
The existing African Union force in Darfur, with only 7,000 troops to patrol an area roughly the size of France, is vastly undermanned and has been effectively neutered by the Sudanese government.
Diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Darfur led by Special Envoy Andrew Natsios are an important and necessary part of achieving lasting peace in the region. However, innocent lives are at stake, and we must be prepared to take strong action against the Khartoum government if diplomacy continues not to yield positive results.
Sudan's oil revenues have enabled the Khartoum government to sustain the genocide by funding the Janjaweed militia, which continues to carry out vicious attacks on innocent civilians. The implementation of punitive measures such as the targeted sanctions, denial of access to oil revenues, and NATO assistance included in the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act are long overdue. The parties responsible for the genocide in Darfur must pay a price for their role in continuing their attacks on civilians and their refusal to accept international peacekeeping forces.
Many Americans have acted to help end the genocide by divesting their personal investments from companies that do business with the Khartoum government. To date, six states, in addition to many municipalities and universities, have restricted their own investments in companies whose business in Sudan benefits the Khartoum government.
In the face of the ongoing genocide, the American people have shown their compassion and conviction by voicing their strong opposition to the violence in Darfur. The message from the American people is clear: Genocide will not be tolerated.
It is my hope that these values are contagious and spread to those whose economic relationships with Sudan allow the Darfur genocide to continue.
Specifically, we need to work with the Chinese government, which accounts for more than half of Sudan's annual oil revenue. During a recent trip to Sudan, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced that China would cancel millions of dollars of outstanding Sudanese debt. Hu Jintao also announced that his government would fund the construction of a presidential palace for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, a man who has carried out two genocides in the last two decades, the first in Southern Sudan and the current one in Darfur. Rather than providing no-strings-attached economic aid to a genocidal regime, China should use its economic leverage to pressure the Sudanese government to end the humanitarian crisis.
Now is the time for the American government to show its greatness by acting with compassion for those who are suffering.
"Not on my watch," wrote President Bush on the margins of a White House memo concerning genocide, and now is the time that America follows through on that pledge.
U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, wrote this commentary for the Orlando Sentinel. He is a candidate for the GOP's 2008 presidential nomination.
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