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A Crisis In Darfur
HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, 57 years ago, nations stunned by the
Nazi's systematic acts of genocide declared ``Never
Again''. Ten years ago, confronted with the death toll
of the Rwandan genocide, leaders of the same nations
again declared ``Never Again''. Today, tens of thousands
of women, men, and children have been murdered and hundreds
of thousands continue to suffer. Today, again, people
are being targeted and killed because of their ethnic
identity, only 1,000 miles north of Rwanda in Darfur,
Sudan.
Eight hundred thousand innocent people were murdered
in Rwanda. We hesitated and nearly 1 million people
died for our hesitation. On the 10-year anniversary
of the Rwandan genocide this April, world leaders expressed
their determination to prevent future humanitarian catastrophes.
Tragically, only a few short months later, we find ourselves
standing by again, unwilling to take the necessary steps
to end the crisis in Darfur. Ten years ago, we failed
the people of Rwanda. We must not fail again. Ten years
ago we were preoccupied with our mission in Bosnia,
Somalia was fresh in our minds, and we were wary of
getting involved in Rwanda. Today we are preoccupied
with the aftermath of the conflict in Iraq and, again,
we are wary of committing American resources to end
the bloodshed in Sudan.
As we have hesitated, some 30,000 people have already
been murdered in Darfur and another million have been
displaced from their villages and farms. Hundreds of
thousands of individuals are caged in concentration
camps where women are systematically raped and men are
killed for scavenging food. Government-sponsored Arab
militias continue to systematically terrorize the African
Muslim inhabitants of the region--destroying villages,
raping and murdering civilians, and poisoning precious
wells with the bodies of the dead. Although the administration
has taken some important first steps to confront the
crimes being committed in Darfur, much remains to be
done.
The administration has rightly called for humanitarian
access to the region and for the deployment of international
cease-fire monitors. The administration has denounced
the atrocities in Darfur. Still, a catastrophe of these
proportions requires a deeper commitment to action;
we must treat the problems at the root of this crisis.
The thousands of people who have been displaced from
their homes and land must be given safe and voluntary
passage to return. More cease-fire monitors must be
deployed to the region. The government in Khartoum must
be persuaded to stop blocking international humanitarian
assistance to the 2.2 million people of Darfur in desperate
need of food and medicine. President Al-Bashir must
be required to control the Janjaweed militiamen who,
even now, continue their campaign of terror against
the innocent people of Darfur. It is intolerable that
these militias have not yet been disarmed and demobilized.
I join my colleagues in calling upon the administration
to apply sustained pressure on the government in Khartoum.
I call upon the President to speak out against the atrocities
in Darfur and to use both economic and political leverage
to elicit cooperation from the Sudanese government.
Every day that we delay, every day that we think, every
day that we consider the best course of action and the
appropriate definition for the crisis in Darfur is another
day that innocent people are being killed, are being
tortured, and are watching their families being killed
and tortured before their very eyes.
International cooperation and support from the United
Nations will be essential to the long-term resolution
of the Sudanese situation. Yet the most direct path
to eliminating the threat to African Muslims in Darfur
is increased pressure from the United States. Experience
has shown us that we must not delay in classifying the
loss of life in Darfur as genocide--otherwise, by the
time we have prepared our definitions, it will be too
late--the facts on the ground, and in the ground, will
have removed all doubt. And we will be left to murmur
without confidence or conviction--never again.
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