Saturday, September 16, 2006

Day for Darfur

Sunday is International Day for Darfur. From an e-mail that I receieved:

On September 17 people around the world will take part in a Global Day for
Darfur to show world-wide support for the Darfuri people and to put pressure on
our Governments to protect the civilians.

Despite the signing of a Darfur peace agreement on 5 May 2006, the violence in
western Sudan has not stopped; in fact, in some parts of Darfur, the violence
has grown worse.

People are still being killed and raped and displaced -- every single day.

Since 2003, between 200,000 and 400,000 people are believed to have been killed
or seriously injured and more than two million people have been displaced. At
this moment, over 3.5 million people risk starvation if the violence does not
cease and adequate humanitarian aid is not provided.

Since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on May 5 of this year,
conditions have actually deteriorated, and the possibility of a dramatic
increase in death rates is increasingly real.

The Global Day for Darfur on September 17, 2006 will be an unprecedented effort
to end this ongoing tragedy. International activists and organizations around
the world are organizing a coordinated effort to urge the international
community to:

* Strengthen the understaffed and overwhelmed African Union peacekeeping force
now. We must offer extra help to the African peacekeepers already on the ground.

* Transition peacekeeping responsibilities to a stronger UN force as soon as
possible. The UN must deploy peacekeepers with a strong mandate to protect
civilians.

* Increase aid levels and ensure access for aid delivery. Shortfalls in aid
continue to mean that people are at risk of starvation. Humanitarian
organizations must have unfettered access to all who need help.

* Implement the Darfur Peace Agreement. For the violence to end, all parties to
the agreement, in particular the Sudanese Government, must live up to their
responsibilities.

Event planning is underway in New York, London, Paris, Abuja, Toronto, Cairo,
Kigali, and Moscow -- among many other cities. We encourage you to attend one of
these events or organize an event of your own. Join the Global Day for Darfur to
build awareness about the crisis and mobilize support for this international
campaign.


I encourage you to visit the site and, if possible, to join the events to stop the war in Darfur.

Brett over at Harry's Place has a lot more to say about Arab racism and Islamist oppression as it relates to Darfur. A long, but good read.

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