San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

Government offices are closed today, but you can still make a very important contribution to advance advocacy for Darfur and Sudan.

The SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition has a new Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Darfur-Coalition/54523268037. For it to be effective, it needs more fans!

If you are on Facebook, please become a fan at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Darfur-Coalition/54523268037 and ask at least five of your friends to become fans.

If you are not on Facebook, please email the link http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-Bay-Area-Darfur-Coalition/54523268037 to at least five of your friends who are on Facebook, and ask them to become fans. They will know what to do.

Thank you for caring about the people of Darfur and Sudan, and have a nice weekend!

Our June 26, 2009 Action:

Good News: This week 33 countries and organizations met in Washington, DC at a Forum for the Supporters of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, one of the most important steps for peace in Sudan in many years. The Participants’ Statement at the conclusion of the conference is at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/06a/125280.htm.

Bad News: Unfortunately, the Obama Administration, particularly Special Envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration, has created the damaging impression that the Administration’s Sudan policy is badly in disarray. The Administration’s public contradictions on whether genocide continues in Darfur only serve to embolden Khartoum, alienate the Darfur activist community, and distract the Administration from leading an international coalition to address the myriad challenges in Sudan that loom from any number of key challenges that urgently need to be addressed. See http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/whos-boss.

We need to keep up the pressure on President Obama to make ending the Darfur genocide and bringing peace to Sudan a top personal priority. As the President said on June 5 in Germany:

“On the issue of genocide, I think “never again” means that the international community has an obligation, even when it’s inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring. So on the issue of Darfur…[I] raised it in discussions with President Mubarak of Egypt, who has strong diplomatic relations with the country of Sudan.”

Please tell the President to take charge of US policy on Sudan and lead the international community in a coherent, coordinated and consistent effort, as he recommended as a Senator and promised as a candidate.

What you can do right now:

1) Call the White House at 202-456-1111. Lines are often busy. Keep trying.
2) Fax the White House at 202-456-2461.
3) Email the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
4) Become a fan of the WH Facebook page and post a comment at http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse
5) Send a message via Twitter to @whitehouse: http://twitter.com/whitehouse

Thank you, and please tell a friend!

Last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the statement below in recognition of World Refugee Day.

The San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition sincerely thanks Speaker Pelosi for speaking out for the people of Sudan.

—
Pelosi Statement on World Refugee Day

JUNE 19, 2009, Washington, D.C. – Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement today in recognition of World Refugee Day.

“On World Refugee Day, we recognize the struggle and plight of refugees who are escaping dangerous and repressive situations throughout the world.

“In Sudan and Chad, civilians continue to suffer because the Sudanese government will not live up to its responsibility to protect the people in Sudan and Darfur and provide for their basic humanitarian needs. Making the humanitarian situation even worse, the Sudanese government has recently forced the expulsion of many international organizations that provide life-saving food, water, and medicine for the most vulnerable in the region.

“The U.S. and the international community must do more to provide the resources and the mandate for a strong peacekeeping mission to protect civilians from attack, provide the necessary humanitarian assistance, and apply the international diplomatic pressure to bring long-term stability to the region. I join President Barack Obama in his pledge to help end the Darfur genocide and to bring peace to Sudan.

“In India and Nepal, there are approximately 70,000 Tibetan refugees who have escaped Chinese repression over the dangerous Himalayan mountain passes. There continues to be no resolution in sight as the Chinese government refuses to engage directly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a peaceful dialogue.

“In Burma, the humanitarian situation remains dire; it is estimated that there are approximately 540,000 internally displaced people and over 150,000 refugees. In recent years, a large scale Burmese military offensive has caused unquantifiable suffering and a worsening refugee situation along the border with Thailand.

“I am proud that the U.S. House of Representatives will soon take action on the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that will include $2.4 billion in refugee and disaster assistance including $1.48 billion in the Migration and Refugee Assistance Account. This funding level is almost $600 million above the level provided in this legislation last year.

“Funding for these initiatives will help protect refugees and victims of conflict, meet basic needs such as sustaining life and health, provide voluntary repatriation and resettlement, and foster more effective management of international migration flows.

“Refugee situations around the world demand the full attention of the international community. We all have a responsibility to do more to lay the foundation for a more secure and stable world.”

This statement was originally published here.