Evangelicals: 1 Year After "Genocide" Declaration, Bush Admin Makes Little Progress

[NATO AIR]

and has very little to show for that little progress either....
the genocide declaration was a political ploy to boost the evangelical turn-out, and now pres. bush gets off scot-free for doing next to nothing about darfur.

only when we evangelicals make them pay for betraying us, for betraying the people of Darfur... only then will we see progress of any sort from this administration.....

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=sto..._is_minimal__evangelical_official_says102_xml

1 Year after Bush Administration Declared Darfur Violence a 'Genocide,' Progress is Minimal, Evangelical Official Says Fri Sep 9,12:02 AM ET

To: National Desk, Religion Reporter

Contact: Sean Crowley 202-478-6128 or 202-550-6524 (cell), for the National Association of Evangelicals, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Since the Bush Administration declared that the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan amounted to genocide one year ago (September 9, 2004), it has made minimal progress protecting millions of victims of the world's worst humanitarian crisis. That's the conclusion of an official for the National Association of Evangelicals and the Save Darfur Coalition -- http://www.SaveDarfur.org -- an alliance of more than 130 faith- based, humanitarian and human rights organizations committed to protecting the civilians of Darfur. Together, the organizations united in the Save Darfur Coalition represent more than 130 million Americans.

"It is time to move the Darfur genocide from a talking point to an action item. President Bush must put this issue on the top of his inbox," said Richard Cizik, vice president of government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. "The more the American people learn about the suffering, devastation and killing, the more they are demanding that our president turn his words into action. America has been the world's conscience and halted genocide when it raised its evil head in Europe. We have a moral obligation to do the same in Africa."

Since February 2003, government-sponsored militias known as the Janjaweed have conducted a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement in Darfur. It is estimated that 400,000 people have died due to violence, starvation and disease. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes and more than 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad. Many now live in camps lacking adequate food, shelter, sanitation, and health care.

"While the Bush Administration has displayed some leadership in this humanitarian crisis, it has not done nearly enough to stop the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children in Darfur," concluded David Rubenstein, coordinator of the Save Darfur Coalition. "If every American citizen understood how serious this crisis is, they would demand that our leaders take action to save our brothers and sisters in Darfur. Our government needs to hear from concerned American citizens about the need to step up its leadership and march the world towards peace in Darfur."

http://www.usnewswire.com/

-0-

/© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

 

[Hobbit]

and has very little to show for that little progress either....
the genocide declaration was a political ploy to boost the evangelical turn-out, and now pres. bush gets off scot-free for doing next to nothing about darfur.

only when we evangelicals make them pay for betraying us, for betraying the people of Darfur... only then will we see progress of any sort from this administration.....

I say the first thing we do is demand that Kofi Annan be kicked off of the U.N. human rights committee. So far, the only reason I've seen for him not doing it is because it isn't really genocide since they're targeting a religion instead of a race. Army wants their numbers up? Right now, I'm kinda half-and-half about signing up after college. If we went into Darfur, I'd sign something saying I'd join as soon as I had a degree in hand tomorrow.

 

[NATO AIR]

I say the first thing we do is demand that Kofi Annan be kicked off of the U.N. human rights committee. So far, the only reason I've seen for him not doing it is because it isn't really genocide since they're targeting a religion instead of a race. Army wants their numbers up? Right now, I'm kinda half-and-half about signing up after college. If we went into Darfur, I'd sign something saying I'd join as soon as I had a degree in hand tomorrow.

At the least, if we could target for eliimination the janjaweed leaders and their Sudanese army sponsors, we could end the impunity they've been enjoying for two years now.... that's what galls me the most, these bastards are slaughtering tens of thousands, with no punishment in sight.

damn, can we get some tomahawks or a predator drone?

 

[5stringJeff]

It's ridiculous that Bush isn't taking a tougher stance against Sudan. Is there anything that regular people can do to help?

 

[theim]

Shhh. Just be patient people. These things take time. Yes, someone could theoretically send in forces to stop the genocide (or government sponsored slaughter, which is TOTALLY DIFFERENT), but then they would be acting unilaterally, which is unacceptable. So just take a chill pill. We the UN have almost decided whether to approve Subsection A of Clause 7.2(R) on our Chinese takeout bill. As you know, foreign dignitaries must not be forced to pay sales tax in other countries. Its important precedent-forming things like these that we must devote the majority of our time to. And besides, we ASKED them to stop. What the hell more can we do?

 

[NATO AIR]

It's ridiculous that Bush isn't taking a tougher stance against Sudan. Is there anything that regular people can do to help?

Pray.
Start coordinating efforts with other church groups... there's a lot of them. Make common cause with the large number of student groups. etc etc.

but above all else, pray.

 

[Powerman]

Pray.
Start coordinating efforts with other church groups... there's a lot of them. Make common cause with the large number of student groups. etc etc.

but above all else, pray.

No offense to anyone but praying does pretty much absolutely nothing. Praying is good if it helps you cope with things but people in need don't need prayers; they need actual help.

 

[NATO AIR]

No offense to anyone but praying does pretty much absolutely nothing. Praying is good if it helps you cope with things but people in need don't need prayers; they need actual help.

Agreed in a practical sense. However, nothing short of a divine miracle is going to save the people of Darfur now. The Africans have failed them, the EU refuses to take action, the UN is paralyzed and America has decided it wants north-south peace more than an end to the genocide in darfur, and has made the necessary policy adjustments. And the Arabs (like Egypt, who could easily use a mixture of pressure and force to end this) don't give a damn, they're too caught up in Arab "solidarity".

I don't like saying this, but its the harsh, brutal truth. Coordination of activist and outreach efforts can do some good, but I just don't see enough people giving a damn enough to make the president reverse his betrayal.

 

[5stringJeff]

No offense to anyone but praying does pretty much absolutely nothing. Praying is good if it helps you cope with things but people in need don't need prayers; they need actual help.

You've obviously never prayed for anything.

 

[Powerman]

You've obviously never prayed for anything.

I'm sure plenty of people prayed for the 800 thousand people that got slaughtered when massive genocide was ocurring in Rwanda. I'd say the end result wasn't too pretty. Praying doesn't actually do anything. You might as well wish upon a star.