Genocide

 A Genocide We Can Stop For many years, the Darfur genocide has been overlooked by the general public. The Iraq war has been taking the world's interest, and the Darfurians are being hung out to dry. A lot of native Darfurians are being wrongly killed by an Arabian group armes by the government called the Janjaweed. The Dafur genocide is not caused by any religious problems, but by ethical and tribal conflicts. About six million people live in Darfur, and they are the poorest people in Africa. Other countries are now beginning to get involved. The UN is trying their best to get as involved as the government allows. Now the United States is getting involved and Bush has Nationally declared the issue a genocide. There are a few rebel groups out trying to help the Darfurians such as the SLA/M. There are even a few celebrities beginning to get involved. The Darfurians have recieved some help, but are still in dire need.
 * What is it all about?**



=United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called it “little short of hell on earth.”=

The people of Sudan are divided up into three different groups. Thirty-eight percent of the population are Arabs, forty-nine percent are Black Africans and the other twelve percent are Nubians. The groups are also separated according to their religions. Most of Darfur does not separate their people so they are interacially mixed. About six million people live in Darfur, and they are the poorest people in Africa. user:naenae9 ="We burnt their homes and killed all the men, women and children"= This Arab Shephard, a former Janjaweed member, said he was forced to destroy the black Africans villages in Darfur.
 * The Divided Nation**

Darfur's main economic resource is oil, but most of the profits do not benefit the Sudanese people. Seventy percent of the oil profits are used for the the military of Sudan.The Security Forces of Sudan are retailiating against the Darfurian rebels by bombing villages, raping, and torturing innocent civilians, and giving the Janjaweed arms, healthcare, and salaries.The Janjaweed Milita is mostly made of Arab militas. The International Criminal Court chielf prosecutor said that even the Sudanese government is involved in attacking the people of Darfur. John Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to the US, denied all accusations against the involvment of the government. The Janjaweed usually attack non-Arab Darfurians. The Governement of Chad has helped bomb villages along the Chad-Darfur border. Rebel groups that are fighting against the government include the Sudanese Liberation Army/Militia, the Justice Equality Movement and other groups. The SLA/M has received a lot of support from the Fur, the majority ethnic group in Darfur. The JEM is mostly made of Zaghawa Darfurians that have been fighting against the Sudanese Government. user:naenae9
 * The Janjaweed**

**The Rebels (SLA/M, JEM etc.)** The SLA/M, JEM, and other Darfurian rebel groups have been fighting against the the Sudanese Government and the Janjaweed Militia. In 2003, a rebel group attacked government targets saying that the region was being neglected. The rebels were saying the the government was oppressig Black Africans in favor of the Arabs. In simpler words, the rebels are the "good guys". The government and the Janjaweed have been bombing the villages in Darfur, committing murder, rapes, and tortuing innocent people in Darfur. The U.S. have been trying to end this horrible genocide, but their peace plan didn't work. Also they have been invading Sudans foreign oil fields. About twenty other rebel groups are contributing to the rebel movements in Darfur. The different groups have been trying to unite together and find a common negiocation for the Sudanese government. user:becca92 The leader of the Rebel group is Abdul Wahid el-Nur. When the government wanted to talk with the rebel groups, Abdul Wahid el-Nur told BBC news that there is no point in talks until the fighting stops. Abdul also said "We are not going to Libya to negotiate unless we can guarantee the security of our people. This is a failing process and the SLA is not a movement that fails.". A peace agreement was signed in 2006. The Sudanese government backed the deal, but only one rebel faction signed up. The War of Darfur began in 2003 when the SLA/M and the JEM attacked the goverenment of Sudan. The government retaliated gathering a group called the Janjaweed (also spelled Janjawiid), who are of course, the "bad guys". The Janjaweed is a pro-government organization who are accused of ethnically "cleansing" Darfur of the Black Africans. They go to villiages and wipe them out killing men and children and raping then killing their women. Some Darfurians flee to refugee camps. Sometimes, if women wander too far out of the camp site, the Janjaweed will pick them up rape them or keep them as a sex slave for more than a week when they are released. What is the government doing? The government denies links with the Janjaweed, but others say differently. The government even says that they promise to disarm the Janjaweed though there is very little evidence shown of this. President Omar al-Bashir supposedly calls the Janjaweed "thieves and gangsters". If the government has no connections with the Janjaweed and is trying to stop them, then why are they still letting this happen to innocent Darfurians? Sudan admits that though there are war crimes being comitted that is is not intended to be a genocide.Since Feburary of 2003 the Janjaweed and the dictators of Sudan have retaliated by killing, tortuing, and raping thousands of Darfurians. So far about two and half milliion people in Darfur have be displaced because of the bombings on the villages, and more than 500,000 people have been killed. Also the World Food Program says that an average of thrre and half million people living in Darfur need daily food aid in order for their survival.user:becca92 [others have also contributed] user:naenae9 The Chinese, even with the genocide happening in Sudan, are still trading with Sudan, being the biggest economic partner of the Sudan. Economically, China has been reaping oil from Sudan, which is around 70 percent of Sudan's exports. In general, China purchases most of Sudans exports. Politically, there is a relationship between Beijing and Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Beijing and Khrtoum frequently hold meetings and visits. When Hu Jintao made a trip to the Sudan in the month of February, 2007, it emphasized that economic ties had nothing to do with Sudan's political behavior. China has softened SC (security council) resolutions that dealt with Darfur. It prevented many resolutions, like the sanctions of the officials in Sudan for war crimes. In the military point of view, China has been supplying weapons to Sudan, saying that what's being sold to the capital of Sudan is legal, yet reported sightings have been made about the Janjaweed militia using Chinese-made weapons. China is putting more money into the government of Sudan that the humanitarian fund. There was a 13 million dollar loan made by the Chinese for a presidential palace in Sudan, which totalled more money than the Chinese had given to the humantitarian effort. China was silent as the government of Sudan turned away from the efforts of the UNAMID, a combined force of the African Union and the UN Peacekeeping Mission that had been approved by the United Nations Security Council 1769 in the month of July of 2007, helping to end the violence in Darfur, and came back to the violence against the people of Darfur. The biggest atrocity is not the one in Sudan. It is the ordeal with China beeing so corrupt that they are letting innocent lives pass away just for the sake of economical and natural resources. With this is a result of angry humanitarians who are trying to boycott the olympics, which is supposed to be set in Beijing, China. These humanitarians are angry because they believe that the United States should not visit a country for a sports tradition that is to unite all countires as one while the Chinese continue to help with the genocide occuring in Darfur user:fibanaci_mandelas In July of 2004, the situation in Darfur was declared a genocide by the Congress, and later that year in September, The President of the U.S. also delcared it to be a genocide. In 2006, the government of Sudan and some of the rebel groups of Darfur agreed to a U.S. pecae plan, but now this plan is obviously dead. This plan stated that the Sudanese government disarm their Janjaweed militia, but this action never took place. user:naenae9
 * Chia's Connections With Darfur**
 * The United States Role**

**"We want words followed by action. The conflict in Darfur has claimed too many lives. There is too much suffering.''**
- President Bush

**The Darfur Peace Agreement** The Darfur Peace agreement is a document with ninety-six pages explaining the lasting that has been made in Darfur. The article was signed may 5, 2006, and was a grand milestone for the Sudan. The actual document was divided into a few different things: a preamble, six chapters listing over five hundred principles, and six annexures (just another word that is substituted for appendix). The six different chapters are: Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Comprehensive Ceasefire and Final Security Arrangements, Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, General Provisions, and Implimentation Modalities and Timeline. They each have their own specific principles i.e. " 458. The Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation (DDDC)shall be a conference in which representatives of all Darfurian stakeholders can meet to discuss the challenges of restoring peace to their land, overcoming the divisions between communities, and resolving the existing problems to build a common future." (Chapter 4, Article 31, Definition). In general, this agreement is all about is the lasting future that the innocent Darfurian victims have in Sudan. There are many good things this agreement has done for the people of Sudan.This is a statement from Alex de Waal, Director of Justice Africa: " The lesson of Sudan’s peace deals is that what ever is on paper is never good enough: the challenge lies in the implementation. Sudan and its problems will be with us for some time to come: we must take a long view." (Alex de Waal, April 19, 2007, to the US House of Representatives). No one thought it was going to be easy or the whole problem to be fixed right when the peace agreement came out. He shows a very good point: there is always going to be a battle, and we need to look at long terms and by all means, the peace agreement is a long term document. There has been some controversy about the DPA. Only one of major rebel groups signed the document, and so far the fighting between these groups has continued, and in some parts of Sudan, even intensified. There are a few reasons why this is happening; one is that people are not supporting the African Government. The peace agreement is being withheld and in the near future, it will be fufilled. Although it is an on going fight and there may never be peace in Darfur, we are making a difference. Many people are getting involved in the Darfur Genocide. The government is trying to make a new peace agreement by talking to the other countries' officials. The old peace agreement, made on May 5, 2006 and signed by the US, AU, Sudanese government and SLM/A group, didnt work well enough because the two opposing parties involved in the genocide didnt think that the agreement was good enough. Neither side thought the peace agreement was fair enough to their side. The old peace agreement was signed in Abuga, Nigeria. Instead of the Darfur Peace Agreement helping to cease the violence in Darfur, it actually increased the violence occuring. The new peace agreement is being worked on by the UN and AU(African Union).The rebel groups in Darfur and other Sudanese places are trying to interfere with the making of the knew Darfur Peace Agreement. On June 12th Sudanese negotiaters let around twenty thousand international peacekeeping forces into the Darfur region of Sudan. The troops sent to Darfur to help are from the United Nations and the African Union. There was a conference. the Addis Ababa Conference, where it was said by the security commisioner Said Djinnit that a decision was made that they would try to find troops in Africa first. This decision was made because they thought that the Africans didnt contribute enough. After they got some African troops to help, then they could get help fom other countries. In a meeting on June 17th, the law that they had to get troops from the African people first was dropped. This made the UN very happy because they didnt want to fund the peace mission there if they weren't even going to be involved or in charge. After the law about the Africans having to be in troops before help could be gotten from elsewhere, the UN was allowed to have the main control over the troops in Darfur. The UN had the main control over the war decisions made, and the African Officials could help make the smaller decisions. The executive director of the group that brought the Darfur Genocide problem to the attention of people has been fired. The whole group's board is being reorganized and all their strategies are being changed. Things need to happen. Things need to be getting done. There are many ways to help the cause over in Sudan. Many organizations have been created, like Save Darfur, and the Darfur Peace and Development Organization (which are both non-profit organizations). The US has shown involvement in the crisis. Not only has the government of America been contributing, but young people alike also. There is a group called STAND. STAND literally stands for Students Taking Action Now: Darfur. The group formed in 2004 due to the incidents taking place in Darfur. The long term goal of STAND is to establish an anti-genocide constituency that holds elected officials accountable in doing what they can in the fight against genocide. There are many things that can be done to help out Darfur. There are many advocacy groups in work right now trying to help out. So far there have been more than 200,000 Darfurians that have fled and at least 200,000 people that have died since 2003. We need to stop this now in any way we can. user:fibanaci_mandelas "We came here today to say: 'We are here for you and we are here to stay',"-Mathijs Le Rutte
 * The Darfur Peace Agreement in the Future**
 * Take Action**

**Advocacy Groups** The Save Darfur Coalition's president made a statment concerning the Sudanese president Omor al-Bashir. The Sudanese president said there would be new attacks in Darfur. After he said that, there were fight between the president's military and the rebels in Abyei. The Save Darfur Coalitions President's statment asked the U.N. Security Council to let the rebels know that there would be serious consequences for anyone who attacked the civilians. The S.D.C.'s president also asked that the international community would "give" more peacekeepers to the Darfur Peace Genocide project. A genocide prevention task force has been made. The U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright and the Secretary of Defense William Cohen are the co-chairs of the group. The job of the task force is to make recomenndations to the U.S. regarding how the U.S. should deal with new threats of the genocide One of the advocacy groups are the ones who pushed the Darfur problems onto world leaders so they would see what was happening in Darfur and to the Darfurians. But there isn't just one group there are many and all do different thing to help it. The Save Darfur Coalition used a sudden use of money from a few donors in an advertising blitz to push for action. After four years of tireless efforts Darfur advocacy groups have had very little success in getting the Bush administration or any other government to move decisively against the Sudanese government for its problems in Darfur. An actress Mia Farrow launched a public relations campaign where she tried to pressure China into using it's economic leverage they have with the Sudanese Government to get them to stop the conflict in Darfur also. The Americans have raised their voices and are calling for action to take place in Darfur. Many things are trying to be done to make this happen. The international community has had the tools it needs to help the Darfur situation they just need to come together to make one big voice to finally end the killings and starvation in Darfur. More people could help easily by just looking into it and keeping up to date on what's happening. This is just a few things people could do to help and more things could also be done too. The killings and rapings that had happened and are happening are because of the Janjaweed. The Government officials and Sudanese president have allowed this to happen and are doing nothing about it. We get rid of them, we get rid of the rapings and killings that are going on here. Things are being done but more could be getting done to end this!
 * Editorial:**

=
We believe that the Janjaweed are in the wrong here. They do not have any plausible reasons why they would want to kill the native Sudanese people. The only reason they have to justify their part in the genocide, is that they, The Sudanese Arabs, have a predjudice against the native Sudanese. The core of the Darfur Genocide is just a tribal conflict that grew into the terrible ordeal of murders. There are questions to whether or not the Janjaweed is involved with the Sudanese Government, but we believe they are. We do not think that the government planned with the Janjaweed to kill all the Native Sudanese people, but we think that the government is supporting the Janjaweed by not doing enough to stop them. Also, the government is ignoring the Genocide and hoping that the issue will just go away. We found no information saying anything bad that the Native Sudanese did to the Janjaweed Arab group, unless it was in retaliation to the Janjaweed.======



We are having a bake sale at Vons on Saturday. We are giving the proceeds to The International Rescue Committee( the IRC). They give the money directly to the people who are suffering in Darfur. The committee keeps 10% of every dollar and gives the rest to the cause. We will be sending the money to the organization by mail. There address is as follows: International Rescue Committee P.O. Box 96651 Washington, DC 20090-6651
 * Action for Hillary, Lanae and Meghan:**

We both are planning on creating a group to rise awareness of the genocide that is currently happening. We will be posting flyers next yar and managing our group. Becca also plans on creating a wikispace of her own to help spread the awareness of genocide and to keep up on current events that are happening during the week. If you are inerested in becoming a par of this then keep your eyes open next year and look out for posters. No ammount of money large or small, though it will help aid them, is going to stop this genocide. What we need is a million strong voices to speak up for those who have lost their voices, the innocent Darfurians. We will plan on holding rallys etc and join other forces of Anti-Genocide groups and send letters and help make a difference. We will also fundraise to help send as much as we can to help towards aiding these innocent Darfurians. Please join us in our fight against this genocide. This is a **genocide we can stop! user:becca92**
 * Action for Johnny and Becca**


user:becca92 media type="custom" key="807089"media type="custom" key="807115" user:becca92

**ADVOCACY GROUPS WEBSITES**

[|www.eyesondarfur.org] [|www.24hoursfordarfur.org/] [|www.savedarfur.org]

Becca's Works Cited: The place OI used the most was a feed I recieved on my Google reader from a newspaper called the washington post. This is found at: www.washngtonpost.com