Congressman Donald Payne, former
chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, who serves as ranking member of
the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, was recently
arrested during a demonstration at the Sudan Embassy to protest slavery
and genocide in Sudan. Also arrested was John Eibner, Director of Christian
Solidarity International's (CSI) anti-slavery program and Dr. Barbara A.
Reynolds, author, radio talk show host and syndicated columnist.
Payne, a founder and co-chair of the Sudan Caucus in Congress, was handcuffed
upon his arrest and held in prison under deplorable conditions for 11 hours
before being released. He has long been a crusader for an end to the tragedy
in Sudan. Reaffirming his continued strong commitment to protecting human
rights, Payne said, "Slave raids by the armed forces of Sudan's Khartoum
government are being used to gain control of southern oil fields. The U.S.
House of Representatives recently passed the Sudan Peace Act with a provision
for capital market sanctions against oil companies operating in Sudan.
We will continue pressuring this government until genocide is ended and
there is a resolution of these crimes against humanity."
Dr. Reynolds called on Americans of conscience to stand up and speak
out on behalf of people being enslaved and killed in Sudan's genocidal
war.
In recent months, Walter Fauntroy, former U.S. Representative and chair
of the Sudan Campaign, Joe Madison, human rights activist and national
director of the Sudan Campaign and Michael Horowitz, Hudson Institute fellow
were arrested for handcuffing themselves to the Sudan Embassy in an anti-slavery
demonstration. Renowned attorney Johnnie Cochran, one of the attorneys
who represented the demonstrators in D.C. Superior Court, said, "These
vigorous protests and demonstrations conducted by Horowitz, Madison, Fauntroy,
Dick Gregory, and others demand justice for the humanitarian catastrophe
in Sudan."
Many prominent individuals have stepped forward to advise the Sudan
Campaign, including Representatives Sam Brownback, Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Gregory Meeks, Charlie Rangel, Joseph Pitts, and Frank R. Wolf.
For nearly half a century, Sudan has been involved in a civil war being
fought between the Sudanese government's army and the largest armed opposition
force, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. According to interviews, the
slave raids by the armed forces of the government of Sudan in the south
are a tool being used to gain control over the southern oil fields. To
exacerbate the situation, the Sudanese government imposed a ban on UN relief
flights to the area, which puts 3 million people at risk of starvation.
