|
Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, today called President George W. Bush’s announcement of stronger sanctions against Sudanese companies and government officials a “small step in the right direction but a far cry from what’s needed to save the people of Darfur.”
“It is simply unconscionable that Khartoum has been allowed to dictate the actions of the international community,” Payne said. “Bashir’s regime harbors terrorists and sanctions terrorism against his own people. I think President Bush’s announcement is a positive move, but it is of little consolation to the families of the over 400,000 innocent people who have died or for the more than 3 million displaced individuals who have been suffering from insecurity, malnutrition, rape and the other human indignities of living in refugee camps.”
The Bush Administration announced last year the so-called “Plan B” which was to implement financial sanctions after January 1, 2007 – the deadline for Khartoum to have agreed to the African Union/United Nations hybrid force.
In 2004, Representative Payne, who authored H Con Res 467, was the first in the United States Congress to declare Khartoum’s actions genocide and to call for action by the Bush Administration. His Darfur genocide resolution encouraged the Administration to declare genocide two months later. Payne has made several trips to the Darfur refugee camps in eastern Chad, where he has met with many Darfuri men, women and children. He plans to make another trip to the camps in the coming weeks.
|
