The petition
Dear President George W. Bush,
Since February 2003, the Sudanese government has orchestrated a campaign of genocide responsible for slaughtering as many as 450,000 Darfurians. The Sudanese military targets civilians by bombing their villages. The state-sponsored Janjaweed militia murder, loot, and rape women and little girls. Thousands of people continue to die each month in Darfur. Together, they have violently displaced over 2.5 million Darfurians who cling to life as homeless refugees.
We, the undersigned, stand with the 80 percent of Americans who believe the United States should be doing more to end the genocide in Darfur. We stand with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said that, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.” And we stand with you when you promised in your Second Inaugural Address, that, “All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we will stand with you.” Recently our envoy for Darfur, Andrew Natsios, said that if the Sudanese don’t accept the UN peacekeeping force by January 1st that we would have to move to “plan-B”. We believe that a no-fly zone should be part of “plan-B”.
As long as the Sudanese military aircraft enjoy the freedom to target civilians in Darfur, and Janjaweed militia’s rape and murder with impunity, millions of lives will continue to be at stake. Darfurians are religious and community leaders, businesspeople, laborers, teachers, and students – just like those of us who have signed this petition. We urge you to take action to ensure their safety, health and freedom.
WHEREAS, the Genocide Convention of 1948, with which the United States is a signatory, obligates the members of the United Nations to intervene when genocide has been recognized to be occurring;
WHEREAS, on September 9, 2004 your administration declared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that genocide was occurring in Darfur, Sudan;
WHEREAS, on March 2, 2006, the Senate passed a resolution calling on NATO to enforce a No-Fly Zone over Darfur as assistance to the African Union peacekeeping mission as part of S. Res. 383;
WHEREAS, the United Nations voted in favor of Resolution 1706 authorizing up to 20,600 peacekeepers to take over the mission from the severely undermanned African Union.
WHEREAS, this deployment of UN peacekeeping forces requires the consent of the Sudanese government.
WHEREAS, the Sudanese Government threatens a military response against any UN peacekeepers, creating an impasse that threatens millions of Darfurians.
WHEREAS, as people of conscience, we have a particularly poignant responsibility to act to protect innocent civilians from certain destruction;
NOW, THEREFORE, WE, the undersigned, hereby call upon the United States Government to stop the killing, the rape, and the destructions of villages, in order to assure that humanitarian relief reaches all those in need.
WE ASK THAT
-A No-Fly Zone be established over Darfur by the United States in conjunction with NATO to prevent the Sudanese military from bombing villages in Darfur in preparation for Janjaweed attacks. As it was in Bosnia, it is now necessary for immediate intervention to bring a swift end to the genocide allowing for a successful deployment of UN peacekeepers.
-That United States Air Force, in conjunction with NATO, provide surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence, and air interdiction against Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia ground and air attacks against civilian populations in Darfur.
-The United States Government, to avert an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur, should immediately give a clear warning to all involved in the fighting in Sudan and neighboring Chad and Central African Republic: That any leader or commander who ignores the Abuja peace agreement reached in May, and who orders more mass murder, rape and pillage, will personally be held criminally responsible. The U.S. Government must declare that it will treat all perpetrators of genocide like the monstrous terrorists they are: The U.S. Government will immediately put a price on their heads, and, in just like President Bush's order concerning terrorists, "hunt the killers down, wherever they hide . . . one by one, and bring them to justice."
Respectfully and sincerely, in the highest hopes that you will heed the conscience of your Nation and the people of the United States of America,
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