The Sudanese diaspora and a wide range of human rights activists protested outside of the White House today, sometimes during the rain on a hot July afternoon, calling for U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration to take action on the International Criminal Court (ICC) July 12, 2010 warrant against Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir on three charges of genocide.
July 14 was also the second anniversary of the July 14, 2008 ICC decision to issue an arrest warrant against the Sudanese President al-Bashir for his role in orchestrating and perpetrating war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Protest groups at the White House included the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Africa Action, Darfur Interfaith Network, Voices for Sudan, Save Darfur Coalition, Darfur Women’s Action Group (DWAG), Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Our Humanity in the Balance, and Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.). (See online photo album of photos of protesters.) The protesters also delivered a statement to the White House calling for the U.S. government to take action to end the genocide in Sudan and to ensure justice against Omar Al-Bashir and those responsible for genocide.
At times standing in the rain in front of the White House in Washington DC, human rights groups demanded that the U.S. government take responsibility for it influence as a world superpower to bring Omar Al-Bashir to justice. The protesters chanted “Peace and Justice in Darfur,” “Al-Bashir to the ICC,” “War Criminals to the ICC,” and “Peace and Justice in Sudan – Yes We Can,” and they urged President Obama, Vice President Biden, and U.S. Sudan Envoy General Scott Gration to take serious steps against the genocide of the Omar Al-Bashir government.
Africa Action protesters provided a banner calling for an end “global apartheid,” and the Damanga coalition’s banner called for “Freedom for Darfur.” R.E.A.L had placards calling for “Justice and Human Rights for Darfur” and “Peace in Sudan Begins with Justice.”
Damanga Leader Mohamed Yahya spoke of the need to ensure justice for the Darfur people and Sudanese people, and urged the American government to do the right thing and “make history” by taking action against the genocidal architects within the Omar Al-Bashir government.
Niemat Ahmadi, with Darfur Women’s Action Group (DWAG) and the Save Darfur Coalition, spoke to urgency need for action in Darfur and thanked the human rights activists for their continued commitment to the cause of struggling for human right in Darfur and Sudan.
Jimmy Mulla, leader of Voices for Sudan, called for the American government to recognize the importance of the July 12 arrest warrant by the ICC for Omar Al-Bashir and to take action to ensure Al-Bashir faces justice.
Meryl Zendarski, with Africa Action and Our Humanity in the Balance, led protester chants, and called for the American government to recognize the need for justice to achieve peace in Sudan.
Jeffrey Imm, founder of Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), led protester chants calling for justice in Darfur and Sudan, and spoke of the need for all people to act against genocide as a fundamental violation to human rights. Jeffrey Imm stated that “just like we rejected Adolf Hitler, so we also reject Omar Al-Bashir.” He stated that “genocide is our problem,” and that just like we cannot have peace and security without justice anywhere in the world, we must have justice to achieve peace and security in Sudan. He called for the American government to action against those responsible for genocide, and stated that enforcing our universal human rights is a law enforcement responsibility for the governments of the world, and is part of our shared responsibility for equality and liberty.
Damanga Leader Mohamed Yahya thanked all of the volunteers at the protest, including the student protesters that are always there in support of Sudan and Darfur human rights issues. Mohamed Yahya urged all Americans to be part of history by making such human rights issues a priority in their government and their lives, and seeking to bring justice to those responsible for genocide.
As the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) stated in its press release on the July 12, 2010 warrant for genocide against Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir, “Justice requires that President Al Bashir respond to these very serious charges against him.”
The Continuing Tragedy of Darfur and the Failure of America to Act
A recent R.E.A.L. posting described the continuing tragedy in Darfur and Sudan and the failure of the U.S. government administration to effectively act to ensure justice for those victimized by Omar Al-Bashir’s genocide.
Over 400,000 have been killed in Darfur, countless women have been raped and abused in Darfur, and there are an estimated 2.6 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) at risk. Despite an abundance of oil and other natural resources controlled by the Omar Al-Bashir government, the vast majority of Sudan’s people live in poverty, and many children die daily from malnutrition and poverty.
Omar Al-Bashir was recently re-elected in an “election” that was widely disputed as fraudulent, with even the Sudan National Election committee recognizing irregularities, and was boycotted by many. Washington DC area Sudanese diaspora and human rights activists protested the Sudanese elections in May 2010. Sudan is listed as one of the “worst of the worst” nations in terms of human rights, by both the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and NGOs such as Freedom House.
Despite promises from the Barack Obama administration to take action on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudanese human rights activists have been disappointed in what many view as efforts by the administration to “normalize” relations with the Omar Al-Bashir administration, which the ICC has now charged with genocide (see more below ICC press release). U.S. envoy General Scott Gration has stated that he views the Sudan “coordinated genocide” is over. In May 2009 alone, 600 were killed in Sudan.
See also other R.E.A.L. postings on Sudan.
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands with those seeking justice and peace in Sudan and Darfur, in support of our universal human rights. R.E.A.L. knows that such human rights are mere words if we are not accountable for upholding them. Such responsibility includes holding those responsible for genocide accountable for their actions. We call for all of our fellow human beings to speak out on the tragedy in Darfur and Sudan, and to be consistently responsible for equality and liberty.
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