Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email. [email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
June 16, 2011
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian (ANCA)
[email protected] / (202) 775-1918
ANCA ASKS ARMENIAN AMERICANS TO PROTEST NEW SUDANESE GOVERNMENT ATTACKS ON
CIVILIANS
— Action Alert Reinforces Call by Congressman Wolf for President
Obama to Send Colin Powell to Sudan to Stop Renewed Violence
against Darfur and South Kordofan
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian Americans are joining with human rights
advocates and genocide-prevention activists from across America in
calling for decisive U.S. action to stop the Sudanese government of
indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir from continuing its brutal
onslaught against civilians in Darfur and South Kordofan, reported
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Community activists nationwide are raising this urgent crisis with
their local legislators, person-to-person, through phone calls, and
via on-line advocacy, including through an ANCA action alert that
sends pre-drafted WebMail messages to Members of Congress from the
ANCA website:
The ANCA action alert stresses that Armenian Americans, as citizens
with a direct connection to the Armenian Genocide and an enduring
commitment to ending forever the cycle of genocide, bear a special
responsibility to prevent atrocities all over the world. The
Webmail letter echoes an earlier call by U.S. Representative Frank
Wolf (R-VA) upon President Obama to send former Secretary of State
Powell to Khartoum to personally impress upon Sudanese President
Omar al Bashir that he must immediately call off his military’s
onslaught in Darfur, Abyei, and the South Kordofan region of
central Sudan. It also outlined a number of additional steps that
the Administration should take, including:
— Strengthened United Nations economic, political, and diplomatic
sanctions targeting Khartoum – with specific benchmarks, hard
deadlines, and concrete consequences.
— Concerted efforts, in coordination with the United Nations, to
ensure that humanitarian provisions – most urgently water, food,
and medical supplies – are able to reach at-risk populations,
including the establishment of a no-fly zone over South Kordafan.
— Expanded support for the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in South
Kordafan and the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation (UNAMID) in
Darfur.
The letter ends with a general call for a “clear and direct signal
to Khartoum” that the United States will not reward the Sudanese
regime, move toward normalization of relations with its government,
or allow it to conduct business-as-usual with the international
community as long as its leaders continue to defy international
justice, and are committing war crimes and atrocities against
innocent civilians in Darfur, Abyei, and South Kardofan.
Below are links to additional on-line information, and the full
text of the ANCA WebMail:
The Armenian Weekly
Fear Pervades Nuba Mountains that Sudan Government Intent on
Genocide
By: Samuel Totten, June 11, 2011
mountains/
The New York Times
Fighting Takes Ominous Turn in Central Sudan
By Jeffrey Gettleman, June 15, 2011
f=world
Wolf Urges President To Send Colin Powell To Sudan To Salvage Peace
Agreement
June 9, 2011
Genocide Intervention Network
Help Prevent Violence in South Kordofan
south_kordofan
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TEXT OF LETTER TO CONGRESS
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Dear Representative/Senator:
I am writing to ask you to support the principled call upon
President Obama by your Congressional colleague, Representative
Frank Wolf, to send former Secretary of State Powell to Khartoum to
personally impress upon Sudanese President Omar al Bashir that he
must immediately call off his military’s onslaught in Darfur,
Abyei, and the South Kordofan region of central Sudan.
In addition to this urgent step, I would encourage you to work with
your fellow legislators and the Administration to support
strengthened United Nations economic, political, and diplomatic
sanctions targeting Khartoum – with specific benchmarks, hard
deadlines, and concrete consequences. In order to avert the
worsening of the humanitarian disaster already under way, please
urge the White House to undertake all necessary actions in
coordination with the UN – including the establishment of a no-fly
zone over South Kordafan – to ensure that humanitarian provisions –
most urgently water, food, and medical supplies – are able to reach
at-risk populations. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in South
Kordafan should be immediately expanded and, in light of the
ongoing crisis in Darfur, additional support should be extended to
the African Union/UN Hybrid Operation (UNAMID).
We need to send a clear and direct signal to Khartoum. We will not
reward its regime, move toward normalization of relations with its
government, or allow it to conduct business-as-usual with the
international community as long as its leaders continue to defy
international justice, and are committing war crimes and atrocities
against innocent civilians in Darfur, Abyei, and South Kardofan.
As an American devoted to tolerance, peace, and an end to the cycle
of genocide, I urge you to take urgent action to prevent further
killing in South Kordofan.
Sincerely,
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