Last night during the vice presidential debate, I held my breath during the answer to a question on Darfur. Because I have been working on divestment efforts over the past year, I was hoping that Governor Palin would discuss the Alaska divestment legislation that our partner organization the Sudan Divestment Task Force worked so diligently on with activists in Alaska during the last year’s legislative session.

Governor Palin did discuss the bill and came out publicly in support of it. She touted the bill as a law that must be passed “because all of us, as individuals, and as humanitarians and as elected officials should do all we can to end those atrocities in that region of the world”.

This coming year, we must work to hold her to her pledge to do all she can. While her words have yet to result in action, there is a new opportunity in the coming legislative year. Read the rest of this entry »

Below is the exchange on Darfur between Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin from Thursday evening’s vice presidential debate.  You can learn more about the candidates’ Darfur positions at AddYourVoice.org.

IFILL: Senator, you have quite a record, this is the next question here, of being an interventionist. You argued for intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo, initially in Iraq and Pakistan and now in Darfur, putting U.S. troops on the ground. Boots on the ground. Is this something the American public has the stomach for?

Read the rest of this entry »

Our combined voices can turn a promise into action.
Visit AddYourVoice.org.

Esquire Magazine today named genocide scholar Samantha Power one of the most influential people of the 21st century - citing her critical involvement in the Save Darfur movement and a 2003 Pulitzer prize for her book A Problem from Hell.

What Norman Podhoretz is to the neocon movement Power is to this as-yet-unnamed force. (Neo-internationalism? Moral interventionism? Machiavellian idealism?) She espouses talks–firm talks–with rogue states, a respect for internation-al law, and a moral and pragmatic duty to intervene–with troops if necessary–in cases of genocide.

Read the full story here.

Today the “Be a Voice for Darfur” postcard campaign website was launched at AddYourVoice.org. It has resources such as an activist toolkit, information on the current state of the Darfur genocide, and ways for us to take action by sending a message to the next president. Be a voice for Darfur, add your voice today online.

The campaign launched with a small group of coalition partners on  September  9, 2008. The opening event was incredible. More than 20 organizations attended, and 90 partners signed by the first day of the campaign! Signers included Olympic Gold Medalist Joey Cheek, actress Mia Farrow, and radio personality Joe Madison.

Read the rest of this entry »

I saw in the Washington Post Express today that they’re playing at a local club on Thursday night.  “Who the heck are they???,” you’re probably asking.

They are a Czech punk rock band from the 60s and 70s – they were harassed and oppressed by the Communist government for playing their music, and in 1976 they were arrested and put on trial for “disturbing the peace.”

The trial inspired Vaclav Havel and other dissidents to draft and sign Charter 77, demanding basic human rights for the Czech people.  It also led him to write a famous and prescient essay called “The Power of the Powerless.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Last Wednesday, Governor Schwarzenegger signed The Darfur Contracting Act into law. This important move will bring pressure to bear directly companies that are very interested in California contracts that until today have not taken steps to stop their revenue from helping to fund the Sudanese military. We will be following through with them to make sure that they change those operations and confront the Sudanese government.

Thanks to the ideas, words, emails and the consistent support of activists across the state, the Sudanese government will have to face further economic consequences for its truly unconscionable behavior. California groups took the lead in passing this law, including Jewish World Watch, American Jewish Committee, San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, Armenian National Committee, Genocide Intervention Network, STAND: A Student Anti- Genocide Coalition, Sudan Divestment Task Force, Orange County for Darfur, Americans Against the Darfur Genocide, Genocide No More-Save Darfur, Sacramento Committee on Conscience and others.

Read the rest of this entry »

While the United Nations Security Council and diplomats at the UN General Assembly were discussing Darfur this week, they forgot to listen to the voices of Darfurians – who are the most important voices to be heard in this crisis. Darfurians feel that they are being left behind, and that their voices should be considered that is why we decided to meet with Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo. On September 24, myself and a group of about 150 Darfurians and Sudanese from different parts of the United States gathered in Brooklyn, New York to meet with Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and have a Ramadan Iftar with him. They wanted to stand with him and support his work – and make sure that he knows that they are the ones whose voices need to be heard.

When Ocampo entered the room, we as Darfurians stood up and showed our appreciation to him with one voice. We clapped and welcomed him with chants of support for over 10 minutes. People shouted things like, “Thank you” and “Justice for Darfur Now.” We as Darfurians said that we are there to show our unanimous support of the ICC to continue its work and indict Bashir – because at this critical moment we feel like we have been left behind. So many African and other international leaders have come to New York to figure out how to protect al-Bashir, who has committed genocide against our people. They have not, instead, thought of how to protect the IDPs and refugees and the Darfuri people who have suffered over the last six years.

Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the Save Darfur Coalition’s efforts during this year’s elections, Darfuri refugee Daoud Hari and SDC’s Amjad Atallah were at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi on Wednesday and Thursday in advance of the Presidential Debate there.

Daoud and Amjad addressed a standing-room-only crowd of students and faculty, met with Darfur activists from Mississippi and sat down for interviews with local and international press.    Read the rest of this entry »

As Congress prepares to adjourn prior to the November elections, the Senate has passed an important resolution, S. Res. 684, which demonstrates the continued resolve of Congress to ensure that the U.S. Government remains dedicated to ending the conflict in Darfur. The resolution reaffirms Congress’ 2004 finding that genocide is occurring in Darfur, and highlights the need for a just and inclusive peace process, the full deployment of UNAMID, and the free flow of humanitarian aid.

Read the rest of this entry »