Call of Urgent Action to Stop another Genocide in Sudan

Dear President George W Bush,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
Members of the United States Congress; and
United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan,

The escalation of violence in response to the sudden death of Vice President and Sudan’s People Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader John Garang is threatening peace and stability in the Sudan. This could lead to a Rwanda-style genocide in Khartoum and Juba and may spread to other cities. News media are reporting about “gangs of men with clubs and automatic weapons roaming” the city center of Khartoum where “the death toll has risen to 84.” Islamic extremists and allies of the government of Sudan are declaring a Jihad and calling their militias to attack Southern Sudanese people in Khartoum while Northern Sudanese are being harassed in the southern cities of the country.

The government of Sudan has shown total incompetence in anticipating and stopping the violence. Radical Islamists and separatist groups are using this occasion to derail the peace agreement between the SPLM and the government of Sudan. The UN Envoy to the Sudan, Mr. Jan Pronk, told BBC’s Newshour program on August 3, 2005 that “..there are some leaders, Imams and others who are making irresponsible statements..” that fuel the violence and threaten the lives of Southern Sudanese in Khartoum. The situation is explosive and very alarming.

The Sudanese community, concerned citizen groups and other organizations in the US urge you to act to stop the violence and prevent a catastrophe in the making in the Sudan. We ask you to:

1. Urge the government of Sudan to take all measures to protect all of its citizens, to stop the violence and to prevent another genocide or ethnic cleansing in the Sudan.
2. Provide the government and the people of Sudan with immediate assistance in logistics and medical supplies to bring security and stability in Khartoum and Juba cities.
3. Send envoys to and deploy peace monitors in Khartoum, and provide expertise in crowd management in Khartoum and other major cities in the Sudan, if the violence and riots continued.
4. Urge the United Nations to assist in the investigation of the helicopter crash that killed Vice President John Garang.
5. Urge and assist the government of Sudan to track down the perpetrators of violence in Khartoum and Juba and bring them to justice.
6. Urge peace and human rights organizations to mobilize the people to provide an environment conducive to peace and reconciliation in Khartoum and other parts of the Sudan.

We urge you to respond to the situation in the Sudan with utmost urgency so as not to repeat the mistakes of Rwanda and Darfur.

Thank you for your prompt action.

Sincerely,

Mohamed Elgadi , The Democratic Alliance
mailto:mohamedelgadi@yahoo.
Lou Ann Merkle, Darfur Alert Coalition
lamerkle@comcast.net
Philadelphia, PA (USA)- August 4th, 2005