US steps up Sudan pressure

WASHINGTON – US Congress members on Tuesday sought to declare a “genocide” in Sudan’s Darfur region in hopes of spurring UN action, and US President George W. Bush urged the Sudanese government to resolve the crisis.

“I call upon the government of Sudan to stop the Janjaweed violence. I call on all parties of the conflict to respect the cease-fire, to respect human rights, and to allow for the free movements of humanitarian workers and aid,” Bush told African ambassadors at a White House bill-signing ceremony.His comments follow a State Department criticism on Monday that the Sudanese government has not done enough to end the violence.Also on Tuesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushed for the US Congress to declare genocide is occurring in Darfur, a step they said would pressure the United Nations to take action to protect Africans in the region from Arab militias.Marauding government-backed militias known as Janjaweed have put hundreds of thousands of people at risk of death from starvation or illness as the rainy season approaches, US officials say.”While the world debates about what we should do, people continue to die in Darfur.It is time to end the debate and start saving lives,” Sen.Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican just back from Darfur, said at a news conference.The United Nations has declared the situation in Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, as villages have been levelled and thousands of people have been killed or raped.But it has stopped short of declaring a genocide, which under a 1948 convention would require UN action.The resolution being pushed by US lawmakers declares “that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan are genocide”.- Nampa-ReutersI call on all parties of the conflict to respect the cease-fire, to respect human rights, and to allow for the free movements of humanitarian workers and aid,” Bush told African ambassadors at a White House bill-signing ceremony.His comments follow a State Department criticism on Monday that the Sudanese government has not done enough to end the violence.Also on Tuesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushed for the US Congress to declare genocide is occurring in Darfur, a step they said would pressure the United Nations to take action to protect Africans in the region from Arab militias.Marauding government-backed militias known as Janjaweed have put hundreds of thousands of people at risk of death from starvation or illness as the rainy season approaches, US officials say.”While the world debates about what we should do, people continue to die in Darfur.It is time to end the debate and start saving lives,” Sen.Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican just back from Darfur, said at a news conference.The United Nations has declared the situation in Darfur the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, as villages have been levelled and thousands of people have been killed or raped.But it has stopped short of declaring a genocide, which under a 1948 convention would require UN action.The resolution being pushed by US lawmakers declares “that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan are genocide”.- Nampa-Reuters