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Skriven 2007-04-18 23:32:06 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704187) for Wed, 2007 Apr 18
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Fact Sheet: Stop the Genocide in Darfur
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary April 18, 2007

Fact Sheet: Stop the Genocide in Darfur

ÿÿWhite House News

ÿÿÿÿÿ President Bush Visits the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Africa

President Bush Announces Steps Encouraging All Parties To Live Up To Their
Agreements

Today, President Bush Visited The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
To Discuss The Genocide That Is Happening In The Darfur Region Of Sudan And
How We Are Working To Stop It. The brutal treatment of innocent civilians
in Darfur is unacceptable to the President and to the United Nations, and
it must stop. Ending the violence requires better security for the people
of Darfur, and progress toward political reconciliation.
  þ The President Announced Steps The Administration Is Prepared To Take If
    Sudanese President Bashir Does Not Meet His Commitments In A Short
    Period Of Time. President Bashir must follow through on the deployment
    of the UN support forces he agreed to, allow the deployment of the
    full, joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, and take every
    necessary step to facilitate its deployment. He must end support for
    the Janjaweed, reach out to rebel leaders, and allow humanitarian aid
    to reach the people of Darfur. He must stop his pattern of destruction
    once and for all. If he does not do so, the Administration is prepared
    to take the following steps:
     1. The Treasury Department will tighten U.S. economic sanctions on
        Sudan, allowing the U.S. to enforce more aggressively existing
        sanctions against the Sudanese government.
     2. The Administration will target sanctions against individuals
        responsible for the violence.
     3. The President will direct Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to
        prepare a new United Nations Security Council resolution.
  þ If Sudan's Obstruction Continues Despite These Measures, We Will Also
    Consider Other Options. The situation does not have to come to that:
      þ The President urges the United Nations Security Council, the
        African Union, and all members of the international community to
        stand behind the Addis Ababa Framework and reject efforts to
        obstruct its implementation.
      þ The President calls on President Bashir to provide his
        unconditional support for this agreement, and to take the concrete
        steps required to carry it out, so that the UN-African Union force
        can deploy and do its work.

America Will Not Back Down From The Evil We Are Now Seeing In Sudan

For 22 Years, Sudan Was Plagued By A Civil War Between The North And South
That Claimed More Than 2 Million Lives. That war came to an end in January
2005, when Sudan's government and rebels in the south signed a
Comprehensive Peace Agreement that the United States helped broker. Under
this historic accord, Sudan has established a Government of National Unity
that includes a First Vice President and other cabinet members from the
country's south. It also established a Government of Southern Sudan that
the United States is providing with aid and other assistance.
  þ Unfortunately, Just As Peace Was Coming To The South, Another Conflict
    Broke Out In The West  Where Rebel Groups In Darfur Attacked
    Government Outposts. To fight this rebellion, the government in
    Khartoum unleashed a horse-mounted militia called the Janjaweed, which
    carried out systematic assaults against innocent civilians.

The Genocide's Human Toll Has Been Staggering. More than 200,000 people
have died from the conflict or from the malnutrition and disease that have
spread in its wake.More than 2 million people have been forced from their
homes and villages into camps both inside and outside their country.

The United States Is Helping Lead The Effort To Stop The Genocide In Darfur

Recent Agreements Represent A Clear Plan To End The Conflict  And If
Implemented, They Would Allow The People Of Darfur To Return Home To Their
Villages Safely And Begin To Rebuild Their Lives In Peace.
  þ Last May, The President Announced An Agreement For Darfur That We
    Helped Broker Between The Sudanese Government And The Largest Rebel
    Group. Under this agreement, Sudan's government promised to disarm the
    Janjaweed and punish all those who violate the cease-fire, and the main
    rebel group agreed to withdraw into specified areas.
  þ In August, The United Nations Followed Up This Agreement With A New
    Security Council Resolution. This resolution authorized the UN Mission
    in Sudan to extend its forces to Darfur  and to transform the existing
    African Union forces into a larger and better equipped UN peacekeeping
    mission.
  þ In November, The United Nations, The African Union, The European Union,
    The Arab League, The Government Of Sudan, The United States, And 12
    Other Nations Reached Another Important Agreement At A Meeting In Addis
    Ababa. This agreement strengthened the terms of the ceasefire,
    re-energized the political process, and called for a joint UN-African
    Union peacekeeping force that would be nearly three times the size of
    the existing African Union force.

Unfortunately, These Agreements Have Been Routinely Violated. Sudan's
government has moved arms to Darfur, conducted bombing raids on villages,
and used military vehicles and aircraft that are painted white, which makes
them look like those deployed by humanitarian agencies and peacekeeping
forces.
  þ President Bashir's Record Has Been To Promise Cooperation While Finding
    New Ways To Subvert And Obstruct The UN's Efforts To Bring Peace To His
    Country. Just this week, Sudan_s government has reached an agreement
    with the United Nations to allow 3,000 UN troops and their equipment
    into the country to support the African Union force. The world has
    heard these promises from Sudan before.

The Time For Promises Is Over, And President Bashir Must Act

The President Announced Several New Steps The Administration Is Prepared To
Take If The Government Of Sudan Does Not Meet Its Commitments:
 1. The Department Of The Treasury Will Tighten U.S. Economic Sanctions On
    Sudan. This new effort will allow the United States to enforce more
    aggressively existing sanctions against Sudan's government, by blocking
    any of its dollar transactions within the U.S. financial system. As
    part of this effort, the Treasury Department will add 29 companies
    owned or controlled by the government of Sudan to its list of Specially
    Designated Nationals. This designation will bar these companies from
    the U.S. financial system and make it a crime for American companies
    and individuals to willfully do business with them.
 2. The Administration Will Target Sanctions Against Individuals
    Responsible For The Violence. The sanctions will isolate designated
    individuals by cutting them off from the U.S. financial system,
    preventing them from doing business with any American citizen or
    company, and calling the world's attention to their crimes. We are also
    prepared to designate more individuals to face similar sanctions.
 3. The President Will Direct Secretary Of State Rice To Prepare A New
    United Nations Security Council Resolution. This resolution will apply
    new sanctions against the government of Sudan and against individuals
    found to be violating human rights or obstructing the peace process. It
    will impose an expanded embargo on arms sales to the government of
    Sudan, prohibit Sudan's government from conducting any offensive
    military flights over Darfur, and strengthen our ability to monitor and
    report on any violations.
      þ In The Next Days, We Will Begin Consulting With Other Security
        Council Members On The Terms Of Such A Resolution.

The United States Will Continue To Bring Relief To The People Of Darfur

The United States Will Continue Our Engagement In Support Of The People Of
Darfur. The Administration is increasing support for the Transitional
Darfur Regional Authority  an interim authority designed to help the
people of Darfur improve local government and build the foundations of a
healthy economy. We are also increasing support for Sudan's First Vice
President and the United Nations and African Union special envoys, who are
working to bring the rebel groups together and get them to sign onto the
peace process.
  þ We Are Continuing Our Humanitarian Assistance To The People Of Darfur.
    Since 2005, the United States has provided more than $2 billion in
    humanitarian relief and development assistance to support those
    affected by the conflict in Darfur and those struggling to rebuild
    their lives in the hard-won peace of the south. These resources
    represent more than 50 percent of all UN-tracked assistance to Sudan.
    We will continue to bring relief to the people of Darfur  and we will
    continue to insist that rebel groups and the Sudanese government allow
    international workers to deliver this relief to the people who depend
    on it.

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