Doyle Calls for Action at Darfur Rally

Washington, D.C. – May 18, 2008 – U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (PA-14) made the following statement this afternoon as part of a rally and march in downtown Pittsburgh to call attention to the ongoing campaign of genocide currently underway in the Darfur region of Sudan:

"I'm proud to join you here today at this march and rally to remember the more than 2700 villages in Darfur that have been destroyed or damaged by the Sudanese government and its tribal allies.

"Some catastrophes are just too big for us to get our minds around – the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in China, for example. But those were natural disasters. There's nothing that anybody could do to stop or prevent them.

"What's especially disturbing about Darfur is that this atrocity is man-made. 400,000 people have died, and 4 million people have been displaced. Countless thousands have been raped, beaten, and tortured and forced to flee for their lives.

"I see a number of marchers carrying signs with the names of some of the villages that have been attacked by the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed militias over the last 5 years. These are sad but important reminders of what’s been done to the innocent civilians living in the Darfur region of Sudan.

"According to the best available estimates, two thousand, seven hundred and fifty one villages in Darfur have been destroyed or damaged– that's an incredible number. And it doesn't even count the villages across the border in Chad and the Central African Republic that have been attacked as well. But I don't think that this number alone can begin to convey the devastation and brutality of what’s been done by the Sudanese government to its own citizens.

"I would urge anyone who wants to get a better handle on what that many destroyed villages means to get on a computer and check out Darfur on Google Earth. Just keep scrolling across the map of Darfur. You'll see thousands of burnt-out huts and ruined villages. The people who used to live there are, for the most part, dead or displaced. Many were raped and beaten. Some are probably in captivity being tortured. And millions more are at risk of death from violence, disease, and starvation.

"These horrors must stop, but the Sudanese government continues to commit more atrocities. Just two weeks ago, for example, the Sudanese military bombed a schoolhouse, killing half a dozen children and adults. Last weekend, rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement launched an attack on the Sudanese capital itself, and in response the government launched a brutal crackdown on suspected opponents in Khartoum and ramped up its military activity in Darfur.

"I don't mean to suggest that the rebels are blameless. Many of them are nothing more than bandits and murderers. But the government has created this state of affairs, and the government remains the greatest single obstacle to ending the violence.

"That's why events like this are critically important. We need to keep pressuring our government to place its top priority on working with the international community to compel the Sudanese government to end the killing and allow the UNAMID peacekeeping force into the country to carry out its mission. Events like this help raise the public’s awareness about Darfur and motivate them to take action.

"I'd urge everyone who wants to stop the genocide in Darfur to ask your Representatives and Senators to urge President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing unless China changes its policies in Sudan and puts pressure on the Sudanese government to end the genocide and allow the UNAMID peacekeeping force to do its job. Specifically, I'd ask you to urge your Congressmen and women to cosponsor House Resolution 1093, which calls upon the President to do just that. I'm pleased to note that I’m an original cosponsor of this important bill. If enough of our representatives sign on, I'm confident the President will get the message!

"I want to thank you all for coming out to express your compassion and concern for the people of Darfur. God bless you. Please keep up the fight."