On October 8th, Sudanese government proxies attacked and destroyed a village controlled by the Sudanese Liberation Army, a group with which they have an established cease-fire. 100 people were killed and the town was razed.
This shameful act underscores the need for swift action on the world community’s part to halt the genocide. We need the Bush Administration to put some of its highest ranking diplomats on this issue, giving it the attention it deserves. We need to target Sudan’s economic partners, such as China, to force change in Khartoum. We need to prevent the conflict from spreading to neighboring nations such as Chad. The regime is not the only group we should engage, but also the rebel groups and we should moderate productive discussions between them officially. Finally, if we are to stand for international law against genocide, we should join the International Criminal Court.
These six steps are Governor Richardson’s plan to end the genocide. However, we can’t wait till January 20, 2009 to see these policies implemented. We, as citizens, need to stand with the Governor and oppose the outright massacre of innocent civilians every day until the crisis is resolved.
