Mitt Romney has released a statement outlining his views on the government of Sudan’s ongoing history of committing genocide and atrocities, the gravity of the current government-led assaults on civilians, and his commitment to “protect innocents” and ensure that “humanitarian aid reaches those desperately in need.” The statement was provided to Act for Sudan, a bipartisan, interfaith alliance of American and Sudanese advocacy organizations, following the alliance’s request to all presidential candidates to disclose their views on U.S. Sudan policy.
Josh Rogin, at Foreign Policy, wrote this:
Responding to a call from advocacy groups, Mitt Romney‘s campaign has released a statement promising to protect “innocents” and prosecute human rights abuses by the Khartoum government in Sudan and what is now South Sudan.
“Mitt Romney recognizes that for too long far too many Sudanese have been victims of war crimes and other atrocities committed by the government in Khartoum and its proxies,” the Romney campaign said in Tuesday statement. “In Southern Sudan, millions died as a result of ethnic and religious targeted killings during the long civil war. Among those brutally targeted were Christians and adherents of traditional African religions, Dinka, Nuer, and members of other ethnic groups. In Darfur, non-Arab populations have been and continue to be victims of a slow-motion genocide. And since independence of the Republic of South Sudan, Khartoum has committed a range of atrocities in border regions that have claimed countless lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.”
The Romney campaign accused the Khartoum regime, led by President Omar al-Bashir, of inciting and arming rebel groups with the objective of undermining the South Sudanese government, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of South Sudan’s oil money, and impeding the flow of humanitarian assistance.
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