July 12, 2012

AfS Letter to the Editor

Filed under Media & Press

Act for Sudan’s response to New York Times article, The Folly of Sudan and South Sudan:

Your editorial “The Folly of Sudan and South Sudan” should have focused on “The Folly of the United States” rather than blaming South Sudan in its struggle against Sudan’s aggression.

Sudan’s president Bashir is wanted by the ICC for genocide and continues to perpetrate crimes against humanity in the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Darfur. The U.S. should confront the Bashir regime and increase pressure to end its 23 years of mass atrocities. Incredibly, the U.S. opposes regime change. Special Envoy Princeton Lyman has clearly stated, “we do not want to see the ouster of the [Sudanese] regime, nor regime change.”

Instead, the U.S. is pressuring South Sudan to cut an oil deal that would alleviate pressure on the regime in the north and provide Bashir with the funding to continue to kill civilians.

The Obama administration chooses a deadly folly by appeasing Bashir rather than helping to oust him.

Eric Cohen
Co-founder, Act for Sudan