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International outcry re #Germany’s #Sudan investment conference. NGOs and #genocide scholars request cancellation http://bit.ly/140p6je
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
Conference will “help to fund more atrocities against civilians,” say groups
January 21, 2013 – As Germany prepares for a conference in Berlin on January 29 to promote investments in Sudan, human rights organizations, genocide scholars and Sudan advocates around the world sent an open letter to the German government asking that the conference be cancelled. The letter states, “Efforts to promote investments in Sudan are premature and put the international community at risk of funding a government that continues to perpetrate massive human rights violations against its own people.”
The letter was signed by 68 international organizations, 14 genocide scholars and other notable human rights advocates. Among those signing were genocide experts Eric Reeves and Sam Totten, and Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih, U.S. Department of State 2012 International Women of Courage Award Winner. The letter was coordinated by Act for Sudan, a bipartisan, interfaith alliance of American and Sudanese grassroots advocacy groups.
The letter warns that holding the conference would place “Germany squarely in the role of generating financial support for the genocidal Sudanese regime. ” It states, “The National Congress Party (NCP) regime in Sudan, led by a president indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is causing the death, starvation, displacement, and destruction of livelihood of Sudanese civilians in Darfur, Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and the Blue Nile state.”
“Without real, on-the-ground progress in Sudan, Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur, Sudan’s history of genocidal violence makes it extremely likely that this conference, hosted by Germany, will help to fund more atrocities against civilians. Please cancel the conference to avoid raising funds that will help support genocide,” the letter concludes.
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Act for Sudan is an alliance of American citizen activists and Sudanese U.S. residents who advocate for an end to genocide and mass atrocities in Sudan. Act for Sudan is dedicated to advocacy that is directly informed by the situation on the ground and by Sudanese people who urgently seek protection, justice, and peace. For more information please visit www.actforsudan.org.
CONTACT: Susan Morgan, 617 797 0451, susan@paxcommunications.org
Elizabeth Blackney, 541 390 1913, eliz@medializzy.com
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
January 21, 2013
Minister Guido Westerwelle
German Foreign Minister
Federal Foreign Office
Auswärtiges Amt
D-11013 Berlin
Dear Minister Westerwelle,
We, the undersigned international NGOs and genocide scholars, are writing to protest Germany’s plans to host an international conference to promote investment in Sudan on January 29, 2013 in Berlin. We ask that you cancel this conference that places Germany squarely in the role of generating financial support for the genocidal Sudanese regime.
As you know, genocide continues in Sudan. The National Congress Party (NCP) regime in Sudan, led by a president indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, is causing the death, starvation, displacement, and destruction of livelihood of Sudanese civilians in Darfur, Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and the Blue Nile state.
Among the issues of greatest concern are the fact that unlawful attacks against civilians continue in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Darfur, and the East even as the Government of Sudan continues to restrict movement and access for international humanitarian aid organizations operating throughout Sudan. Further key issues with South Sudan remain unresolved, including final definition and demarcation of the north-south border and the final status of the Abyei area. People across Sudan who protest the current regime are denied basic rights and face attack, arrest and torture.
Efforts to promote investments in Sudan are premature and put the international community at risk of funding a government that continues to perpetrate massive human rights violations against its own people. Such investments should not occur prior to a cessation of attacks on civilians, the granting of unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan, and a clear demonstration of progress on all remaining issues, including an inclusive constitutional review process followed by free and fair elections.
Without real, on-the-ground progress in Sudan, Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Darfur, Sudan’s history of genocidal violence makes it extremely likely that this conference, hosted by Germany, will help to fund more atrocities against civilians. Please cancel the conference to avoid raising funds that will help support genocide.
Act for Sudan
Martina Knee, Co-Founder
USA
Africa Action Group
Paul Muortat, Director
London, UK
African Soul, American Heart
Debra Dawson, President
Fargo, ND, USA
Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan
Joan Hecht, Founder and President
Jacksonville, FL, USA
Allied CSOs and Solidarity Groups for the Peoples of Sudan
Mohamed Yassin, Coordinator
Selvazzano Dentro Padua, Italy
Americans Against the Darfur Genocide
Nikki Serapio, Director
Washington, DC, USA
Armenian National Committee of America
Aram Hamparian, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA
Arry Organization for Human Rights and Development
Osman Naway Habila, General Director
Kansas City, MO, USA
Peter Balakian
Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities, Colgate University
Hamilton, NY, USA
Beja Congress, Greater Washington D.C. Chapter
Ibrahim T. Ahmed, Representative
Fairfax, VA, USA
Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development
Ibrahim T. Ahmed, Co-founder and Executive Director
Fairfax, VA, USA
Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan
Laura Limuli, Coordinator
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Center for Human Rights and Genocide Studies, University of North Dakota
Gregory S. Gordon, Director
Grand Forks, ND, USA
“Change the world. It just takes cents” TM
Sara Caine Kornfeld, Founder/Educator
Denver, CO, USA
Christian Solidarity International – USA
Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach
Denver, CO, USA
Church Alliance for a New Sudan, The Institute on Religion and Democracy
Faith J. H. McDonnell, Director
Washington, DC, USA
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Executive Director
Falls Church, VA, USA
Darfur Action Group of SC
Richard Sribnick, Chairman
Columbia, SC, USA
Darfur and Beyond
Cory Williams, Co-Founder
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Darfur Culture
Mohammadain Ishag, President
Antwerpen, Belgium
Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Abdelgabar Adam, Founder and President
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Darfur Interfaith Network
Richard Young, Co-Chair
Washington, DC, USA
Darfur People’s Association of New York
Ahmat Nour, President
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Darfur Women Action Group
Niemat Ahmadi, President
Washington, DC, USA
Darfurian Association of Greater Houston
Suliman Awadalla, Executive Director
Houston, TX, USA
Dear Sudan, Love Marin
Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator
Tiburon, CA, USA
Helen Fein
Board Chair, Institute for the Study of Genocide
New York, NY, USA
Fur Solidarity USA
Adam Mohamed Ahmed Yahya, President
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Genocide No More
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator
Redding, CA, USA
Genocide Watch, George Mason University
Dr. Gregory Stanton, President
Arlington, VA, USA
GeNoticed
Elizabeth Blackney, Co-Founder, Author and Anti-genocide advocate
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
GIRIFNA
Dalia Haj-Omar, Advocacy Team member
France
John Hagan
Professor, Department of Sociology, Northwestern University
Evanston, IL, USA
Maureen S. Hiebert
Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Senior Fellow, Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Humanity is Us
Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder
New York, NY, USA
Idaho Darfur Coalition
A. J. Fay, Co-Founder
Boise, ID, USA
IKV Pax Christi
Nico Plooijer, Program Manager
Netherlands
Investors Against Genocide
Eric Cohen, Chairperson
Boston, MA, USA
Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention
Elihu D Richter, Founder
Jerusalem, Israel
Jews Against Genocide
Sharon Silber, Co-founder
New York, NY, USA
Joining Our Voices
Jack Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director
Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Adam Jones
Associate Professor, Political Science, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Kentuckiana Interfaith Taskforce On Darfur (KITOD)
Phil Nippert, Chairperson
Louisville, KY, USA
Koinonian Nuba
Juma Idriss Kuku, Coordinator
Juba, South Sudan
Gilbert D. Kulick
United States Foreign Service Officer, Retired
New York, NY, USA
Kurdistan Without Genocide
A, Mahmud, Director
Arbil, Iraq
Lane County Darfur Coalition
Roz Slovic, Coordinator
Eugene, OR, USA
Lifeline for Development and Humanitarian Aid
Hussein Idriss Momed, President
Niamey, Niger
Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
William Rosenfeld, Director
Boston, MA, USA
Never Again Coalition
Diane Koosed, Co-Chair
Portland, OR, USA
New York Coalition for Sudan
Neiki Ullah, Director of Communications and Advocacy
New York, NY, USA
New York Darfur Vigil Group
Helga Moor, Coordinator
New York, NY, USA
Nuba Mountains International Association USA
Magid Kabashi, Secretary for Information
Ashburn, VA, USA
One Million Bones
Naomi Natale, Director and Founder
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Operation Broken Silence
Mark C. Hackett, CEO, Executive Director
Memphis, TN, USA
Our Humanity in the Balance
Terry Nickelson
Asheville, NC, USA
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
David Rosenberg, Coordinator
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Eric Reeves
Sudan Researcher
Northampton, MA, USA
Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih
U.S. Department of State 2012 International Women of Courage Award Winner
Flemington, NJ, USA
Same Difference Interfaith Alliance
Eileen Weiss, Managing Director
New York, NY, USA
San Antonio Coalition Against Genocide
Susan Smylie, Coordinator of Advocacy
San Antonio, TX, USA
San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Mohamed Suleiman, President
San Francisco, CA, USA
Shine a Ray of Hope
Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator
New Rochelle, NY, USA
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Rev. Lowell Grisham, Rector
Fayetteville, AK, USA
Roger W. Smith
Professor, Department of Government, College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA, USA
Ervin Staub
Professor Emeritus, Founding Director of the Psychology of Peace, Violence Program, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Author of Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict and Terrorism
Amherst, MA, USA
Stop Genocide Now
>Gabriel Stauring, Director and Founder
Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Sudan Advocacy Action Forum
Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator
Birmingham, AL, USA
Sudan Center for Conflict Resolution and Development
Adeeb Yousif, General Manager
Kampala, Uganda
Sudan Unlimited
Esther Sprague, Director
San Francisco, CA, USA
Sudanese Activist/Vienna
Ahmed Noorin, Coordinator
Vienna, Austria
Sudanese American Public Affairs Association
Amir Libis, Ph.d, Executive Board Member
Alexandria, VA, USA
THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy
Joseph K Grieboski, Founder and Chairman of the Board
Alexandria, VA, USA
Dr. Samuel Totten
Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (Transaction, 2012)
Fayetteville, AR, USA
Unite For Darfur
Bahar Arabie, CEO, Author of Darfur, Road to Genocide
Rockville, MD, USA
United Sudanese and South Sudanese Community Association (USASSCA)
Henry Lejukole, Chairman
Des Moines, IA, USA
Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI
Sandra Hammel, Director
Portsmouth, RI, USA
Nikolaos Uzunoglu
Professor, National Technical University of Athens
Athens, Greece
Voices for Sudan
Jimmy Mulla, Founder and President
Washington, DC, USA
Waging Peace
Olivia Warham, Director
London, United Kingdom
John H. Weiss
Director and Associate Professor of History Cornell University
Ithaca, NY, USA
CC: H.E. Ms. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Ambassador Dr. Peter Wittig, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN
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