Washington, D.C. — Congressman G. K. Butterfield has returned from a weeklong fact-finding mission to Sudan’s Darfur region as part of an eleven-member Congressional delegation headed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
“The reports of genocide are true and the international community must demand an end to the ethnic cleansing taking place,” Butterfield said. “I’m outraged that the government of Sudan enables lawless rebel factions to roam freely and murder innocent men, women and children. The Sundanese government is complicit in a genocide that must be brought to an end.”
Butterfield and Hoyer were joined on the trip by Congressmen John Barrow, D-Ga., Jim Costa, D-Calif., Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Ray LaHood, R-Ill., Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Brad Miller, D-N.C., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif.
The delegation traveled to El Fasher, in West Darfur. While there, they visited El Salaam Internally Displaced Persons Camp, and met with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) Force Commander, Major General Luke Aprezi, at AMIS Headquarters. The delegation also met with United Nations (UN) officials working on the ground, including the UN Mission in Sudan, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Butterfield said that he saw tens of thousands of Sundanese refugees in the camps where people live in straw huts and rely on the support of humanitarian aid from the U.S. and non-governmental organizations. Butterfield said that there are only 5,000 African Union military personnel force stationed in Darfur, which is much smaller than is needed to stop the genocide. The force also lacks the cooperation of the Sudanese government, Butterfield said.
“Sudan’s government does not want military personnel on their soil from non-African countries,” Butterfield said. “They feel that a solution can be reached if the rebel groups can negotiate with government officials. But that has not happened and does not appear to be likely to happen. In the meantime, thousands of innocent people are being murdered every day.”
Butterfield said that he agrees with the UN that at least 20,000 additional soldiers must be deployed immediately to insure the end to violence and genocide. Butterfield also said that the U.S. must demand that China and European countries must cut their economic ties with Sudan to pressure the country to cooperate with efforts to end the genocide.
Butterfield explained that Sudan’s gross domestic product is increasing by 13% and climbing, but despite the growing economy the government refuses to use its resources to stop the genocide.
Butterfield said that one of the reasons he was invited to be part of the delegation was his recent appointment to the Helsinki Commission. It is an independent U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act. The commission engages setting standards for military security, economic and environmental cooperation, and human rights and humanitarian concerns. Butterfield said that he hopes that the U.S. and European nations can come together to help to quickly resolve the crisis in Sudan.
The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine members from the U.S. House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.
The crisis in Darfur began in 2003 when two rebel groups emerged to challenge the National Congress Party (NCP) government in Darfur. The conflict has led to a major humanitarian disaster, with an estimated 2 million people displaced, more than 234,000 people forced into neighboring Chad, and an estimated 450,000 people killed.
In July 2004, the House and Senate declared the atrocities in Darfur genocide, and the Bush Administration reached the same conclusion in September 2004. On May 4, 2006, the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed after almost two years of negotiations, but it was rejected by two groups and the violence continues.
In August 2006, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1706, authorizing the deployment of a robust peacekeeping force to Darfur. Sudanese President Omar Bashir rejected the deployment of a United Nations force. In December 2006, the Security Council issued a Presidential Statement effectively abandoning Resolution 1706. The proposed new force will continue to have a predominantly African composition and will be led by the African Union and an African Force Commander.
After visiting Sudan, the delegation traveled to Egypt and had a 90-minute meeting with Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak. The delegation expressed to President Mubarak that he has the ability to persuade Sudan to take a strong stand against the violence and permit UN forces to enter the country to secure the peace. President Mubarak pledged to telephone Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and encourage him to insist that the rebel factions join a peace process that ends with an enforced agreement.
The delegation trip also included a stop in Athens, Greece, for a dinner with Dora Bakoyannis, Greece’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Bakoyannis was the former mayor of Athens and she may soon become the country’s first female prime minister.
Before returning to Andrews AFB, the Congressional delegation visited U.S. armed services members who are hospitalized at the military hospital in Germany.
“Many of our soldiers have a long road to recovery,” Butterfield said. “And many have disabilities that will require medical care for the remainder of their lives. It’s important that we remember the sacrifices these brave men and woman have made, and our government has a duty to ensure they get the best possible care.”