U.S. Lawmaker Praises Bush's Timely Reaction to Darfur Crisis
09 May 2006
Representative Chris Smith cites "strong leadership" by president
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Representative Chris Smith (Republican of New Jersey), who in the past has voiced disappointment with the slow reaction of international donors to the Darfur crisis, praised President Bush for showing "strong leadership" after the president outlined immediate steps to bring relief to the more than 2 million people suffering because of events in western Sudan.
Smith's comments followed May 8 televised comments by Bush in which the president said he would ask Congress for $225 million in extra emergency funding for Darfur and pledged immediately to send five ships carrying food aid to Sudan. The president also committed to purchase another 40,000 metric tons of food for "rapid shipment" there, and to work with NATO to buttress 7,000 beleaguered African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. (See related article.)
Because of a lack of funds, the U.N. World Food Programme has cut food rations in Darfur camps by 50 percent in May, an act affecting close to 2.8 million people.
In a statement released after the president's speech, Smith said, "On the heels of the peace agreement [signed May 5 in Abuja between the Khartoum government and a leading rebel group in Darfur], the proposals offered by President Bush today are reflective of his strong leadership on Darfur."
In his speech, Bush said, "America and other nations must work quickly to increase security on the ground in Darfur." To that end, he said, he phoned Sudanese President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir,"both to commend him on his work for this [Abuja] agreement and to urge the government to express clear support for a U.N. force."
Smith, who visited refugee camps in Darfur in August 2005, said: "Our first priority must be to help create a sense of security so that refugees and IDPs [internally displaced persons] can return to their homes and rebuild. Today's actions [by Bush] are another step in that direction."
Smith added, "Though we have much more to do in order to achieve a lasting piece, it is my hope that the momentum [Bush spurred] toward that goal continues to grow."
The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003, when local militias called Jingaweit began raiding and destroying the villages of fellow Muslim Darfurians in a campaign backed by the Sudanese government in Khartoum.
In his May 8 address, Bush said: "About 200,000 people have died from conflict, famine and disease. And more than 2 million were forced into camps inside and outside their country [mainly in Chad], unable to plant crops or rebuild their villages. I've called this massive violence an act of genocide because no other word captures the extent of this tragedy." (See related article.)
At the same time, Bush made clear the immediate U.S. goals in Darfur: "We want civilians to return safely to their villages and rebuild their lives. That work has begun, and completing it will require even greater effort by many nations."
He added, "The European Union, and nations like Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Japan have taken leadership on other humanitarian issues, and the people of Darfur urgently need more of their help now."
With that in mind, Bush sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to New York May 9 to work for more assistance for Darfur at the United Nations.
A State Department fact sheet released after the president's speech touched on the scale of the humanitarian crisis, noting, "The United States continues to be the largest single donor to Sudan, providing more than 85 percent of the food distributed by the [U.N.] World Food Program (WFP), more than $300 million in other humanitarian assistance for Darfur and $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2005 funds overall to both Darfur and other regions of Sudan."
With the immediate goal of restoring food rations, the document said, the U.S. government "is taking numerous steps to help enable WFP to restore full food aid rations in June and July, including immediately shipping 2,850 metric tons of non-cereal commodities valued at $5.1 million to Sudan," in addition to the purchase of 40,000 metric tons of food promised by Bush.
In addition to immediate food aid, the U.S. government also has provided $16.8 million for initiatives aimed at alleviating violence against women in Darfur. This includes funding for rape centers and providing for protection of women as they go about their daily chores.
The fact sheet is available on the State Department Web site.
For more information, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
