Today is Illinois' day during the Sudan Sham 2010. The main goal of this campaign is to get all 50 states to address their politicians and President about the upcoming elections in Sudan. Along with the fact that Obama did not mention Darfur in his State of the Union Address, according to this article from the Washington Post, "The U.S. special envoy to Sudan warned Wednesday that efforts to bring peace to the country's troubled Darfur region could become less of a priority for the Obama administration if a full-fledged peace agreement is not reached before Sudanese elections scheduled for mid-April."
These elections are very hopeful as years have passed without one with more than one party, and there is a possibility that South Sudan can secede from the state, but the U.S. is not being wary enough. Millions of our taxpayer dollars are spent on elections that may not be fair, and there was a tentative peace agreement put in place in February that has not prevented violence from occurring in Darfur.
Some states have not even signed on to the campaign, so it is very important that everyone from Illinois participates in its actions.
Here are our actions:
Text Secretary Clinton at 90822:
“Stop support of Sudan Sham elections! Work for the peace, protection and justice the civilians deserve.”
Call Senator Durbin at (202) 224-2152:
“I urge you to stop support of Sudan Sham elections this April and instead focus your attention on working for FAIR and FREE elections in Darfur.”
Call the White House at (202) 456-1111:
"This April, Sudan will hold its first elections in 24 years, yet its current political conditions prevent free and fair elections from taking place. With violence and human rights violations escalating in Sudan, unlawful elections will force the country even farther from peace. We cannot allow our government to support these elections and legitimize a corrupt government."
Sign online petition at: www.sudansham2010.org.
How legitimate is an indicted war criminal, after he steals an election?
I love this post. Great way to combine comments on a problem with a real way to help. I just signed the petition. I really cannot believe that this conflict hasn't been resolved. I remember talking about the Darfur problem freshman year in Global Activism club and assuming that it would eventually be taken care of. The number of lives that have been extinguished, the screams of pain, both emotional and physical, since I sat in a nice warm classroom literally gives me goosebumps. This NEEDS to be higher on America's to do list. I don't understand how we can be so close with China when China continues to be such a large supporter of Sudan (before you even consider china's own human rights violations).
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