The Darfur Report

Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide on April 30th in Washington, D.C. On
Sunday April 30th, over 70,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. on the
National Mall to rally against the genocide in Darfur. Attending the rally
were a vast number of religious, political and humanitarian organizations as
well as students of all ages from across the United States. This event
aimed to create further awareness of the situation in Darfur and to
encourage President Bush that more needs to be done to end the genocide.
Speakers in Washington included JCPA Executive Director Steve Gutow, AJWS
President Ruth Messinger, Religious Action Center Director Rabbi David
Saperstein, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Senator Barack Obama and other
Congressional leaders. In addition, George and Nick Clooney, Olympic speed
skater Joey Cheek, Capt. Brian Steidle, Paul Rusesabagina, religious leaders
and other activists also addressed the crowd.

Rev. Gloria White Hammond of the Save Darfur Coalition announced that only a
month ago the Coalition had received a mere 120,000 postcards, but with
recent coverage of the rally and the Million Voices for Darfur Campaign, as
of April 30th the Save Darfur Coalition had more than 760,000 signed
postcards thanking President Bush for his engagement on this issue and
encouraging his administration to push for further action.

Other rallies and events across the United States were held in: San
Francisco, Chicago, Portland OR, St. Paul MN, Austin TX, Tucson, Dallas TX,
Boca Raton, New York, Eugene OR, Seattle, Somerville NJ, Boulder CO,
Prescott AZ, Plymouth MA, Rutland VT, Ipswich MA, Vancouver and Toronto

LEGISLATION

Among the amendments the Senate adopted by voice vote on Wednesday, April
3rd, were two Democratic proposals intended to aid peacekeeping in Sudan.
The first amendment
<http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/NEWS01
/60504003/1006> , by New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez, would designate an
additional $60 million in State Department funding included in the bill for
peacekeeping in Darfur in Western Sudan. The provision aligns the Senate
bill with the House version, providing about $130 million in peacekeeping
assistance to Darfur.

"The $60 million my amendment offers will help put an end to the senseless
murder and displacement of the people of Darfur," Menendez said. "If it were
American lives at stake, I am certain we would find the money to act."

The Senate also agreed by voice vote to an amendment by Joseph R. Biden Jr.,
of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, that would
establish a special envoy to Sudan. The amendment would allow up to $250,000
in State Department funds provided in the bill to be used to establish the
envoy office, intended to work with local officials to promote peace in the
region.


CURRENT EVENTS IN DARFUR

The Washington Post reports today that a proposal drafted by the United
States and Britain to help end the war in Sudan's Darfur region meets key
rebel demands and could set the stage for a peace accord, a rebel negotiator
said Thursday. The negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity because
the parties involved had been asked not to reveal details of the proposal,
said the proposal called for thousands of rebels to be integrated into
Sudanese security forces. Sudanese government officials were not
immediately available for comment. The negotiator said the draft called for
a minimum of 4,000 rebels to be integrated into Sudan's armed forces and
another 1,000 in the police force. In addition, 3,000 rebels would be given
training and education to prepare them for civilian life. The negotiator
said the concessions from the Sudanese government made agreement possible,
though the rebels remain concerned about security arrangements. Sudan
appeared ready Wednesday to agree to faster disarmament of Arab militias in
Darfur and to accept more rebels into its security forces, a government
spokesman said.



Bush Urges Sudan to Continue With Peace Talks
<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/world/africa/03sudan.html?_r=1&oref=slogi
n> - The New York Times reported yesterday that President Bush called
Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on Tuesday, urging him to send a
senior representative back to peace talks in Nigeria intended to end the
carnage in Darfur, as international pressure mounted on Sudan and the Darfur
rebels to reach an agreement. At the United Nations, Basile Ikouebe of the
Congo Republic, president of the Security Council this month, announced that
the leaders of five African states the Congo Republic, South Africa,
Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt, "and possibly others" would converge shortly in
Abuja, Nigeria, where the talks are being held, to press for an agreement.
And in Abuja, Robert B. Zoellick, the deputy secretary of state, was joined
by senior officials from Britain, Canada and the European Union in meetings
with all of the parties to the talks. Mr. Zoellick said the mediators had
told him they were extending the talks once again by at least a day beyond
the midnight Tuesday deadline, local time. But with Mr. Bush's phone call
and a stream of national leaders and diplomats arriving in Abuja, the
pressure on the Sudanese government and the rebels is intense and mounting,
unlike any previous moment in the three-year history of the murderous Darfur
conflict.

'ER' puts Darfur tragedy in dramatic spotlight
<http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/nor
thern_california/14483121.htm> - The Associated Press reported that more
often than not, television has looked away from the complex, searing reality
of Darfur. The three network evening newscasts devoted less than a combined
10 minutes so far this year to the political and ethnic conflict that has
killed at least 180,000 and driven 2 million more from their homes since
2003. On Thursday, an entertainment show will quadruple the broadcast news
Darfur allotment. NBC's "ER" puts Dr. Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) in the
thick of the desperate situation with former colleague Dr. John Carter (Noah
Wyle). The result is urgent drama aimed at jolting viewers into recognition
of the immense suffering taking place. "Darfur is a glaring example of a
situation in the world that people don't know enough about, that they need
to know more about and, hopefully, help start to find solutions," said "ER"
executive producer David Zabel. The potential audience is big. The nightly
newscasts on NBC, ABC and CBS attract roughly 7 million to 9 million viewers
each while "ER," although no longer among TV's top-rated series in its 12th
season, averages more than 12 million viewers.