Jackson Lee/Darfur Protest Update
Vince Leibowitz | Apr 28, 2006 | Comments 2
[Update: Via Nate at Common Sense, we have video: Windows Media Player verison here, QuickTime here, both from PoliticsTV.com].
Here’s Congresswoman Jackson Lee’s comments from her press release on today’s protest. I’ve also obtained a pic of her arrest:
On Friday April 28, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will stand with other Members of Congress, civic leaders and students in an act of conscience to protest the Sudanese government and its hand in the Darfur genocide. This act of civil disobedience will take place at the Sudanese Embassy here in Washington, DC.
What is happening in the African nation of Darfur is an international tragedy and it is time for the violence to be stopped. Over 300,000 people have died and 2 million are now homeless. Countless women and young girls have been raped and children have been mutilated.
“I am proud to stand side by side with my Colleagues as we raise public awareness of the genocide in Darfur and work to build a lasting peace in that region of western Sudan. By taking this stand today we hope to teach others that Darfur is an important step in raising awareness and pressuring the Bush Administration to become more engaged in ending the suffering of those in the Darfur region.”
Over the last four years, more than 400,000 lives have been lost and over 2 million people have been forced from their homes as a result of a genocide undertaken against the African peoples of Darfur by the government of the Sudan and its Janjaweed militia. A campaign of the mass murder of unarmed civilians, of mass rape and torture, and the systematic destruction of villages and crops has been waged. Despite condemnations from many quarters, this genocide continues unabated today.
“We need the U.S. to take leadership in the process of achieving a resolution and to stop this genocide,†stated Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
Sheila Jackson Lee’s standing up for something very important. Remember Bosnia? It’s time we take action, real action.
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Filed Under: Texas Congressional Delegation
To give you some perspective: Darfour is about the size of Texas. Imagine that the entire populations of Midland, Odessa & Lubbock were murdered. Every resident of San Antonio and Austin had been forced from their homes. Most every female in all five cities had been raped.
Speak out against genocide at the Darfur Rally at the Capitol in Austin, TX on April 30.
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
South steps of the Capitol building
112 East 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701
Contact: Alan Potash, Director CRC/ADL
Phone: (512) 735-8012
Email: JCAACommunityRelations@jcaaonline.org
Join us at this important event as we speak out and give a voice to the voiceless. Help us raise awareness about the genocide going on in Darfur. This event is being held at the same time as the national rally in D.C. as a call to our government to take greater action in ending the injustices. For more information about the atrocities please visit:
http://www.ajws.org/
http://act.darfurgenocide.org/DG/BetteMidler.cfm
http://www.savedarfur.org/
http://www.darfurinfo.org/
http://www.darfurgenocide.org/
http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sudan/index.do