Political Quotes

“three weeks ago, I received two conflicting messages regarding the situation in Sudan. One was a May 24 press release from the Sudanese embassy announcing, with great fanfare, that the Government of Sudan had taken ``a unilateral step toward peace'' by declaring an immediate halt to aerial bombing attacks in the south and the Nuba Mountains. The other message, from Catholic clergy members, reported that the priests living in southern parts of the El Obeid Diocese had been driven into the bush by ``ferocious assaults by Sudanese government forces.'' As additional reports filtered out of this remote area of the Nuba Mountains from a variety of sources, it became clear that the Government of Sudan had launched a massive ground and air attack while it was simultaneously issuing press releases about its commitment to peace. Government forces burned more than 2,000 homes during this attack. They apparently hope to starve the local population, still at large, into concentration camps called, in the best Orwellian tradition, ``Peace Villages.'' This contrast between word and deed underlines the importance of today's consideration of the Sudan Peace Act.”