Ben Cardin: “the people of the Darfur region of Sudan are crying out for help during their time of despair. It is time for the U.S.…”

“the people of the Darfur region of Sudan are crying out for help during their time of despair. It is time for the U.S. Government to exercise greater international leadership and take greater strides to stave off a humanitarian disaster. Darfur has been identified as genocide and the international community is permitting it to continue. This is not acceptable. It is not enough to posture and threaten the government in Khartoum. It is time to exercise moral leadership and exercise more muscular diplomacy in an area where so little has been accomplished for so many. The conflict in Darfur has been raging for 4 years. Since 2003, the Sudanese Government and its allied Janjaweed militia have been fighting the rebel Sudanese Liberation Army--SLA, and the Justice and Equality Movement--JEM. The SLA and the JEM claimed their aim was to force the Sudanese Government to address the underdevelopment and political marginalization in the region. In response, the government and the Janjaweed targeted the region's civilian population and the ethnic groups from which the rebels draw their support. Since the fighting began, over 200,000 people have been killed. Approximately 3 million people have fled to internal displacement camps within Darfur, or to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic--C.A.R. None of these options have shielded them from violence as the Janjaweed has patrolled outside the camps and Sudanese warplanes have attacked inside Chad and C.A.R.…”