Donald M. Payne: “I want to take time this evening to talk about a very serious situation occurring in Africa as we speak, a situation of…”

“I want to take time this evening to talk about a very serious situation occurring in Africa as we speak, a situation of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, Sudan, and Sudan's vicious campaign of terror which it is raining on its people. Mr. Speaker, in June 2001, I came to this floor to speak about slavery and genocide perpetrated against the people of southern Sudan. I said then that innocent civilians are the victims in this war. We are well aware of the number of people killed, maimed, displaced and enslaved during that terrible conflict, which still goes on. Yet we as members of the international community failed to do the right thing, to end the suffering. In the north-south conflict, more than 2 million people perished and an estimated 5 million people have been displaced during the 40 years of this dread conflict. It is the same government that terrorized, enslaved and killed innocent civilians in the southern Sudan and the Nuba that is now yet again engaged in a terror campaign in Darfur in western Sudan.”