Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ANCA Welcomes Darfur Movement's Statement on al-Bashir Turkey Visit

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ANCA Welcomes Darfur Movement's Statement on al-Bashir Turkey Visit

    Armenian National Committee of America
    1711 N Street, NW
    Washington, DC 20036
    Tel. (202) 775-1918
    Fax. (202) 775-5648
    Email. [email protected]
    Internet www.anca.org

    PRESS RELEASE
    November 5, 2009
    Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
    Tel: (202) 775-1918

    ANCA WELCOMES DARFUR MOVEMENT'S CALL ON PRESIDENT
    OBAMA TO OPPOSE AL-BASHIR'S VISIT TO TURKEY

    WASHINGTON, DC - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
    voiced the Armenian American community's strong support for a human
    rights statement, issued earlier today by a coalition of anti-
    Darfur Genocide groups, calling upon the Obama-Biden Administration
    to protest the upcoming state visit to Turkey of Sudan's President,
    indicted war-criminal Omar al-Bashir.

    The four organizations joining together in making this declaration,
    the Center for American Progress, Enough!, Save Darfur, and
    Genocide Intervention Network, referencing al-Bashir's upcoming
    visits to Ankara and Cairo, stressed the importance of President
    Obama and Secretary of State Clinton engaging in personal
    diplomacy at the highest level to ensure that a wanted war
    criminal does not continue to travel with impunity to the
    capitals of key U.S. allies. The failure to do so, they noted,
    would "send a powerful message that the Administration isn't
    serious about implementing the Sudan strategy it just
    announced."

    "We want to thank each of these organizations for their work in
    demanding clear and determined American leadership in ending the
    Darfur Genocide," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the
    ANCA. "There is today, sadly, no more striking example of how the
    brutal cycle of genocide and denial feeds upon itself than the
    growing diplomatic and military relationship between Turkey and
    Sudan."

    Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is scheduled to visit Turkey next
    week to attend a summit of the Organization of the Islamic
    Conference (OIC.) Turkish officials announced yesterday that they
    would not act on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest
    warrant issued against al-Bashir for war crimes.

    The Ankara and Khartoum regimes have grown markedly closer over the
    past two years, with Turkey continuing to supply lethal weaponry to
    Sudan and increased trade between two the countries. To read three
    ANCA memos on the Turkey-Sudan relationship, visit:

    Why is Turkey Selling Weapons to Sudan?
    February 25, 2009
    http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/hill_notes/022 509.pdf

    Commentary on the Turkey-Sudan Axis of Genocide
    February 23, 2009
    http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/hill_notes/022 309.pdf

    Turkey and Sudan
    February 18, 2009
    http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/hill_notes/021 809.pdf

    The full text of the joint statement is provided below.

    #####

    Center for American Progress
    Enough!
    Save Darfur
    Genocide Intervention Network

    For Immediate Release
    November 12, 2009

    Contact
    Eileen White Read, 202.741.6376
    [email protected]

    Andrea Clarke, 202.460.6756
    [email protected]

    Mame Annan-Brown, 202.483.2701
    [email protected]

    President Bashir Tests New Obama Policy on Sudan

    WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the news that President Omar al-Bashir
    plans to travel to Turkey and Egypt in the coming days,
    President Obama faces the first test of his recently announced
    Sudan policy.

    The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, the Save
    Darfur Coalition, and the Genocide Intervention Network jointly
    released the following statement in reaction:

    If President Obama and Secretary Clinton are unwilling to
    engage in personal diplomacy at the highest level to ensure
    that a wanted war criminal does not continue to travel with
    impunity to the capitals of key U.S. allies, it will send a
    powerful message that the administration isn't serious about
    implementing the Sudan strategy it just announced.

    John Norris, Executive Director of the Enough Project, noted, "For
    Turkey, a member of NATO and an aspiring member of the European
    Union, to welcome President Bashir is frankly baffling. If Turkey
    is truly committed to the values that would make membership of the
    European Union possible, it should quickly make clear that
    President Bashir is absolutely unwelcome."

    Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, added,
    "President Bashir's travel is a test of the administration's
    resolve on Sudan. If the President and Secretary of State let it
    happen without objection, Khartoum will get the message that the
    newly stated commitment to multilateral leadership is hollow. And
    for Turkey, it's an opportunity to align itself with the E.U., most
    Latin American countries, and the emerging practice in sub-Saharan
    Africa: Convey to Bashir that he shouldn't come unless he wants to
    risk arrest upon landing."

    Sam Bell, Executive Director of Genocide Intervention Network,
    added, "Given the depth and breadth of U.S. engagement with Egypt,
    it is striking that the situation in Sudan - and Bashir's status as
    a war criminal - don't appear t be part of the recent conversation
    among senior officials. How can the administration expect to
    effectively implement its new plan if it doesn't make Sudan a top
    priority?"

    ####

    About the coalition: The Save Darfur Coalition - an alliance of
    more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights
    organizations - raises public awareness about the ongoing
    genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the
    atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the
    Darfur region. The coalition's member organizations represent
    130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political
    affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For
    more information on the coalition, please visit
    www.SaveDarfur.org.

    Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end
    genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough
    focuses on crises in Sudan, Chad, eastern Congo, northern
    Uganda, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. Enough's strategy papers and
    briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy
    recommendations based on a "3P" crisis response strategy:
    promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and
    punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with
    concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent,
    mitigate, and resolve these crises. Visit
    www.enoughproject.org.

    About Genocide Intervention Network - Genocide Intervention
    Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide
    constituency, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide
    when it occurs.

    Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, Genocide
    Intervention Network empowers individuals with the tools to
    stop genocide. Visit www.genocideintervention.net.
Working...
X