Nation-Building >> Across the Aisle: Sudan | return to front page

I've noticed from the comments a lot of people are closely following the situation in Sudan. This is a good issue for bipartisan cooperation, as Sudan has long been a pet issue with evangelical voters. These churches are usually tied to missionary work in places like Africa, and when the missionaries come back they're quite convinced it's a continent whose most serious problems require more international attention. Here is the text of a recent open letter to President Bush on the subject:

"It is imperative for your administration to take additional clear action. We represent organizations which led efforts to enact these ground-breaking human rights initiatives: the International Religious Freedom Act, Sudan Peace Act, Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and just last week House passage of the North Korea Freedom Act. Your Administration's goal -- to redefine our national interest not as power but as values, and to identify one supreme value, what John Kennedy called 'the success of liberty' -- could be jeopardized by not taking a strong enough position on Sudan's genocidal behavior. The World Health Organization estimates that ten thousand people are dying each month and that a catastrophe equivalent to what occurred in Rwanda a decade ago could unfold within weeks.

"Americans, especially tapping our resources within the religious and non-governmental community, must act quickly to alleviate this crisis. As representatives of our 51 denominations and 45,000 churches, we are urging our churches and related para-church ministries to give generously to the relief and development agencies active in the Darfur, and encouraging other national alliances in the World Evangelical Alliance to do same. Our agencies are willing to work with any and all international bodies, including the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, to alleviate the suffering. We are already consulting with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Tony P. Hall."

There's more at the link. Do I know what to do about Sudan? No. But I agree that it is a problem we should all try to address.