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US-BASED DARFURIS CALL ON PRESIDENT OBAMA TO REPLACE SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION
In open letter to President, Darfuris express grave concern about direction of US policy on Sudan

CITIES NATIONWIDE – October 12, 2009 – Today Darfuri organizations representing over 1000 Darfuris who live throughout the United States called on President Obama to replace Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration.   In an open letter to the President, the Darfuris expressed their grave concern about the recent attacks in Darfur and the direction of US policy under Special Envoy Gration.   Copies of the letter were also sent to key decision makers in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and a translated version has been disseminated to foreign media outlets.   (Full text of letter and list of signatories are below.)

The letter states:

“Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.

We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur , respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan . We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.â€‌

According to Mohamed Suleiman, spokesman for the group, the Darfuris in United States of America believe that the current U.S. policy carried out by the U.S. Special Envoy is futile. “We believe that the current soft approach policy towards the regime in Khartoum by the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan , Major General Scott Gration, has emboldened the government of Sudan which is headed by a President who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court to commit further atrocities against our people in Darfur .   We understand that the selection process of the next candidate for this post may take time, yet we believe that having the post vacant is greater deterrent to Khartoum regime than having Major General Gration in the post.

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“In Darfur we have lost already more than 400 thousands and the numbers are climbing. Worse than Rwanda , the Government of Sudan is holding now 3 millions Darfuris as hostages in the refugees’ camps. It is not wise to wait for something terrible to happen to our people to prove that the policy of Major General Gration is wrong,â€‌ stated Suleiman.

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FULL TEXT OF October 12 LETTER

October 12, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington , DC 20500

 Vice President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice, Senator John S. Kerry, Senator Richard G. Lugar

Dear President Obama,

We, Darfuris in the United States of America , write to you with grave alarm and concern about the latest news coming from our native land, Darfur .   The Government of Sudan is brutally taking advantage of the fact that the world is turning numb to the news of atrocities occurring in Darfur and is now wreaking havoc in North and West Darfur .

At the end of last month, the Government of Sudan mounted fresh attacks on our people in the areas of Korma, Ain Siero, Jabal Marra, and Miliet. The news we get from our people is that the Government used the now familiar tactics: Antonov aerial bombings, Janjaweed attacks on civilians, burning, looting, raping, and savage killings. The news is chillingly so familiar that it escaped the attention of the news media and the international community. This familiar method of executing genocide in Darfur in a fresh wave of violence is an evil, clever way for the Government of Sudan to hide its crimes in the open.

Yet there is a fresh Darfuri blood spilled over the hills and valleys of Darfur as recently as last week. The society is further destroyed. Now even those who are fleeing the hellish killing fields are prevented from reaching the camps or the large towns and cities. In these recent attacks, the Government of Sudan has unleashed its surrogate militias, the Janjaweed, to block the trails and ways that lead from Korma to the major refugees’ camps or cities like ElFasher. Many civilians are stranded in the mountains and hills between Korma and ElFasher with little food and water.

Last month, our beleaguered people in the Internally-Displaced-Persons (IDPs) camps near ElFasher met with your Special Envoy Major General Scott Gration. Despite the heavy presence of the government’s security agents, our people braved the authority of the Government of Sudan and told your Special Envoy that his current approach in handling the Darfur problem is simply wrong and deadly. They called on you from their camps to replace your current Special Envoy.

We whole-heartedly agree with our people in Darfur . They are the ones who are paying the price with the loss of their lives almost daily by a government that committed and still is committing genocide against them.

Given the track record in the past nine months, we believe that the violence, terror, death rates in Darfur are greater after the appointment of Major General Scott Gration as Special Envoy than before his appointment. The good-intentioned yet soft approach of the General towards the Government of Sudan is abused and exploited by a regime that has continued to rule Sudan with fire and blood throughout the last twenty years. The Darfuris and the Southern Sudanese are the ones who are paying the price now. Major General Scott Gration, after hearing the complaints of the victims in the camps, is stubbornly staying the course of treating the government of the killers of our people, with the same soft approach. Not even a public condemnation of the latest round of violence in Darfur is heard from his office.

We, the undersigned, in order to save the lives of our people in Darfur , respectfully request from your excellency that Major General Gration be relieved from his post as Special Envoy to Sudan . We hope that a candidate who has better understanding of dealing with the Government of Sudan will replace him.  

Truly yours,

Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization
Adeeb Yousif, Founder & Chairperson
Zalingei-West Darfur and San Francisco – California

Fur Cultural Revival
Mansour Ahmed, President
Portland, Maine

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Mohamed E. Suleiman, Member Executive Committee
San Francisco, California

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Founder and Executive Director
Washington, D.C.

Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Abdelgabar Adam, President
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Garelnabi Abbass Abusikin, Director of Operations
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Darfur People’s Association of New York
Bushara Dosa, President
New York, New York

Darfur Renaissance Association
Ismail Omer Ibrahim, Executive Director
Dallas, Texas

Darfur Working Group
Dr. Badawi Osman
Washington, D.C.

Rahama Deffallah
Brooklyn , NY

Fatima M.  Haroun
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mahdi Musa Nouk
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Ibrahim Hamid
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Motasim Adam
Brooklyn, New York

Yahya Osman
New Jersey

Eltayeb M. Ibrahim
San Jose, California

Sabah Ibrahim
Springfield, Virginia

Isam Omer
Brooklyn , New York

Hamzah   Ibrahim
Brooklyn , New York

Niemat Ahmedei
Washington , D.C.