The cause has been the same for the last three years, stopping the greatest humanitarian crisis on earth, the genocide in Darfur, a region of Sudan. Sure it sounds remote, but maybe you saw the roses on campus to honor the victims of the Holocaust. If you visited the Web site on the fliers you'd realize that the same grassroots organization behind handing out 10,000 roses on campus is also behind a national, state and university campaign to stop the genocide in Darfur.
The world watched the genocide in Rwanda, and we could not stop it in time. Today the genocide continues in Darfur as we slowly watch in idle. Calling for the use of force is brave, but as you noted the idea of the U.S. sending troops into Africa went sour with Somalia ("Free Tibet, stop Darfur, save Congo!" April 11). Japan has not yet created an international fighting force, and the Islamists would be ever so happy to see Israeli troops in Darfur. Egypt and Saudia Arabia are Arab Muslim majorities, while the African Union forces that are on the ground are from neighboring African countries.
Yes stopping the crisis in Darfur will require more than diplomacy, but force may not be the only answer. Sudan is unresponsive to social and political pressure. However they are historically responsive to economic pressure.
The Darfur activists have a petition for the University of Texas Investment Management Company to divest from companies supporting the Sudanese regime, an enormous and successful letter campaign, a team of student lobbyists, a hired public policy relations group, national affiliates, a bill passed in the Texas Senate and dozens of sponsors for divestment legislation in the Texas House of Representatives. Texas Senators plan on making a trip to Darfur this summer.
Targeted Sudan Divestment for Texas follows a well laid out plan to target a list of companies that are the worst offenders. These companies provide energy, oil, telecommunications and, of course, enormous funding to the Sudanese government and military. They are directly complicit in the genocide, and our money is invested in them. Pulling out investments, and simply threatening the same has already evoked attacks by the Sudanese government, even taking out a full page in the New York Times indicating that they don't want the campaign to continue.
You might think "raising awareness" has no effect, but the truth is that only a few students are aware of the crisis in Darfur. You can't make people care, but you can make people aware. Sign the petition.
The Daily Texan Firing Line
Re: Free Tibet, stop Darfur, save Congo!
Help stop the crisis in Darfur
