Letter to President George W. Bush

Letter to President George W. Bush

April 18,2006

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Nineteen months after your administration declared the atrocities in the Darfur
region of Sudan to be genocide, violence aimed at civilians remains constant,
humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate and the conflict is now spreading across
Darfur's western border into Chad. In fact, according to the United Nations, in a recent
wave of violence, Sudan's government and the government-backedjanjaweed militia
chased thousands of civilians out of 60 villages in Darfur.

The international community, under the leadership of the United States, must do
more to confront this genocide. And every country, regardless of its relationship or ties
to the Sudanese government, has an obligation to stand with the international community
in this effort. Yet, China, a major economic partner of Sudan, continues to be a
roadblock in the international community's efforts to stop the genocide by providing
diplomatic cover to the Sudanese government within the United Nations.

Furthermore, China continues to invest heavily in the Sudanese economy,
including $10 billion to develop Sudanese oil fields. Even more alarming, China has
supplied Sudan with military equipment including tanks, artillery and fighter aircraft -
perhaps the very equipment used to perpetrate the genocide.

As the United Nations Security Council works to determine what more can be
done to stop the ongoing genocide, it is vital that the Chinese end their complicity and
playa more constructive role. For example, China should help pressure Khartoum to
allow a United Nations peacekeeping deployment to the region. We urge you to raise this
matter with Chinese President Hu Jintao at your upcoming meeting and to seek a stronger
commitment from the Chinese government to end the genocide in Darfur.

With China currently serving as the rotating President of the U.N. Security
Council, it is time for the Chinese to demonstrate their willingness to be a responsible
member of the international community by working with, instead of against, international
efforts aimed at ending the genocide in Darfur. We appreciate your consideration of this
request and wish you success in pressing this matter with President Hu.

http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/