Save Darfur Coalition

The Save Darfur Coalition is a U.S.-based advocacy group calling for international intervention in the Darfur conflict in the Eastern African state of Sudan. It is a coalition of more than 180 religious, political, and human rights organizations designed to campaign for a response to alleged atrocities in the three Sudanese federal states that make up the region of Darfur.

History

Founding

The Save Darfur Coalition was founded at the "Darfur Emergency Summit in New York City" on July 14, 2004. The Coalition began when the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and American Jewish World Service organized this event at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan featuring Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel. [ [http://www.ncccusa.org/news/04savedarfurcoalition.html NCC, CWS Participate in Save Darfur Coalition ] ]

The coalition has grown into an alliance of more than 180 religious, political and human rights organizations committed to ending the alleged genocide in Darfur. Save Darfur is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a staff of 30 professional organizers, policy advisors and communications specialists.

The coalition's members have signed on to the following unity statement:cquote|We stand together and unite our voices to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Responding to a rebellion in 2003, the regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and its allied militia, known as the Janjaweed, launched a campaign of destruction against the civilian population of ethnic groups identified with the rebels. They wiped out entire villages, destroyed food and water supplies, stole livestock and systematically murdered, tortured and raped civilians. The Sudanese government's genocidal, scorched earth campaign has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives through direct violence, disease and starvation, and continues to destabilize the region. Millions have fled their homes and live in dangerous camps in Darfur, and hundreds of thousands are refugees in neighboring Chad. Violence continues today. Ultimately, the fate of the Darfuri people depends on establishing a lasting and just peace in all of Sudan and in the region.

We are committed to the goals that the Save Darfur Coalition advocates for, including:

* Ending the violence against civilians;
* Facilitating adequate and unhindered humanitarian aid;
* Establishing conditions for the safe and voluntary return of displaced people to their homes;
* Promoting the long-term sustainable development of Darfur; and
* Holding the perpetrators accountable.

We call on the United States, other governments, the United Nations and regional organizations to focus their efforts on ending this crisis. [ [http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/unity_statement "Unity Statement"] by "Save Darfur Coalition", retrieved April 10, 2008.]

In 2006, the "Jerusalem Post" reported that the Coalition was "begun exclusively as an initiative of the American Jewish community" although this fact was "consistently played down" by organizers. cite news |first=Gal |last=Beckerman |title=US Jews leading Darfur rally planning |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1145961241838 |work=Jerusalem Post |date=2006-04-27 |accessdate=2007-10-06 ] The report continued, "even now... [the] coalition is heavily weighted with ... local and national Jewish groups" with a "noted absence of major African-American groups like the NAACP or the larger Africa lobby groups like Africa Action."

The Coalition has grown considerably since then to include organizations representing several ages, races, religions and political affiliations. Coalition members now include not only the NAACP, but also the AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, Africa Faith and Justice Network, the American Islamic Congress, the Arab American Institute, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, the Rabbinical Assembly, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the National Association of Evangelicals.

Initiatives

On January 12, 2006, the Coalition launched the "Million Voices for Darfur" campaign with the goal of collecting one million postcards from individuals across the country to send to President Bush urging the United States government to support a larger, stronger multinational force to protect the civilians of Darfur. The campaign concluded on June 29, 2006 with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) signing the 1,000,000th and 1,000,001st postcards. [ [http://www.savedarfur.org/news/pressreleases/2006june29 "Save Darfur Press Release"] , June 29, 2006]

Save Darfur coordinated a widely-successful "Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide" on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2006. The crowd of an estimated 100,000 supporters joined to call for the withdrawal of any objection to a UN peacekeeping force, better humanitarian access to refugees, adhesion to existing treaties and ceasefire agreements, and a commitment to a lasting peace agreement in the Abuja peace talks. Among the speakers were actor George Clooney, Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Senator Barack Obama, Rwandan genocide survivor Paul Rusesabagina, Olympic Gold medalist Joey Cheek, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, and Reverend Al Sharpton. The headlining entertainment was provided by country duo Big & Rich.

The rally concluded a 21,000-mile, 22-city photo exhibit and speaking "Tour for Darfur: Eyewitness to Genocide" hosted by Capt. Steidle.

The Coalition conducted a second rally in New York City's Central Park on September 17, 2006. [http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/darfur/signUp.jsp?key=1421 "Save Darfur Now: Voices to End Genocide"] urged the United States and the United Nations towards the timely deployment of a robust international peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Coalition members

Board Members

* Sam Bell, Genocide Intervention Network
* Dr. Mahmoud Braima, Darfuri Leaders Network
* Rev. Richard Cizik, National Association of Evangelicals
* Mike Edington, Wellspring Advisors
* Zeinab Eyega, Sauti Yetu Center for African Women
* Rev. David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph.D., Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention
* Rabbi Steve Gutow, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
* Omer Ismail, Darfur Peace and Development
* Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, National Council of Churches
* Ruth Messinger, American Jewish World Service
* John Prendergast, The ENOUGH Project
* Fr. Michael Perry, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
* Jill Savitt, Dream for Darfur
* Scott Warren, STAND, A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition
* Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D., My Sister’s Keeper
* Dr. James Zogby, Arab American Institute

Advocacy

The Save Darfur Coalition has built a worldwide movement that has brought the crisis in Darfur to the world's attention. According to Mark Malloch Brown, Britain's Minister for Africa, Asia, and the U.N., "The Save Darfur Coalition has done a fantastic job of keeping the pressure on the American public. Bush and Blair both had a great deal of personal passion about Darfur. But there’s a limit to what leaders can do if there isn’t a heavy level of concern from the public." [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sudan/story/0,,2170286,00.html "Darfur: A Glimmer of Hope on Horizon"] by "The Guardian Unlimited", retrieved December 11, 2007.]

U.S. officials in both the Democratic and Republican parties have also praised the coalition.

On June 1, 2007, the "Washington Post" quoted George W. Bush's special envoy to Sudan, Andrew S. Natsios, as saying, "The Save Darfur Coalition has kept this issue in the news media and before the public and has focused the issue in a way that hasn’t happened in foreign relations maybe since the South Africa anti-apartheid movement"

The same story quoted Democratic Senator Joseph R. Biden of Delaware: "Save Darfur’s efforts to pressure the administration and Congress and keep the issue alive have had a tremendous impact."

The Save Darfur Coalition has a powerful political organization. It organized rallies in support of Darfur around the world. It has helped organize more than 350 rallies in 41 countries on 6 continents for the Global Days for Darfur campaign. The coalition's network of one million online activists has submitted more than 15,000 letters to the editor, sent more than 215,000 e-mails to the U.S. Congress, and more than 1.1 million emails to the White House.

Criticism

In non-Western media the "Save Darfur" movement has received some criticism. In Iranian media the campaign is criticized for presenting a one-sided picture of a ceaseless campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Janjaweed against defenseless villagers, without presenting details on the region's rebels, who have committed some abuses of their own. In Iranian media the campaign has been compared by some outlets to the British "liberal imperialism" of the late 18th and 19th centuries. [http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2763/html/dotcoms.htm]

The "Save Darfur" movement has been criticized because none of the funds it raises go to help needy Africans on the ground in Darfur. The movement has been accused of distorting the conflict in Darfur by depicting the conflict as between "Arabs" and "Blacks" even though the population in Darfur is predominantly Arab Muslim. There is criticism that the "Save Darfur" campaign avoids any path to a political settlement among Sudanese and leaves only the road of U.S. military aggression. The composition of the "Save Darfur" movement has been characterized as well-connected and well-funded portions of the U.S. foreign policy elite. [ [http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=453&Itemid=1 Bruce Dixon, "Ten Reasons Why "Save Darfur" is a PR Scam to Justify the Next US Oil and Resource Wars in Africa", "Black Agenda Report"] ] Others characterize the Save Darfur Coalition as Jewish-organized. [ [http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=2836 Kevin Friedmann, Bostonians Learn About Darfur — Sorting Truth from Zionist Fiction, Muslim Media Network.] ] The Conservative political commentator Justin Raimondo characterizes the Save Darfur Coalition as a "motley collection of liberal do-gooders, Hollywood glamour-pusses, and Christian zealouts" [ [http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8922, Justin Raimondo, "What About Darfur? The Case Against Intervention", Antiwar.com] ]

Some groups on the leftWho|date=July 2008 have accused the movement of anti-Arab bias. Supporters claim the coalition includes the Arab American Institute and several Muslim organizations such as the American Islamic Congress, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and the Islamic Society of North America.Fact|date=January 2008

From the perspective of various left-wing groupsWho|date=July 2008, the movement is a U.S. government-supported propaganda campaign targeting the Sudanese government for its opposition to the U.S.-led occupation in Iraq, support for the Palestinian cause, and strengthened economic ties to ChinaFact|date=July 2008. However, the Coalition has never advocated for or opposed any policies toward Iraq or Palestine. The Coalition has advocated for increased pressure on China to ensure that China - as Sudan's predominant diplomatic protector - does all it can to end the crisis in Darfur. [http://socialismandliberation.org/mag/index.php?aid=628]

The Massachusetts Green Rainbow Party (MGRP) has adopted a position against "Save Darfur's" Sudan divestment and intervention campaign [ [http://www.green-rainbow.org/Statements/sudan.html "Green-Rainbow Party Statement on U.S. Imperialism and Sudan"] ]

Yoshie Furuhashi, a "Monthly Review" editor, has criticized the "Save Darfur" campaign for U.S. intervention as 'imperialism' in humanitarian guise, combined with a strong tinge of anti-Arab prejudiceFact|date=July 2008.

June 2, 2007, The New York Times ran Stephanie Strom and Lydia Polgreen's "Advocacy Group's Publicity Campaign on Darfur Angers Relief Organizations" [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/world/africa/02darfur.html] which addressed that Save Darfur spent $15 million in 2006 and none of it went to aid groups on the ground in Darfur and that "some relief agencies said they were horrified when Save Darfur's ads in February reported that 'international relief organizations,' among others, had agreed that the time for negotiating with the Sudanese government had ended."

Millions of these dollars paid for PR work undertaken by Powell Tate. [http://www.powelltate.com/issueexpertise/international_cs1.asp] The corporate and public affairs group at Powell Tate is headed up by Howard Opinsky. Mr. Opinsky is the husband of Colleen Connors, currently the Chief Operating Officer (and the former Director of Communication) at the Save Darfur Coalition. Interviewed by Amy Goodman on June 1 for a Democracy Now! that broadcast on June 4 [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/04/1334230] , Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani declared, "Let me tell you, when I went to Sudan in Khartoum, I had interviews with the UN humanitarian officer, the political officer, etc., and I asked them, I said, 'What assistance does the Save Darfur Coalition give?' He said, 'Nothing.' I said, 'Nothing?' He said, 'No.' And I would like to know. The Save Darfur Coalition raises an enormous amount of money in this country. Where does that money go? Does it go to other organizations which are operative in Sudan, or does it go simply to fund the advertising campaign?"

Republican presidential candidate and Congressman Ron Paul has criticized the Save Darfur coalition, callings its aims "unconstitutional" and claiming that it would be counterproductive to intervene in the Civil War in the Sudan because it would prolong it. [ [http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul219.html Stay Out of Sudan's Civil War by Ron Paul ] ] Congressman Paul also opposes the Iraq War on similar grounds. [ [http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul390.html The Price of Delaying the Inevitable in Iraq by Ron Paul ] ]

Drima, a Sudanese blogger who blogs at The Sudanese Thinker, has also written a public letter criticizing them for supporting immediate intervention and not realizing the dangerous consequences that could create in Darfur. [ [http://www.sudanesethinker.com/2007/04/05/a-letter-to-the-save-darfur-coalition/ A Letter To The Save Darfur Coalition : The Sudanese Thinker ] ]

ee also

*Darfur conflict
*History of Darfur
*Sudan
*Genocide

Notes and references

External links

* [http://savedarfur.org Save Darfur Coalition website]
* [http://www.livingdarfur.com Living Darfur website]
* [http://www.sdcanada.org Save Darfur Canada website]
* [http://www.darfurchallenge.org Darfur Challenge Website]