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I’m back from California. I’ll ramble extensively about it tonight. Until then, here’s an e-mail response I received from Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), regarding the Sudan query I sent him last month:

Dear Gil:

Thank you for expressing your concerns about Sudan.

I appreciate your concerns regarding the civil war ongoing in Sudan, as well as the mass killings in the Darfur region. April 2004 marked the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. The inability of foreign governments to intercede between clashing Hutus and Tutsis contributed to the massacre of nearly one million Tutsis. This somber anniversary reminds us of the obligations that come along with American power to prevent atrocities and possible genocides.

Sudan has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for four decades. An estimated two million people have died over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have been displaced from their homes. According to the United Nations, an estimated three million people are in need of emergency food aid.

In mid-2003, the government of Sudan significantly increased its presence in the western Darfur region by arming the Arab militia, the Janjaweed, and by deploying the Popular Defense Force (PDF). The Janjaweed, under the direction of regular government forces, reportedly unleashed a campaign of terror against civilians. The Arab militia engaged in what United Nations officials described as “ethnic cleansing” of the African ethnic groups of Darfur. Men have been summarily executed, women have been raped, and more than 100,000 have been forced into exile in neighboring countries. In early February 2004, the government launched a major military offensive against the rebel forces, and by mid-February 2004, President Omar Bashir, in a nationally televised speech, declared that the security forces had crushed two ethnic African Muslim militias, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), and offered amnesty to the rebels.

According to United Nations and U.S. officials, the situation in Darfur is considered the worst current humanitarian and human rights crisis in the world. Out of a population of seven million people, one million are internally displaced, over 100,000 are forced into exile, and tens of thousands of civilian have been killed. Since October 2003, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided over 74,000 metric tons of emergency food assistance and the State Department has provided more than $10 million for refugee assistance. As of April 23, 2004, total U.S. government (USG) assistance for Darfur was estimated at $85.5 million. USAID has also established a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) for Darfur, although the government of Sudan has not yet allowed the team to go into Darfur.

Rest assured that I will continue to monitor the civil war and humanitarian crises occurring in Sudan, and pursue further legislative provisions to prevent further atrocities from taking place. Thank you again for your correspondence.