SAVE DARFUR BLASTS SUDANESE REGIME’S ATTACK ON SENS. CLINTON, McCAIN, AND OBAMA

Sudan’s reaction makes clear that candidates’ joint statement hit its mark

WASHINGTON – Save Darfur Coalition president Jerry Fowler today issued the following statement on the Sudanese government’s absurd reaction to the joint statement on Sudan issued by presidential candidates Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama on May 28.

“The Sudanese regime shamefully attempts to deny its role as the primary cause of death and destruction in Darfur by attacking Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama. President Omar al-Bashir and the other masterminds of the Darfur genocide cannot spin their way out of responsibility for their crimes.

“As Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama made clear in their historic joint statement, ‘there can be no doubt that the Sudanese government is chiefly responsible for the violence and is able to end it.’ The rebel movements must also play a role in de-escalating the conflict and finding a political solution, but only the Sudanese government can end its indiscriminant bombing of villages, rein in its murderous janjaweed militias, and pull back its troops from the recently destroyed town of Abyei in southern Sudan.

“The Sudanese government’s recent actions are consistent with its behavior for the past five years in Darfur and for almost two decades in southern Sudan. Violence by the government and its proxies in both regions has led to the deaths of millions of civilians and the displacement of millions of others.

“The regime’s plea of innocence is hollow and it euphemistically invokes ‘those privy to the realities on the ground’ – that is, its victims. By speaking out in unison, Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama have given a much truer voice to the civilian victims than the architects of destruction ever could.

“Looking past the Sudanese regime’s litany of outright lies, one thing is clear: the candidates’ joint statement hit its mark. The Sudanese government can only redeem itself through swift and substantive action to end violence against civilians.”