January 17, 2019
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Senator Jim Risch
Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Russell Senate Office Building – SR483 Washington, DC 20510
Senator Bob Menendez
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Congressman Eliot Engel
Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
2462 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515 Congressman
Mike McCaul
Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
2001 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: U.S. Policy on Sudan Must Pivot to Advance Freedom, Justice and Democracy
Dear Mr. President and Leaders of the Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs Committees,
The people of Sudan are demanding freedom, justice and democracy; therefore, we, the 93 undersigned Sudanese, scholars, human rights organizations and leading activists, strongly urge the United States Government to support their aspirations, as well as greater regional stability, by calling for President Bashir to step down and by supporting democratic transformation in Sudan.
Throughout Sudan, thousands are peacefully protesting the Sudan regime, its massive crimes, including genocide and support of terrorist actors, and its gross mismanagement of the economy, which is exacerbated by widespread corruption at the highest levels at the same time as breadlines lengthen and access to basic necessities, including access to personal funds, becomes increasingly scarce.
Despite the right to peacefully assemble, a guarantee of Sudan’s Interim National Constitution, peaceful protesters have been fired upon by the Sudan regime and reports indicate that over 40 have been killed, well over 300 have been wounded, and more than 800 have been arrested. The news from Sudan is replete with reports of government forces deliberately shooting to kill peaceful demonstrators and other shocking violations of basic humanity. In spite of these terrifying circumstances, protests are growing and courageous Sudanese across all regions of Sudan are calling for an end to the Bashir regime.
The Government of Sudan is clearly failing the tests of the United States’ Phase II Engagement Plan, as evidenced by the violent crimes and egregious human rights violations committed by the regime since peaceful protests began on December 19, 2018. Any consideration of normalizing relations with the Sudan regime sends the wrong message, not only to the regime in Sudan, but also to bad actors worldwide, putting the United States and its allies at additional risk. U.S. policy must pivot to advance freedom, justice and democracy in Sudan. Please support the people of Sudan and their call for an end to Bashir’s genocidal regime.
Sincerely,
Act for Sudan, Eric Cohen, Co-Founder, USA
Abaunza Group, Bonnie Abaunza, Founder, Los Angeles, CA
Abdalmoniem, Member, Alhilal Club Association, Alexandria, VA
African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton M.D., President, New York, NY
African Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo, ND
Aicha Elbasri, Former Spokesperson for the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur, Long Island City, NY
Akulia Foundation, Lita Muki, Chairperson, Juba, Jubek, South Sudan
American-Mideast Coalition for Democracy, co-chair John Hajjar, USA
Arab Coalition for Sudan (ACS), Wadah Tabir, General Coordinator, Egypt
Baroness Caroline Cox, House of Lords, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, London, UK
Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development, Ibrahim Ahmed, President, Fairfax, VA
Better Options for All South Sudanese, Dut-machine de Mabior, Moderator, Nairobi, Kenya
Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY
Chance to Advance, Ekhlas Ahmed, Educator, Portland, MA
Coalition Against Global Genocide, Linda Farb, Board Chair, Roz Duman, Founder/Executive Director, Westminster, CO
Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan, Bill Andress, Secretary, Lexington, SC
Collectif Urgence Darfour, Dr. Jacky Mamou, President, Paris, France
Concerned Citizens for Change, Gene Binder, Member Steering Committee, Bronx, NY
DAAM-UK (Pro-Democracy Activists Abroad), Ali Abdelatif M. Hussein, Co-ordinator, London, UK
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Daowd Salih, Co-Founder and Board President, Peapack, NJ
Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Dr. Richard Sribnick, Chairman, Columbia, SC
Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ
Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick, Co-Chair, Washington, DC
Darfur Victims Organization for Rehabilitation and Relief, Ishag Mekki, London, UK
Dear Sudan Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon, CA
Dr. Abdelmoneim Girshab, Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK
Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, McLean, VA
Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AK
Dr. Robert K. Hitchcock, Adjunct Professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Elhag Ali Warrag Sidahmed Warrag, Editor in Chief, Hurriyat
Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director, World Without Genocide, St. Paul, MN
Eltaghyeer (Change) Newspaper, Salih Amar, Deputy Editor in Chief, Sudan
Eltigani Ali, Herndon, VA
Empower One, Mike Congrove, CEO, Dallas, TX
Enough Project, Dr. Suliman Baldo and Omer G. Ismail, Special Advisors, Washington, DC
Eric Reeves, Senior Fellow, Harvard University’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Northampton, MA
Face Past for Future Foundation (FP4F), Abdelrahman Al Gasim, Kampala, Uganda
Faith J.H. McDonnell, Director, Church Alliance for a New Sudan, Washington, DC
Genocide No More – Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, CA
Help Nuba, Rabbi David Kaufman
Human Rights and Development Organization Centre (HUDO), Bushra Gamar Hussein, Executive Director, Kampala, Uganda
Humanity United, Tim Isgitt, Managing Director, San Francisco, CA
Idaho Darfur Coalition, Marilyn Griep, Co-Founder, Boise, ID
Independent Movement Organization (IMO), Adil Salih, President, Fairfax, VA
Institute on Religion and Democracy, Washington, DC
Investors Against Genocide, Susan Morgan, Co-founder, San Francisco, CA
Ipswich Community Action, Lakshmi Linda Sirois, Co-Organizer, Ipswich, MA
Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Baton Rouge, LA
Justice Center for Advocacy and Legal Consultation (JCALC), Mohaned Elnour, Director, Khartoum, Sudan
Mahdi Ibrahim Saeed, University of Limpopo., Polokwane, South Africa
Mariam Abdalgadir, San Lorenzo, CA
Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA
Mohamed Y. Khalifa, Instructor, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Mona Suliman, Teacher, SANC, Hayward, CA,
Ms. Amani Khateeb, Centreville, VA
Muawia Suleiman, Sudanese Community, London, UK
Mustafa Sharif, PhD., College Station, TX
Nassir Mansour, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, SUNY Downstate Medical College, Brooklyn, NY
Never Again Coalition, Lauren Fortgang, Policy Director, Portland, OR
New York Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Director, New York, NY
Nuba Christian Family Mission, James Spencer Flournoy, Director, Englewood, CO
Nubia Project, Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President, Washington, DC
Operation Broken Silence, Mark C. Hackett, Executive Director, Memphis, TN
Oregon Coalition for Humanity, Kathy Cordell, Member, Portland, OR
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA
Philip Tutu, Activist, Kansas City, MO
Professor Elihu D. Richter MD MPH, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
Professor Paul Slovic, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Rev. Dr. Julian Austin Watson, United Methodist Church, Hendersonville, NC
Rev. Heidi McGinness, Minister, Unflinching Hope International, Omaha, NE
Right for Peace, Osman Naway Habila, Director, Kansas City, MO
Seifeldin Kudi, Human Rights Defender, Boston, MA
Shine A Ray of Hope, Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator, New Rochelle, NY
Skills for Nuba Mountains, Lazim Suleiman Elbasha, Executive Director, Kauda, South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains, Sudan
South Sudan Civil Society Alliance (SSCSA), Keluel Agok Kuch, Secretary General, Juba, South Sudan
Stop Genocide Now, Katie-Jay Scott, Redondo, CA
Sudan Democracy First Group, Anwar Elhaj, Executive Director, Kampala, Uganda
Sudan of the Future, Nancy and Rudwan Dawod, Activist/First Vice President, Eugene, OR, Khartoum, Sudan,
Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Agency, Ishraga Ahmed Khamis, Director, Blue Nile, Sudan
Sudan Sunrise, Tom Prichard, Executive Director, Reston, VA
Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Founder and Director, San Francisco, CA
Sudanese Community Association of Illinois, Peter Magai Bul, Board Chairman, Chicago, IL
Sudanese Community Church, The Episcopal Church in Colorado, The Rev Ayyoubawaga B. Gafour, Ph.D., Vicar, Denver, CO
The Combat Genocide Association – A Jewish and Universal Organization, Tal Rotem, Director, Israel
The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT
The MagkaSama Project, Max Dana, Founder, Paris, France
The North Carolina African Services Coalition, Omer Omer, Area Director, Greensboro, NC
The Regional Centre for Training and Development of Civil Society (RCDCS), Abdel Mutaal Girshab, Director General, Khartoum, Sudan
The Reverend Ronald D. Culmer, St. Clare’s Episcopal Church, Pleasanton, CA
Unite for Darfur Organization, Bahar Arabie, CEO, Gaithersburg, MD
Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI, Sandra Hammel, Director, Portsmouth, RI
Victoria Sanford, PhD, Professor of Anthropology, Director Center for Human Rights and Peace Studies, Lehman College, Bronx, NY, USA
W.O.W.! World Outside Westford, Donna Hackley, Westford, MA
Waging Peace, Rebecca Tinsley, Founder, London, UK