The Weekly Darfur Darfur: Darfur: Petition

The Coalition for Darfur has this week's post up. Professor Samuel Totten wants the signatures of the conscience-stricken to stir the nations into action. Pass the word along.

The petition from Professor Samuel Totten, editor of "A Century of Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts," mentioned in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this week.

He is seeking 2,000 actual signatures. You can get the formatted petition here, then cut, paste, sign and mail it to

Dr. Samuel Totten, University of Arkansas, COEHP, 205 Peabody Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701

If you cannot print, sign and mail it, you can still sign it by sending an email containing your name, city, and affiliation (if appropriate) to stotten@uark.edu

Here is the petition

We, the undersigned, beseech the international community, and particularly, the United Nations, to organize and implement a strong, well-manned, and well-resourced intervention in Darfur, Sudan, in order to stop the ongoing genocide being perpetrated by Government of Sudan (GOS) troops and the Janjaweed (Arab militia) against the Black Africans of Darfur. In order for the intervention to be effective -- and not another fiasco as the international community witnessed in Rwanda in 1994 and then again in Srebrenica in 1995 -- the mandate must come under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for peace enforcement, not simply peacekeeping. We urge that a minimum number of 12,000 troops be allocated for this mission, and that the mission be supplied with all the necessary equipment -- in good working order and adequate supplies to operate, and repair such when needed, to carry out the mandate/mission.

We also strongly urge that the mission be undertaken as soon as possible for each day that goes by an estimated 500 innocent people are losing their lives.

Proof of the effectiveness of such a mission should be based upon the following criteria:

1. An immediate end to the violence in the Darfur region;

2. Immediate access for all humanitarian aid that needs to be delivered to the internally displaced refugee camps and other areas where the victims of the GOS and Janjaweed may be seeking shelter and safety.

3. Immediate, voluntary, and safe return of the refugees to their homes and villages.

4. Accountability for all of those engaged in the planning and perpetration of the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

NOTE: Please return completed petitions to: Dr. Samuel Totten, University of Arkansas, COEHP, 205 Peabody Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701.

PS: Please feel free to make as many copies as you wish. Please also urge friends, family and colleagues to sign the petition. And if possible, please send the petition with this message as to many folks as possible, urging them to (1) get the petition signed by as many people as possible, and (2) send the petition via email to as many of their own friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members as possible urging them to do the above. By following this process I am hoping to cover all parts of the U.S. and, again, obtain as many signatures as possible.

Too often, we stare at our screens and endure the frustration that comes from our helplessness. We long to further justice in Darfur, but what can we do?

Well, now we have an opportunity to work for that justice. We can do that in two ways. First, we can sign the petition ourselves. Second, we can spread the word. Those of you with blogs, please post this so we can all get the word out. Those who only read, please email your family and friends. The nations of the West and the rest of the international community have stood idle for too long. Let's send them the message that we'll tolerate no more business as usual on Darfur. If we're going to say "Never again!" to genocide, then our leaders must act to ensure that our words have meaning. It's long past time for them to do so.