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Jan. 20, 2006
Campaign for justice
Student group makes Darfur an election issue.
PAUL LUNGEN CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
A student group with roots in the Jewish community has launched
an election advocacy campaign to make good on the post-Holocaust
dictum, "Never again."
STAND Canada's "a vote for Darfur" campaign is aimed at
making the ongoing genocide in Sudan an election issue, said STAND
spokesperson Jonathan Laski.
Close to the end of the current election campaign, the question
of Darfur has barely registered among the candidates and major parties
vying for office. It has focused on domestic issues and some foreign
policy matters, "but Darfur sets a tone for the Canadian moral
character," said Laski, one of STAND's national directors.
Darfur is a region in western Sudan that has been in conflict for
almost three years. In that span, roving Janjaweed militias, supported
by the government in Khartoum, have killed as many as 400,000 black
residents of Darfur and made millions more refugees. Canada has
expended some political and diplomatic capital to support an African
Union (AU) intervention force, but the 7,000-strong military unit
has not been able to protect the refugees. Efforts to provide logistical
support have been blocked by the government in Khartoum.
STAND, an acronym for Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, has launched
a two-part campaign to create support for a stronger Canadian effort.
First, at the centre of the campaign, is STAND's website, www.standcanada.org.
Visitors to the site are asked to complete a short survey on their
knowledge of the situation in Darfur. They then input their postal
codes and the data is used to show candidates that voters in their
ridings are interested in Darfur.
As part of stage two, candidates have also been sent a short survey
soliciting their knowledge and views on Darfur, as well as their
interest in joining a proposed parliamentary committee, if elected.
Laski hopes that after the Jan. 23 election, 30 to 40 members of
Parliament with strong opinions on Darfur will create an all-party
parliamentary caucus and press the federal government to take a
leadership role behind an international effort to address the crisis.
Laski hopes voters will consider a candidate's position on Darfur
when casting their ballots.
"It's literally about doing the right thing," he said.
Survey results will be posted online so "voters can judge candidates
on Darfur," Laski said.
Laski, who attended a Jewish day school, said he learned from a
young age that "the Holocaust is not supposed to happen again."
He believes "the Jewish community has an extra responsibility,
because we were the victims of the Holocaust. But Canadians in general,
with our record of peace-keeping and peace-making, have a history
of stepping in and saving lives."
So far, Canada's diplomatic efforts have focused on raising the
issue in international forums. It has sent a handful of support
troops to the region, as well as armored personnel carriers (they
are stuck in Senegal), and it has pledged $380 million (since 2000)
for Darfur refugees and the AU military force. It also appointed
an advisory team that includes Sen. Roméo Dallaire, former
head of United Nations forces in Rwanda, and the prime minister
has named Sen. Mobina Jaffer as his special envoy for peace in Sudan.
However, the international political will to intervene in Darfur
appears to be weak. In fact, the AU, whose troops are supposed to
provide security for the Darfur refugees, is scheduled to hold a
summit meeting in Khartoum later this month. The move is seen as
undercutting any condemnation of the Khartoum regime's genocidal
policies. What's more, The New Republic, an American current
affairs magazine, reported chairmanship of the AU traditionally
goes to the most recent summit host. That means Sudanese President
Omar el-Bashir will likely head the organization that is supposed
to end the genocide backed by his government.
The New Republic also reported that the Arab League will
hold its summit in Khartoum in March, further giving Sudan's regime
diplomatic cover. In the UN, Algeria, Russia and China have blocked
efforts to impose sanctions on Sudan.
Laski said if support for the AU force does not lead to an end to
the genocide, "Canada and others should look at other levers
of force in a multilateral format."
STAND Canada, which has a mailing list of 2,800 people, mostly students,
was formed one year ago, following a conference of National Jewish
Campus Life. It is active on nine campuses across Canada and today
only a little more than half of its active members are Jewish, Laski
said.
Canadian Jewish Congress and Canadians Against Slavery and Torture
in Sudan (CASTS) are two other organizations with roots in the Jewish
community that have been lobbying the Canadian government on the
issue of Darfur.
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