01/12/2006

International Genocide Prevention Day Commemorated by Launch of 'Million Voices for Darfur' Speaking Tour
is Part of Unprecedented Awareness and Advocacy Campaign by Faith-based, Humanitarian Groups to Focus Americans on Darfur Genocide

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- To commemorate today’s 55th anniversary of the International Genocide Prevention Day, the Save Darfur Coalition, in cooperation with more 150 faith-based, advocacy, and humanitarian aid organizations, launched the “Million Voices for Darfur” campaign. The Million Voices for Darfur campaign is a coordinated, unprecedented effort to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur and promote the actions necessary to end it.

“The goal of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign is to deliver one million hand written and electronic postcards from Americans to President Bush and Congress demanding that they undertake a stronger and more effective U.S. response to the violence and atrocities plaguing the region,” said Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals. “It is a moral imperative for the United States government to support a stronger, multinational force to protect the civilians of Darfur.”

Estimates suggest that over 400,000 people have died in the Darfur conflict since 2003, with 3.5 million driven into hunger and another 2.5 million displaced due to violence. Recent months have seen a dramatic rise in violence, a resulting drop in humanitarian aid due to security concerns, and the kidnapping of dozens of international observers, including one American.

In support of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, the Save Darfur Coalition will organize a speaking tour for Captain Brian Steidle, USMC, who served as the U.S. representative to the African Union’s mission in Darfur. Captain Steidle, an eyewitness to the genocide, is a powerful and compelling speaker, and will help Americans grasp the reality – and the enormity – of the cruelty in Darfur. The Coalition will also promote other events featuring Darfur experts and eyewitnesses in its speakers’ bureau. Organizers of local events will be encouraged to collect donations to support the Coalition’s advocacy work.

The postcards will be collected at small-town community events and large-scale student rallies, from houses of worship to the Internet (for more information and to sign an electronic postcard, visit www.savedarfur.o rg). The Coalition will deliver America’s messages to the White House and Capitol Hill, using the campaign to garner national and local media attention for the crisis in Darfur and our shared commitment to taking the action necessary to ending the crisis.

“Upon assuming office, President Bush wrote in the margins of a briefing memo on the Rwandan genocide, ‘Not on my watch,’” concluded Rev. Cizik. “We intend to hold him to that promise.”