This morning, I received a copy of this e-mail:
Hi SC folks,
Today, as the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act was only one away from passing the Senate unanimously, Senator DeMint blocked the legislation from passage.We are asking people in SC to make phone calls into his office to ask that he remove his hold. See below for a more details from Zahara Heckscher, our Divestment Campaign Manager.
Thanks,
CobyDear South Carolina Darfur Advocates,
As you probably know, Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act is a vital bill that protects the right of states such as South Carolina to divest public funds from companies that help fund the genocide in Darfur.Senator DeMint of South Carolina is now the only Senator blocking passage of
this critical bill.Please take two minutes to call his office right now.
Charleston
Phone: 843-727-4525If that number is busy, or if you have time for more than one, you can call DC or any of the Senator’s offices where you have a contact.
Washington, D.C.
Phone: 202-224-6121Message:
"I’m calling from __________(say your town and South Carolina so he knows you are a constituent) to request that Senator DeMint remove his hold from Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act . This bill is a critical bipartisan bill that puts pressure on the government of Sudan to end the genocide. We want to protect our state’s right not to invest in companies that help fund genocide."
Please shoot me a quick email after you call. If you learn anything interesting during your call, or if you know staff in his office, please let me know.
Please forward this message to others in SC
Thank you for all you do to help the people of Darfur.Best,
Zahara Heckscher
Divest For Darfur Campaign Manager
Save Darfur Coalition
But before I’d even had chance to read that e-mail, our correspondent Rusty DePass had gotten on the horn to straighten things out:
I have talked with DeMint’s office (not with DeMint himself) and been
assured as I expected that he is completely in favor of this bill. He
does have some concerns, however, about the way Sen. Dodd wrote the bill
that may have prevented their respective staffs (not the two Senators)
from working out the problems. Jim has now been satisfied that those
concerns will be addressed as it moves forward and he has removed his
hold on the bill. What is happening in Sudan is truly a latter day
Holocaust.
So maybe now we’ll see some proper action.
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Until someone–anyone–speaks openly and honestly about Darfur, nothing will be done. People are not connecting with this issue because reading every description of the ‘confilct’ makes it appear that it is happening in a vacuum. There is zero discussion of the fact that it is Islamists committing atrocities against black Africans. The government in Khartoum is the same governement that hosted Osama Bin Laden in the 90s, the same government that supported radical Islamist terrorist training camps for jihadists, the same government that attacks the indigenous black skinned people in the south. Is everyone so afraid of ‘offending Muslims’ that they cannot speak the truth? How can the public become engaged in this issue through the media when not one reason is given for the conflict happening in the first place? How can we support an international peace keeping force when no one is willing to tie this to the international war on terrorism? Jim Hodges has a column today, and there is zero mention for who might be to blame for the atrocities!
The conflict in Darfur is conflict of jihad and racism against black Africans whether they are animists, Christians, or fellow Muslims. Until we are honest about it, we are part of the problem.