CJC News Release: CJC Pacific Region and Darfur Association call on Prime Minister to keep his commitments

Jan 27, 2005 - CJC Pacific Region and Darfur Association call on Prime Minister to keep his commitments.

VANCOUVER, B.C, January 27, 2005…On the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region and the Darfur Association of Canada – B.C. Chapter held a joint press conference to appeal to Prime Minister Martin to show leadership and follow through on his commitments to help end the crisis in Darfur where 80,000 innocent people have been murdered and 1.5 million are homeless after their villages were burned.

“We call upon the Government of Canada to mobilize all resources - political, diplomatic, and financial - that are necessary to stop the suffering and avert what is becoming another Rwandan-like catastrophe in Darfur,” said Mark Weintraub, Chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. “Whether or not what is occurring is technically ‘genocide’ should not deter Canada from recognizing that by all accounts, there is a great humanitarian disaster unfolding in Darfur where innocent people, including women and children, are being murdered, raped, and tortured because of their ethnicity,” he charged. In a letter sent to the Prime Minister, Weintraub reminded the Prime Minister of the remarks he made during his November visit to Darfur that “there are always excuses, but it is our responsibility to create a situation where there can be no excuses.”

Nouri Abdalla, an activist in the Darfur community in Vancouver confirmed that the situation in Darfur today is worse than it was four months ago when the UN Security Council Resolution asked the Sudanese government to disarm its proxy, the Janjaweed militia, and bring their leaders to justice. “Despite UN resolutions and all the signed agreements, the Sudanese government continues to violate all its commitments,” he noted. Abdalla called on the Prime Minister to demand “the immediate disarming of the murderous Janjaweed militias initially unleashed by the Sudanese government; the immediate apprehension of their leaders; the imposition of ‘no-fly zones’ over Darfur; intervention by highly experienced, properly funded, well-trained and well-equipped peace-keeping forces; and an immediate investigation with respect to the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Robert Waisman, a survivor of the Holocaust said the world must be reminded, especially on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, of its commitment to “never again” allow such evil to prevail. “Every human tragedy has it's own unique context. Our own experience with the Holocaust has taught us that such evil must be recognized and that we have a responsibility to ensure that it never happens again. In Darfur, inter-ethnic issues have unleashed terrible forces putting hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of innocent victims at risk. The human price that has been paid is already too high.”

Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region addresses issues of human rights, combats all forms of discrimination and antisemitism; establishes an ongoing political liaison with all political parties and all levels of government; aims for an open and enhanced dialogue with other religious, ethnic and minority groups to foster understanding, goodwill and cooperation on issues of mutual concern and speaks on a broad range of public policy, humanitarian and social-justice issues.

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Contact:
Erwin Nest, Executive Director
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Fax: 604-257-5131
E-mail: erwinn@cjc.ca
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