-
Quick Links:
Statements by the Armenian Church
-
Start Here: Diocesan Statement & Alert
September 10, 2004
WORLD BEGINS TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE IN SUDAN
Yesterday (9/9), America's secretary of state, Colin Powell, labeled as
"genocide" the ongoing violence and murder in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Powell's remarks are the first time any international official has directly
accused another nation of perpetrating a current "genocide" under the definition
found in the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948.
Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Powell said the United
States had been investigating the current state of terror in Sudan, where the
Arab Islamist government in Khartoum, through the Janjaweed, an Arab militia it
controls, has terrorized three African tribes in the nation's western Darfur
province. The American team found a pattern of planned violence and organized,
horrific atrocities.
"[T]he evidence leads us to the conclusion that genocide has occurred and may
still be occurring in Darfur. We believe the evidence corroborates the specific
intent of the perpetrators to destroy 'a group in whole or in part'. This intent
may be inferred from their deliberate conduct."
While applying unilateral economic sanctions against Sudan, America is calling
for the United Nations to get involved, and is calling for a vote in the
Security Council on a resolution supporting international sanctions and the
involvement of troops from the African Union, among other measures.
While calling for sanctions against Sudan's national government, the American
government and non-governmental organizations are providing most of the
humanitarian aid which is keeping Darfur's 1.5 million refugees alive.
(Source: National Review Online, 9/10/04)
* * *
ARMENIAN CHURCH SENDS AID TO REFUGEES
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America (Eastern), has asked parishes to hold a special collection this Sunday
(9/12) that will be used to send aid to the victims and refuges of the genocide
in Sudan.
The donations will provide aid through Church World Service, the international
aid arm of the National Council of Churches (NCC), to which the Armenian Church
belongs. Working to draw attention to the ongoing suffering in the Darfur
region, Bishop Vicken Aykazian, diocesan legate, has spoken to NCC leaders about
the lasting effects genocide can have on a people.
Many of you have already donated to the relief effort online. We thank you for
standing up to help those in desperate need. If you haven't yet, please give
either through your parish this Sunday or on-line, through our safe and secure
Internet server.
To read the Primate's directive on the Sudanese genocide and for information on
how to give online, visit our website today: http://www.armeniandiocese.org/news/index3.php?newsid=459&selmonth=8&sel
year=2004
(Source: Diocese of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern), 9/10/04) # # #