I was forwarded this email by my friend John Lally – it’s from the group Human Rights First
Next week President Bush will travel to Beijing for the Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Click here to ask President Bush to urge President Hu to end Chinese arms sales to Sudan
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The government of China claims that it is doing all it can to bring peace to Darfur. But as long as Beijing continues to supply Khartoum with weapons, this claim rings hollow.
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Sudan has bought 90 percent of its small arms from China since 2004, according to available data.
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From 2003 to 2006, this amounted to over $55 million worth of small arms transfers from China to the Sudanese government.
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Small arms are the rifles and ammunition supplied to Janjaweed militias by the Sudanese government.
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The violence in Darfur has claimed over 300,000 lives and forced 2.5 million people to leave their homes.
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Chinese arms sales continued after the U.N. imposed an arms embargo on all arms transfers to Darfur in 2005, and China has protected Sudan from U.N. efforts to strengthen the embargo or penalize it for abuses and bad acts.
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The massive flow of arms into Darfur means that weapons are readily available in the region, fueling violence and impeding the deployment of peacekeepers.
The International Criminal Court is now considering charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Sudanese President Bashir. By selling weapons to Bashir’s government, China and other countries supplying weapons are arming a potential war criminal, and could be supporting genocide.
Join
us in telling President Bush to urge Chinese President Hu to immediately stop arms sales to Sudan.
With thanks,
Betsy Apple
Director
Crimes Against Humanity Program
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