GW STAND MINUTES!
January 17, 2006

Why sit when you can STAND?

WELCOME BACK!!! Hope you had an incredibly fabulous break! If you didn’t
make the meeting please try to come for next week’s as it will be
important (and not too long). We will be discussing more of our
semester’s plan of action in the campaign to stop the genocide in Darfur
as well as spending some time explaining how best to table for our
group. Please be a part of the STAND love, and join us for next week’s
meeting MC 309 at 8 


TOMORROW there will be a National Call-In Day for Darfur! Break out your
mobile phones and make the call to Condoleeza Rice. THE SCRIPT FOR
LEAVING THE SECRETARY A MESSAGE IS ATTACHED! Please make at least one
call to keep the pressure on the administration to act!



DARFUR NEWS UPDATES!
-Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement
(SLM), in an open letter to the UN Security Council, alleged the
Khartoum government "escalated its military operations" at the start
of every round of talks.

-Nigeria is currently hosting African Union sponsored peace talks on
the Darfur crisis, but the rebel groups accuse Khartoum of trying to
impose a military and security solution on the ground.
The SLA & JEM want:

1.Janjaweed to be disarmed, 2. moves to encourage flow of relief
materials through all entry points 3. release of all prisoners of war
and political detainees.
BY INT"L MEANS

"The Sudan Liberation Movement rejects the Sudanese government's
proposal... and insists on the deployment of an international force,"

-NEED Security 1st: Jan Pronk
peacekeeper died in an attack in Western Dafur and as the UN and AU
continue to evaluate ways to strengthen the peacekeeping mission on
the ground.

Jan Pronk requested 12,000- 20,000 troops from the UN Security Council
on Friday. He said marauding Arab militia were succeeding in their
ethnic cleansing campaign, erasing village after village. "Looking
back at three years of killings and cleansing in Darfur we must admit
that our peace strategy so far has failed," Pronk said.

"All we did was picking up the pieces and muddling through, doing too
little too late. At least once a month groups of 500 to 1000 militia
on camel and horseback attack villages, killing dozens of people and
terrorising the others who flee away," Pronk said.

African Union has fielded a force of 7,000 with a limited mandate and
scarce funds.

***$50 million not yet reinstated; RICE- asked for it/failed/
claimed we're having success in DF. Senator Corzine, joined by
several colleagues, secured to the Foreign Operations Appropriations
bill in July to increase U.S. assistance to African Union (AU) troops
in Darfur by $50 million. Earlier this month that provision was
omitted from the Appropriations Committee's Foreign Operations
conference report. Corzine, Brownback and others have asked President
Bush to address this omission in a supplemental appropriation bill.

***As Canada's political parties enter the final
week of the election campaign, a group of faith leaders has raised the issue
of Sudan as a concern they believe politicians should pay close attention to
as they try to convince voters that their party should form the next
government.


GW STAND SPRING PLANS!

1)GW STAND will be working with the Genocide Intervention Network(GIN)
and the National STAND Coalition to coordinate the upcoming national
lobby day April 28-30.If you are interested in helping out in any way
(from finding places for students from other schools to stay to
compiling info on registration) any help would be greatly appreciated!
Email Micaela micaela@... or Kasia korz@... to make lobby day an
effective success!

2)We will be holding a forum featuring legistative assistants (LA’s) on
student activism on February 1st at 7:30pm in the Betts Theatre!

3)February 2nd there will be a RALLY at the White House at noon with
Africa Action! The rally is located in Lafayette Park (16th and H St) in
a safe and permitted area. At the end of the rally some activists will
cross the street to the White House and risk arrest!

4)If you are around any of these cities or would like to coordinate a
trip to see State Radio in concert, we have an opportunity to table at
any of these dates! Check out www.myspace.com/lifefordarfur for more
information or contact Tara tbiller@... if you are interested in
coordinating a small group or will be in the area of any of the shows.

Jan. 27 Caberet Montreal, Canada w/Throwback
Feb. 2 The Variety Atlanta, GA w/Slightly Stoopid
Feb. 3 Norva Virgina Beach, VA w/Slightly Stoopid
Feb. 4 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA w/Slightly Stoopid
Feb. 7 Mr. Smalls Pittsburgh, PA w/Slightly Stoopid
Feb. 8 Waterstreet Rochester, NY Headline
Feb. 9 Pearl St Northampton, MA Headline Show/Charity Show
Feb. 11 Axis Boston, MA Headline
Feb. 15 The Space Hamden, CT Headline
Feb. 16 Century Lounge Providence, RI Headline
Feb. 17 Century Lounge Providence, RI Headline
Feb. 18 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY Headline
Feb. 23 Crowbar State College, PA Headline
Feb. 24 Bucknell Univ. Lewisberg, PA Headline

5)Sina is Biking for Darfur! Sina will be biking across the country,
stopping at various locations to spread the word about the genocide in
Darfur and encourage people nationwide to join the fight. If you are
interested in helping him coordinate this, or bike alongside him (even
for just a short while) any help would be greatly appreciated! Get in
touch with Sina to help out! sinaa@...

6)GWEAR!!! We are looking into STAND working at GW basketball games to
sell merchandise. Money raised from this will help fund our school in
Darfur. Email Natalie nwessel@... to sign up!

7)The Save Darfur Coalition has organized the Million Voices for Darfur
campaign. Send an electronic postcard to President Bush. Regular
postcards are also available if you would like to distribute them
personally. Check out http://www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org/ to sign the
postcard or http://www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org/?page=postcards to
order your own.

In the coming months, the campaign will collect one million of these
hand-written and electronic postcards from Americans demanding that the
United States government act in support of a stronger multinational
force to protect the civilians of Darfur. The postcards will be
collected in local communities and on college campuses, at houses of
worship and over the Internet. The Coalition will then deliver
Americans’ messages to the White House and Capitol Hill, using the
campaign to draw national and local media attention to the Darfur
crisis. In conjunction with the campaign, the Save Darfur Coalition is
also organizing 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 was an eyewitness to the genocide, is a powerful
and compelling speaker, and will help Americans grasp the reality – and
the enormity – of the crisis in Darfur. The Coalition will also promote
other events featuring Dar
fur experts and eyewitnesses in its speakers’ bureau.

8) Divestment will be picking up steam this semester. Help us force GW
to divest from investments in corporations dealing with the Sudanese
government. Contact Neil npadukon@... if you are interested in this
important campaign.


ANNOUNCEMENTS/ARTICLES/OPPORTUNITIES

We are looking for 4 committed individuals from our group that would be
willing to help get some networking going with religious communities.

USAID's Africa Bureau expects to have a limited number of Summer 2006
internships available in a few of our overseas missions in sub-Saharan
Africa as well as in Washington , D.C.
This is an excellent opportunity for outstanding students interested in
pursuing careers in international development.
For more information please visit:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/internships.html

Take a look at this short video from the Holocaust Museum’s Committee on
Conscience http://www.current.tv/studio/media/1063299

Keep getting those divestment petitions signed!

If you are in the school of Media and Public Affairs or Public Health,
let the divestment committee know!

If youre in a sorority/frat please or any other organization that may
want to coordinate with us on various projects, let Michaela know
micaela@...


“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~
Margaret Mead