Senate Proceeding on May 8th, 2008 :: 4:57:10 to 5:07:41
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4:57:10 to 4:57:16( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois.

4:57:10 to 5:07:41( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

4:57:16 to 4:57:29( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: and consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without

4:57:29 to 4:57:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i rise today to mark the anniversary of one global tragedy and to call attention to another, a tragedy that is occurring even at this moment. 14 years ago this week, the

4:57:44 to 4:57:57( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: world stood by as 800,000 rwandans were brutally murdered, largely among ethnic lines in just 100 days. despite early warning signs and pleas for greater international attention, we did little more

4:57:57 to 4:58:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: as a nation than just watch. as this act of genocide was allowed to continue. canadian general romeo delaird at the time was the commander of a small u.n. peacekeeping force in rwanda when the

4:58:10 to 4:58:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: genocide began. he desperately tried to get the united nations to approve a more robust force to end the killings killings. despite his efforts, the security council voted instead to cut back the

4:58:26 to 4:58:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: united nations force. nearly 2,500 troops were replaced with 450 poorly trained and poorly equipped soldiers. we all know the tragic result. today, the world looks back in shame at the inaction in

4:58:40 to 4:58:55( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: rwanda. we all failed. in 1998, president clinton visited rwanda and spoke to those who'd lost loved ones in those horrible times. president clinton said -- and i quote -- "we in the united states

4:58:55 to 4:59:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred in rwanda in 1994." president clinton's decision to visit rwanda was an honorable one,

4:59:09 to 4:59:22( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: it was the right choice; his words were inspiring in their honesty and accuracy. but his words were also an important reminder that the world cannot allow such a tragedy to occur again. president

4:59:22 to 4:59:37( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: bush visited rwanda in january and toured the committee galley memorial center, which i've already visited. 250,000 rwandans are buried in mass graves nearby. president bush said he hoped the world would

4:59:37 to 4:59:51( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: -- quote -- "once and for all work to halt the genocide in darfur." president bush will soon be leaving office, less than a year from now, and i fear that unless his administration acts and acts quickly,

4:59:51 to 5:00:04( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: we will once again fail to stop a genocide in its tragic march. if we want to send a message to the world that the united states will not turn a blind eye to genocide, now is the time to act in

5:00:04 to 5:00:17( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: darfur. mr. president, the violence began in darfur five years ago. since that time, i've come to the floor many times to talk about it. in 2004, the house of representatives unanimously adopted a

5:00:17 to 5:00:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: resolution calling on president bush to call the atrocities in darfur by their rightful name, a genocide. the resolution also urged the president to consider multilateral, even unilateral intervention.

5:00:32 to 5:00:45( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that resolution passed nearly four years ago, in july of 2004. four years ago. a few months later, secretary of state colin powell said it -- and i quote -- "genocide has been committed in darfur and

5:00:45 to 5:00:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that government of sudan and the john jew we'd bear responsibility -- john gentleman we'd bear responsibility and genocide he said may still be occurring. in june 2005, president bush said he agreed

5:00:54 to 5:01:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: with secretary of state powell's determination that what was happening in darfur was, in fact, a genocide. two years later, president bush spoke at the holocaust museum here in washington and said that genocide

5:01:11 to 5:01:30( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: is the only word for what is happening in darfur.| he went on to say, "we have a moral obligation to stop it." man things have been said over the years but little action has taken place. five years

5:01:30 to 5:01:48( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: after this declaration of genocide, where do we stand? what have we done? as many as 400,000 residents of darfur have been killed. others brutally raped and tortured. entire villages torched, creating

5:01:48 to 5:02:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: a refugee crisis that's forced more than two million from darfur to flee their homes. this picture -- this photograph is almost surreal -- as often described people who have flown over the darfur region

5:02:07 to 5:02:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: say it looks like people put cigarettes out, the type of burns that you see. the burns, of course, represent huts and 1reu8 acknowledges that -- and villages that have been destroyed. this is after allied

5:02:24 to 5:02:38( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: forces burned the village. hundreds of thousands of women and children live in the camps in darfur and chad. this does not do justice to the camp but tiny white dots, are, income, small tenths -- a sea

5:02:38 to 5:02:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of small tents; 90,000 people live if this camp in darfur. there are no gas or trees and ten report -- no grass or trees and ten reported rapes each day. the people in these catches are dependent

5:02:52 to 5:03:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: on us, the international community, for the bakes -- food, water and shelter. it is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe. the u.n. security council voted last summer in favor of a historic

5:03:09 to 5:03:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: 26,000-member u.n. african union joint peacekeeping force. last summer they voted it bringing a glimmer of hope that finally there was going to be a global response to this tell terrible situation.

5:03:21 to 5:03:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: today, almost a year later, only a third of the peacekeepers have been deployed -- a third. only a third of the peacekeeping force is on the ground while the sudan government continues to thumb its

5:03:40 to 5:03:55( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: nose at the international community and the forces continue to attack villains in darfur. humanitarian and u.n. relief workers face violence and harassment. this photo of a grieving mother whose children were

5:03:55 to 5:04:08( Edit History Discussion )

killed in darfur. hers is one of the thousands -- hundreds of thousands of tragic sisters. she said that her three children were burned alive in this region's violence. just the other day sudan forces

5:04:08 to 5:04:24( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: were reported to is bombed a primary school in the north darfur village killing at least seven little children. after so many years, after so much violence and human suffering, after so many calls

5:04:24 to 5:04:39( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: for actions, what is holding up the peacekeepers? well, it may be hard to believe but one significant problem is a shortage of helicopters. hard to imagine, a shortage of helicopters, as the killing, looting,

5:04:39 to 5:04:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: raping and displacement continues. this tragic genocide has been raging for five years while we have just stood by and watched. yet the world's most powerful nations cannot manage to dig up a handful

5:04:54 to 5:05:07( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of helicopters. how can that be? are all our helicopters tied up in iraq and afghanistan? are they all in the shop? is there truly not one nato ally that can spare a few helicopters? how about asking

5:05:07 to 5:05:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: the russians? they are already helping in south sudan and chad. the russian ambassador visited my office recently and told me he is open to exploring help in darfur. it is hard to the imagine the

5:05:19 to 5:05:33( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: united states would ask other countries to supply helicopters but at the risk of allowing genocide to continue, we ought to do that. this tragedy is historic in proportion. it's our chance to step

5:05:33 to 5:05:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: in and show the world that we really care. what it takes is presidential leadership, not in six months, not in a year, but now. i know some of my colleagues in the senate, ones on the floor -- senator bide

5:05:44 to 5:05:57( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: ---has raised this issue personally with president bush. quite simply, i want to put this in the simplest terms because i have said it directly to the president himself and to secretary of state condoleeza

5:05:57 to 5:06:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: rice, if you're not going to do anything before you leave office to stop the genocide in darfur, then spend a few minutes writing your speech so that a year or two from now when you visit that terrible

5:06:11 to 5:06:26( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: place, you can say, "we could have done more, i wish we had." that is what it is down to. this administration and congress will either act soon our, sadly, this genocide will have occurred on our watch.

5:06:26 to 5:06:40( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: a few years ago, president clinton faced the reality of his failure to act in rwanda. he called it -- quote -- "my great, great regret in international affairs." president bush, this is your chance.

5:06:40 to 5:07:01( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: either do something or face a similar script and a similar speech in years to come expressing your regret that you, on your watch, did not stop the genocide in darfur. mr. president, we can't allow

5:07:01 to 5:07:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: to look back years from now and to say that happened. we have a moral responsibility as a leader in the world to speak out and to act to save these people. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence