U.S. and European media

April 28, 2023

Los Angeles Times: Congress members arrested in Darfur protest. Five members of Congress and three activists were arrested on civil disobedience charges in front of the Sudanese Embassy on Monday for protesting "crimes against humanity" in Darfur. The congress members crossed a yellow police tape line and refused to leave the largely peaceful demonstration after calling on Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir to reinstate 16 nongovernmental aid organizations that he expelled or shut down last month in response to the International Criminal Court issuing a warrant for his arrest. Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of more than 180 human rights organizations, was also among the eight arrested Monday. Fowler, who said he had never been arrested before, spoke of the desperation among refugees that he has found in his travels to Darfur. "They are at a tremendous risk," he said. Although aiming his message at Bashir, Fowler said that Obama needs to make a sustained and personal engagement to promote peace in the region. "American leadership can make a difference, but it will take a tenacious and determined effort," he said.

Washington Post: More Than 100 Arrested in Series of Protests. More than 100 people were arrested during a series of demonstrations in Washington yesterday, including five members of Congress who were part of a group that gathered outside the Sudanese Embassy to condemn the expulsion of aid agencies from Darfur. Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-Md.) was among five members of Congress arrested on civil disobedience charges. The others were Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), John Lewis (D-Ga.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.). They were charged with crossing a police line, a misdemeanor, and released. "I thought it was pretty important to join with my colleagues in saying this is not acceptable in a civil society," Edwards said in an interview afterward. "These are issues I've cared about for a long time, long before I came into Congress."

Fox News: EXCLUSIVE: Mia Farrow Speaks Out on Darfur Hunger Strike. Actress Mia Farrow began a fast of water only in solidarity for the people of Darfur Monday, attempting to abstain from all food for three weeks. Why is it important for you to undertake this hunger strike? The people of Darfur are going to starve in huge numbers. I'm going to fast I hope for 21 days if I last that long, but the people that are going to starve to death cannot be heard, their voices cannot be heard. I've just come back from one month in the region, I have friends there and I have promises to keep. I'm proud to do whatever I can to the plight of the displaced people. When and how did the idea to undertake this come about? It was sparked from absolute outrage. After March when the humanitarians were expelled I kept waiting for the shoe to drop but that never happened. I was just astounded, how could it be that a million lives could now be put at risk by a genocidal dictator and the world would just watch?

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].