They call for full diplomatic pressure towards peace, protection and justice

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Activists nationwide call for the withholding of US support for illegitimate Sudanese elections, currently scheduled for April 11, 2010.  The Sudan Sham Elections 2010 campaign begins February 20th.  For the 50 days leading up to the Sudanese elections, ordinary citizens in every state are taking targeted and effective action to ensure the US government will not legitimize sham elections in Sudan. Although the Obama administration came out with strong words when presenting its Sudan policy in October 2009, there has been no visible positive change on the ground.

The fifty states will tag-team, each participating in a day of action, advocating for a new direction in US policy.

"How can it make sense?" asks Gabriel Stauring Director of Stop Genocide Now, a group that seeks to change the way the world responds to genocide. "You have an indicted war criminal, Omar al-Bashir, as the candidate. The candidate and current president of Sudan, a post he attained through military coup, and his government is responsible for millions of deaths across Sudan.  They control the elections, and they continue to terrorize Sudanese citizens in the days leading up to this sham.  We, as Americans, cannot legitimize al-Bashir in any way."

Tzivia Schwartz Getzug, Executive Director of Jewish World Watch, states, "Sudanese elections, currently scheduled for April 2010, will be anything but free and fair. The electoral reforms laid out by Sudan's 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement -- necessary for a credible election -- have been delayed, obstructed and outright violated by the Sudanese government. With instability continuing in Darfur and violence mounting in the South, fraudulent elections in April could be a dangerous flashpoint for Sudan. The US should not legitimize non-credible elections in Sudan."

"The elections will not be fair and free. They will be a sham," states Mohamed Suleiman -- a Darfuri leader living in the US (with many family members and friends living in displacement and refugee camps), in support of the campaign.  "Omar al-Bashir took control of Sudan 20 years ago by military coup and has brutally ruled the country since. There is no freedom of movement, let alone freedom of expression or freedom to organize. Darfur is a war torn region where many previously vibrant and bustling villages now lay in ashes."

A.J. Fay an activist leader, and Co-founder of the Idaho Darfur Coalition, invites other US citizens to join Sudan Sham Elections 2010.  "Sudan is on the brink," he says.  "We could see violence that rivals only Sudan's own brutal past.  As citizens of the world, we must stand with others in danger.  Our own government must stand on the side of principle and press for peace in Sudan, now."

For information on how to participate, visit www.sudansham2010.org

ABOUT SUDAN SHAM 2010

Sudan Sham 2010 is a coordinated effort of regular citizens across all 50 states and DC who stand with the people of Sudan -- the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and the brutally oppressed -- in demanding free and fair elections. In a climate of violent political intimidation and with millions disenfranchised in camps, there cannot be credible elections in Sudan. US support gives the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted on war crimes and crimes against humanity, legitimacy it does not deserve. It is a waste of American taxpayer money, and non-credible elections will fuel violence and divisions in a country that is already on the brink.

SOURCE Sudan Sham 2010

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