Seven Congress members arrested in Sudan protest

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Seven African-American members of
the U.S. Congress were arrested on Tuesday at the Embassy of
Sudan, where they were protesting atrocities in that country’s
Darfur region.

The members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a news
conference in front of the embassy property, then moved to
block the entrance to deliberately prompt their arrests, said
Christopher Johnson, spokesman for North Carolina Democratic
Rep. Mel Watt.

“It’s time for the members of the Congressional Black
Caucus and the world community to raise the ante on Sudan,”
Watt, the caucus chairman, said in a statement.

Also arrested were Democratic Reps. John Lewis of Georgia,
Barbara Lee of California, Eddie Bernice Johnson and Al Green
of Texas, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.,
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

The lawmakers were led away in plastic handcuffs and paid
$50 fines, Johnson said.

“We must not forget that while we consider what to do, the
situation on the ground is worsening for the millions of people
affected by the crisis,” Lewis said in a statement.

Five other members of Congress were arrested last month at
the Embassy of Sudan protesting the Darfur situation after
deliberately going on embassy property.

U.N. and U.S. officials have accused the Sudanese
government of arming marauding Arab militias, who have raped,
pillaged, and killed tens of thousands in Darfur, and driven
more than 2 million villagers into squalid camps. Sudan has
denied the charge.

The Khartoum government and the biggest faction of the
rebel Sudan Liberation Army signed an agreement on May 5 aimed
at stemming the violence, but a rival SLA faction and a smaller
rebel group have refused to sign.

The international community fears the accord will not stop
the war if only one rebel faction supports it. Refugees have
rioted against the deal in several camps in Darfur.

The CBC members called for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to
help the African Union mission control the violence, for
President George W. Bush to press Sudan to release food aid to
help people in Darfur, improved civilian protection and return
of refugees, and full implementation of peace agreements.