Watch this video: Sen. Inhofe props the bill on the Senate floor
If you still haven’t heard, on Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed unanimously the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. While the battle is far from over, this is a huge step towards getting this bill passed. Thanks to Senators like James Inhofe, who delivered this speech prior to the meeting, our efforts are starting to pay off. Keep up the good work, and we can definitely see this thing passed.
Enough: Accountability vs. Amnesty – the case of Charles Arop
This Enough post brings up some pretty intense questions - What do you think?
Posted: Nov 18,2009. Read it here.
Last week, the Ugandan army confirmed that Charles Arop, the director of operations for the Lord’s Resistance Army, had surrendered to Ugandan soldiers in the town of Djabir in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is a significant development in the fight against the LRA; as director of operations, Arop was in charge of planning and executing attacks. The Ugandan army has long maintained that Arop was in charge of the so-called Christmas massacres, a series of attacks against Congolese civilians on Christmas Day, 2008, in and around the town of Faradje in northeastern Congo. The LRA brutally murdered more than 140 civilians and abducted another 160.
I recently interviewed two former LRA fighters who told me Arop was in charge of the group which attacked Faradje. The most convincing and clear testimony was that of a southern Sudanese boy named Joseph. He was abducted and held by the LRA for a year from February 2008 until February 2009.
I was in a group of about 80 people who attacked Faradje. The group was led by Major General [sic] Arop. After they attacked Faradje, one group was told to take the loot to Central Africa where [LRA leader Joseph] Kony was. The group split, with the majority going to CAR under the leadership of Opiyo [Lt. Col. Opiyo Sam, presumably killed in DRC last month] and Opoka [unknown]. I stayed with Arop close to Faradje with 18 fighters where eventually 20 other fighters joined us.
Joseph managed to escape in February, and the 40 or so other fighters under Arop have been either killed or defected in the past few months.
Sources from the Ugandan military intelligence told me that on October 15, 2009, four members from Arop’s group surrendered to the Congolese army. At least nine more people under Arop, including one of Arop’s wives, surrendered to the Ugandan army on October 28 in Djabir, the same place where Arop would defect a week later with one remaining fighter.
Questions abound about Arop’s fate now that he has surrendered. Will Arop be prosecuted for the war crimes he committed in Congo, and if so, by whom? Uganda does not have jurisdiction for crimes committed in Congo. That would be the responsibility of the Congolese government or possibly the International Criminal Court, or ICC (though the ICC has not yet launched an investigation into the Christmas massacres). If Arop is not prosecuted for crimes in Congo, how will the Ugandan government deal with justice and accountability?
Arop is eligible for amnesty in Uganda as stipulated under the Amnesty Act of 2000 which says that former combatants are eligible to receive amnesty for having participated in an armed struggle. More than 10,000 former LRA fighters have so far been granted amnesty. The Amnesty Act does not differentiate between low level fighters and commanders. President Museveni has said that there will be no amnesty for top commanders but this has been understood as a reference to Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen, who are indicted by the ICC.
A senior Ugandan official told me recently that the decisions about how to deal with former LRA commanders are strictly political. As a result, the Ugandan government’s treatment of former LRA commanders seems inconsistent to anyone without an insider’s understanding of the politics at play. Some, such as Opiyo Makasi, Kenneth Banya, and Sam Kolo, have been granted full amnesty and live now freely in Uganda. Yet this past June, the Ugandan government charged a recently captured commander, Major Thomas Kwoyelo, with kidnapping and intent to murder. He is the only former commander who has been charged in a Ugandan court. Kwoyelo is eligible for amnesty but he has not been granted it. The reasons are unclear.
The Ugandan government needs to clarify how it intends to deal with mid-level LRA commanders and make that approach permanent. Not granting amnesty to Kwoyelo, for instance, is a worry for other commanders who want to defect but fear prosecution.
At the same time, the Ugandan government needs to ensure that there is accountability for grave crimes such as the ones committed by Arop in Faradje. LRA commanders should know that they will not be prosecuted for acts committed if they decide to defect, but grave crimes of the scale of the Faradje attacks cannot be ignored. Otherwise, a precedent will be created where LRA commanders can perpetrate heinous crimes knowing they will not be held to account.
Yesterday’s Hometown Shakedown was ____________!!! (insert preferred superlative)
- So much was done on one day. Huge successes across the nation.
Yesterday, hundreds of Invisible Children supporters stormed the hometown offices of 30 key congressional representatives in an effort to gain needed support for the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. The Hometown Shakedown, as it was called, was one of the most powerful coordinated grassroots efforts in history, and had some pretty incredible results.
By the end of the day, we had co-sponsorship confirmations from at least seven new senators, and five new House representatives. Before the end of the day.
Several of these were very heavy hitters whose voice behind this bill will be crazy strong. Both John Kerry (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair) and Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) – neither of which were expected to sign on – responded to the visits of Shakedown activists by co-sponsoring the bill.
In the House, notable signatories included Reps. Crenshaw, Schiff, and Rothman. Thanks to people like Sean Poole in Pasadena, and Emily Felsenthal in Jersey City, we had big turnouts at every meeting.
We know a lot of you weren’t able to be there, so we want to give you an insight into what these meetings entailed. Nothing we could say could sum it up better than our friend Jamie Roach, who sent us an email from White Plains, NY, where he led an amazing group into a meeting at Rep. Nita Lowey’s office. We’ve included some of his words below:
“TODAY’S Hometown Shakedown in New York was quality versus quantity. No photo will show the magnitude of how this day felt for me, (although I’ve attached one). It was a reconnection to what I LOVE about life, about humans and most certainly about IC, which raises the possibilities of both.
8 people showed up to White Plains, NY. A college student who drove hours to be there, a high school leader who’s Mom wrote a note to the Principal to get out of school early, two high school girls who made posters and heaps of research on the bill, (not seen in the photo, because they left them with the Staffers) a University S4S president, who traveled from the Bronx, two old Roadies from separate tours (myself included), and a high school leader who had raised thousands for her S4S club.
It was an unusual encounter. We each came from completely different parts of the world, economic classes, generations, races and religions. And within 20 minutes of first gathering, we sat together in a cafe, bringing all of our ideas, stories and research together to create a concise, powerful and articulate voice.
[Once we arrived at the meeting], they began to speak as planned only minutes earlier…
‘As Obama encourages, I don’t want to be just a citizen of my city, or just my country, but of the World’, and ‘Please don’t let our generation become cynical to the idea that hundreds of thousands of constituents can care for something and have the means to bring change and no effort was made’, or ‘We need more balance in this World, from rich to poor, and this is what this Bill is all about’. ‘Our past histories should not dictate our future’ to ‘The people are devastated and we don’t care that it is not happening in our country’…
I hardly said a word during the 20 minute meeting. No one else in the room, besides myself, had ever been to northern Uganda, but I couldn’t say anything better than the words coming from each high school and University student. No one had ever interacted with an ex-rebel or a desperate father. No one had laughed with a courageous mother, or silently wrestled with what to say after hearing a personal testimony of the war’s destruction. What they had done was zone out all modern distractions to absorb these feelings, to imagine these situations, to feel these stories. And to act with full vigor and trust that they could do something about it.”
Thanks, Jamie.
These are the stories that we live for. Your actions DO make a difference. You are the ones that go out there and create change. Stay tuned – we’ll be uploading more pictures and keeping you updated on further co-sponsors.
Here's our AZ crew.
Oklahoma City preparing for their meeting with Sen. Coburn.
Hold that sign, girl! Ow, ow!
Sen. Inouye didn't have a chance with these Hawai'ian trend-setters comin' at him.
Atlanta friggin' rocked it. Take that, Sen. Isakson.
We love Lydia! Her group dominated the meeting with Kerry's staff.
Jamie and the Rep. Lowey crew. You inspire us all, you crazy world-changers.
Speakin' at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. Ain't no thing.
Your Hometowns are Shakin’! Check out some pics
We’re seeing it all over the country – these meetings are working. Check out some of these pictures, but be sure to check out our Facebook page for tons more.
HOMETOWN SHAKEDOWN is TODAY
THE HOMETOWN SHAKEDOWN IS ON
The Hometown Shakedown goes down TODAY. If you haven’t felt it yet, the Hometown Shakedown is on. You might want to grab on to something stable or get under a doorframe.
If you haven’t heard yet, the LRA Disarmament Bill passed its first big test yesterday. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee affirmed the bill unanimously, moving the bill one step closer to President Obama’s desk. This is a colossal pat on the back for all of our efforts, but the time for celebration is yet to come. We still have a lot of work to do.
Today, we’re visiting the offices of over 30 congressional representatives to tell them one thing: we need their support and co-sponsorship of the LRA Disarmament Bill. Across the nation, supporters like you will be swarming the hometown offices of several senators and representatives who are key authorities in the fate of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.
Never before have we been this close to seeing landmark legislation passed regarding Joseph Kony’s ruthless charge.
For that reason, we need your help. If you’re reading this, go to WeWantObama.com, type in your zip code and find the info to call and email your representatives asking them to support the Bill. Then, visit www.invisiblechildren.com for up-to-date information on the Shakedown. All day, we’ll be giving you pictures, videos, and stories of the emerging developments, and streaming live, via Facebook, to keep you updated. Find out how you can lend your voice in support of this bill, and tell your representative how much their assistance means to you.
Click here to see a brand new video, featuring never-before-seen footage of Invisible Children’s recent interview with International Criminal Court lead prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Hear what he has to say about why our role is so important in the pursuit of Joseph Kony, and how all of us are having an unprecedented effect on international efforts.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do, is try to attend one of the 30 most important meetings (see no. 1 below) shown in this link: MEETING LOCATIONS <– if you can drive, fly, or crawl to one of these… by all means do it.
Join us.
THE HOMETOWN SHAKEDOWN: Wednesday, November 18th, 2009.
1st step a success! This is huge. Read this!
“Dear all –
I just wanted to let you know the LRA Disarmament & Northern Uganda Recovery Act, S.1067, was passed unanimously this afternoon by Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a voice vote. We’ll be sending out a press release soon. This is a huge step forward to getting it past in the Senate and ultimately by all of Congress. Thanks for all your support and help thus far. The next step for us is ramping up the # of cosponsors so we can try to pass it through the whole Senate next month with unanimous consent.
All the best,
Senator Feingold’s office.”
Here is the press release:
SENATE COMMITTEE PASSES FEINGOLD BILL REQUIRING NEW STRATEGY TO CONFRONT THE LRA
Feingold’s Bipartisan Legislation Would Bring New Attention and Support to Ending Africa’s Longest Running Rebel War
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Washington, D.C. – The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed bipartisan legislation today authored by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and cosponsored by Sam Brownback (R-KS) requiring the Obama administration to develop a new multifaceted strategy to confront one of Africa’s longest running rebel groups, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). For more than two decades, under the leadership of Joseph Kony, the LRA has kidnapped more than 66,000 children and forced them to fight as child soldiers, wreaking havoc in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, and more recently, northeastern Congo and Central African Republic. Feingold’s bipartisan Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act requires the United States to work with multilateral partners to develop a viable path to disarm the LRA, while ensuring the protection of civilians.
“For too long, Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army have terrorized innocent civilians across four countries of central Africa, kidnapping thousands of children and forcing them to become child soldiers and commit horrific acts,” said Feingold, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, who visited Uganda in 2007. “My bill will commit the United States to develop a proactive strategy to work with regional governments to stop the LRA, while better targeting our assistance to address the conditions in northern Uganda that enabled the LRA to emerge in the first place. I will work with my colleagues to move this important piece of legislation through the Senate.”
“The LRA’s 30-year campaign of violence has scarred communities across central Africa, who have in turn been let down by their governments, the UN and the international donor community,” said Jon Elliott, Africa Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch. “This Bill offers an opportunity to put civilian protection where it should be, at the top of the agenda, and much-needed American leadership to finally bring Joseph Kony and his co-accused to justice. And it will hopefully ensure that victims receive the support and redress they need to rebuild their lives.”
Feingold’s bill authorizes $10 million in additional funding for humanitarian assistance for those areas outside of Uganda now directly affected by the LRA’s brutality. In this year alone, the UN reports that the LRA has killed more than 1,500 people, abducted over 1,800, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Central African Republic, Congo and southern Sudan. Feingold’s bill also authorizes $30 million over three years for transitional justice and reconciliation to encourage and help the Ugandan government to address the grievances and regional divisions that the LRA exploited for nearly two decades. The Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act is cosponsored by Sam Brownback (R-KS) and 25 other senators, including several members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Big banks to young Americans: Friendsies??
Can you smell post-banking crisis PR campaign?
Recently, Chase Bank announced a Facebook campaign that they’re using to give out $5 million of our their money to the charities that receive the most votes. Whatever your opinion on these big banks may be, we think their commitment to supporting social causes is admirable. And what better way to do so than through the social media network most-loved among 14-26 year old millennials in potential need of future banking? Yes, Facebook.
This is a great opportunity to spread the word about Joseph Kony’s war, and gather some much-needed money to support Invisible Children’s many on-the-ground development programs and advocacy operations. Thirty seconds of your time can go a long way for many of the war-affected children in our Visible Child Scholarship Program or the women of our MEND Initiative.
Please click here and vote. You can vote up to 20 times, and your 10 study group partners can vote 200 times. My 14 Facebook friends Your 600 Facebook friends can vote 12,000 times. You get the drift.
It’s not that we don’t love big banks. We totally do.
Germany arrests top Rwanda rebels
Police in Germany have arrested two Rwandan militia leaders on suspicion of crimes committed in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ignace Murwanashyaka, the leader of the FDLR rebel group, and his aide Straton Musoni were held on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
FDLR leaders fled to DR Congo after the Rwanda genocide in which some 800,000 people – mostly ethnic Tutsis – died. The FDLR’s presence in DR Congo has been at the heart of years of unrest. The arrests come as UN peacekeepers continue to help the Congolese army battle the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda).
The operation has been underway since January but the FDLR remains active.
Facts:
IGNACE MURWANASHYAKA
- Ethnic Hutu, aged 46
- Been in Germany since before Rwanda genocide
- Denies charges his men are linked to genocide
- Says fighting for democracy in Rwanda
- Commands 5-6,000 men
- FDLR said to smuggle gold from DR Congo to buy weapons
- Accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity
- Accused of killings, rape, looting and conscripting child soldiers in DR Congo
- The FDLR is accused of funding its arms purchases by smuggling gold and other minerals from areas it controls in the North and South Kivu provinces, just across the border from Rwanda.
Mr Murwanaskyaka, 46, was arrested in the city of Karlsruhe, while 48-year-old Mr Musoni was held in the Stuttgart area, German prosecutors said in a statement. The statement said that the pair were the leader and deputy leader of the FDLR.
“The accused are strongly suspected, as members of the foreign terrorist organisation FDLR, of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes,” it said. It added that “FDLR militias are believed to have killed several hundred civilians, raped numerous women, plundered and burned countless villages, forcing villagers from their homes and recruiting numerous children as soldiers”.
Lobby group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the arrests. “Our research clearly indicates that Mr Murwanashyaka has a powerful influence over the FDLR militia who have deliberately targeted and killed hundreds of civilians in eastern Congo and that he is directly linked to the crimes,” said HRW DR Congo expert Anneke Van Woudenberg. “Mr Murwanashyaka’s arrest on war crimes and crimes against humanity is a welcome step to bringing justice for these brutal crimes,” she added.
Mr Murwanashyaka, an ethnic Hutu, has lived in Germany since before the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. He has always denied that his men, believed to number 5-6,000, were involved in the genocide and says they are fighting to bring democracy to Rwanda.
He was among 15 people whose assets were frozen by the Security Council in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in war crimes in Rwanda or DR Congo.
EYEWITNESS:
Mark Doyle, BBC News
“There is no doubt that Ignace Murwanashyaka has had direct command and control over some of the illegal mining activities of Rwandan rebels operating in eastern DR Congo. I know, because when I travelled in the area earlier this year with a BBC team, it was he who gave us permission to enter the rebel mining strongholds in the South Kivu region. I had sought permission from rebel officers on the ground. All of these officers declined to give us permission to enter their area until Mr Murwanashyaka agreed. It was a public relations gaffe on the rebels’ part, however, because we managed to prove, despite rebel denials, that they were deeply involved in illegal mineral mining.”
The FDLR’s presence in eastern DR Congo has led to years of fighting in the region, and Rwanda’s Tutsi-dominated government has twice invaded, saying it is trying to wipe them out.
Some FDLR leaders have been accused of involvement in the Rwandan genocide.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8364507.stm
Published: 2009/11/17 17:52:32 GMT
Vote for mtvU’s GoodWoodie awards, namely… Jamie.
Head over to mtvU’s website to vote in the category of “Good Woodie,” the award that honors the musician or social justice activist who’s done amazing work in 2009. This year’s nominees include Alicia Keys, Wyclef Jean and Jaime Tworkowski (from To Write Love on Her Arms). Jamie and TWLOHA are friends of Invisible Children and working to bring awareness and hope to people suffering from depression, self injury, and addiction. Get voting now …
Jamie.
Remembering our friend Robert Stone
Make room Bill and Warren.. because I’m poor and awesome
At IC, close to 80% of our funding comes from donations of $20 or less. It is a tough road, but it has given us a flexibility and democratic freedom that most non-profits don’t enjoy. We may eat cardboard and ramen noodles, but we’re still here kickin’ ace. Here is a NYTimes article about the new growth of small donors.
New Fame for the Everyday Donor
AFTER years in the shadows, the everyday donor is emerging as philanthropy’s newest hero, the driver of a more down-to-earth approach to charity. Sure, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Bono and other celebrity mega-donors still have their place, but now high-profile charities are homing in on smaller donations, while new charities are being organized around the principle of modest giving.
“This is one of those all-hands-on-deck moments where we absolutely need to engage everyone, whether they are able to give 50 cents or $50 million,” said David Saltzman, executive director of the Robin Hood Foundation, famous for annual benefits where billionaires routinely hand over $20 million.
Americans have always been generous givers, and small donations have always played their part. After a tsunami devastated parts of southeast Asia in 2004, individuals in the United States donated $2.78 billion of the $6.2 billion raised for relief efforts — and the median gift was $50, the average gift $135. Yet multimillion gifts and lavish campaigns and events often commandeered the spotlight and the press coverage.
“We are deluded by the attention paid to the large contributors in our country,” said Wendy Smith, author of “Give A Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform the World.”
“Small checks coming through the mail are the bread and butter for most organizations.”
How the internet ruined everything: Newspapers, Books, Movies, Music
by Daniel Lyons, NEWSWEEK
The past decade is the era in which the Internet ruined everything. Just look at the industries that have been damaged by the rise of the Web: Newspapers. Magazines. Books. TV. Movies. Music. Retailers of almost any kind, from cars to real estate. Telecommunications. Airlines and hotels. Wherever companies relied on advertising to make money, wherever companies were profiting by a lack of transparency or a lack of competition, wherever friction could be polished out of the system, those industries suffered.
Remember all that crazy talk in the early days about how the Internet was going to change everything and usher us into a brave new techno-utopia? Well, to get to that promised land, we first have to endure a period of what economist Joseph Schumpeter called “creative destruction,” as the Internet crashes like a tsunami across entire industries, sweeping away the old and infirm and those who are unwilling or unable to change. That’s where we’ve been these past 10 years, and it’s been ugly.
Let’s start with newspapers. You wouldn’t think that in an information age the biggest victim would be purveyors of information. But there you go. Newspapers are getting wiped out in part because they didn’t realize they were in the information business—they thought their business was about putting ink onto paper and then physically distributing those stacks of paper with fleets of trucks and delivery people. Papers were slow to move to the Web. For a while they just sort of shuffled around, hoping it would go away. Even when they did launch Web sites, many did so reluctantly, almost grudgingly. It’s hard to believe that news companies could miss this shift. These companies are in the business of spotting what’s new, right? Yet they were blind to the biggest change (and the biggest opportunity) to ever hit their own business. Watching newspapers go out of business because of the Internet is like watching dairies going out of business because customers started wanting their milk in paper cartons instead of glass bottles.
Newspapers are getting wiped out because the Internet robbed them of their mini-monopolies. For decades they had virtually no competition, and so could charge ridiculous amounts of money for things like tiny classified ads. This, we are told by people who are wringing their hands over the demise of newspapers, was somehow a good thing. Good or no, it’s gone, thanks to Craigslist, which came along and provided the same service at no charge. Whoops.
(more…)
MSNBC: On her death bed, Joseph Kony’s mother has one wish…
KAMPALA, Uganda – The mother of one of Africa’s most notorious rebel leaders relayed one last wish for her son before her death Wednesday, according to a nurse at her deathbed: Make peace.
Norah Anek, 86, the mother of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, died after a long illness, said nurse Betty Akello, who was with her when she died. Her son heads the infamous Lord’s Resistance Army, which has waged one of Africa’s longest and most brutal rebellions, in northern Uganda.
“Moments before dying she said, ‘Tell Joseph Kony to make peace,’” Anek said, according to Akello.
Kony has led the cult-like LRA for two decades. The rebel group that has been blamed for tens of thousands of murders, mutilations and kidnapping children for use as soldiers and sex slaves.
The government of Uganda has been looking after Kony’s mother for the last 10 years as a way to induce him to stop fighting.
Anek, who sometimes is called Norah Oting, was a religious woman who never wanted her son to fight, said William Okello, a community leader. She believed her son was possessed with evil spirits, he said.
Anek told The Associated Press in a 2007 interview that her son was “costing us peace in northern Uganda.”
In 2006, the government asked Anek to take part in negotiations at Garamba National Park in Congo to persuade Kony to sign a peace agreement with Uganda. Kony had suggested that a meeting with his mother would persuade him to take part in the talks. She went to the park, but the rebel group did not sign an agreement.
Two years later at his remote hideaway on the Congo-Sudan border, Kony stood up a fleet of sweating diplomats who waited for him for three days in the mosquito-infested jungle.
Kony’s armed group has waged a rebellion that has drawn in northern Uganda, eastern Congo and southern Sudan. Kony, who says he is fighting to rule Uganda based on the Ten Commandments, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes.
The Legacy Fund: What will be your legacy?
We are launching our new program that invites you to join the cause in specific ways. The Legacy Fund. We have a series of videos that explain the ways you can help. Today is our first: the Visible Child Scholarship Program. Watch the video, and check us out tomorrow for the next release.
What will be your legacy?
Good intentions are not going to cut it
Director/Filmmaker Tori Hogan created a ten part series investigating the effectiveness of international aid. The one on Religious aid is my favorite. Check them out by clicking the play button.
- Laren
LRA Bill goes before committee NEXT Tuesday the 17th!
***Update: SFRC meeting in which the LRA/Uganda bill was going to be voted on has been pushed back until next Tuesday. Tomorrow’s meeting time conflicted with a memorial service for some of the Ft. Hood shooting victims.
Back to the main story:
I have some exciting news to share. Because your lobbying during How It Ends in June has created so much Congressional support for the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act (have you seen the latest? 26 Senators and 123 Representatives are cosponsors!), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will be taking it up for consideration this Tuesday, November 17th.
In a word, this is HUGE. Once the committee passes the bill, it can be scheduled for a vote by the entire Senate. We only have a short window of opportunity to get this bill passed with this session of Congress, so time is of the essence.
To see if your Congressional Representatives have already signed on to the bill, visit WeWantObama.com. If they have not, this is a darn good reason to get in touch with them and tell them you support this legislation- and they should too.
And on November 18th, it’s all hands on deck as we lobby our elected officials online and in person. Mark your calendars and make a plan to visit your representatives’ local offices, as well as call and email them, asking them to co-sponsor this bill and help get it passed this year.
WeWantObama.com has everything you need to know, including representatives’ contact information and local office locations.
NY Times: Africa’s Diamond Trade Under Scrutiny
NY Times: Africa’s Diamond Trade Under Scrutiny
By CELIA W. DUGGER
Published: November 3, 2009
JOHANNESBURG — The viability of an effort endorsed by the United Nations to halt the trading of the so-called blood diamonds that have fueled conflicts across Africa is on the line this week, and the test case is Zimbabwe.
The question is whether participants in this global effort, now meeting in Namibia, will penalize Zimbabwe for rampant smuggling that has been documented by their own investigators and which violates international standards, say representatives of the diamond industry and watchdog groups.
Any country belonging to the Kimberley Process, the international undertaking against conflict diamonds, can block Zimbabwe’s suspension from the group, which critics say would undermine its ability to police the industry. (more…)
CBS New Video: Sudan Report… soooo powerful
This story, from CBS’ 60 Minutes, is powerful personal journalism about the genocide in Darfur. It includes Invisible Children supporter John Prendergast as well as other incredible people doing important work in that region. Please watch. It’s only 15 minutes, and what is happening in Darfur is connected to what the LRA has been doing for 24 years. The same criminals that are responsible for the Sudanese tragedy are bankrolling the LRA. Watch the story here.
Our man: Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in his words
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is regularly criticised for being too selective or too slow in the pursuit of war criminals. Here, its prosecutor gives his side of the story, explaining how the court goes about its work, and answering his critics on the cases concerning Sudan’s President Omer el Beshir, Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony and Congolese former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba – with a combination of patience and passion for seeing justice done. Read the interview here.
Update: Our recent trip to DC
by Ben Keesey, CEO Invisible Children, Inc.
10/23/2009
Today in Washington DC, I went with Resolve Uganda Director Michael Poffenberger and Policy Analyst Paul Ronan to a 9am meeting in the State Department with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Mr. Donald Yamamoto. He was very interested in learning more about Invisible Children’s work and was extremely complementary of what we do. He was so encouraged by the amount of young people that we have who are knowledgeable and engaged in trying to stop the LRA. He told us that the US in currently working with and supporting the Uganda Peoples Defense Force (UPDF) in the effort to stop Kony. He said that they have been making progress and that Kony is currently on the run in Central African Republic.
Ambassador Yamamoto is the second highest ranking official in the African Affairs Bureau, second only to Assistant Secretary Johnny Carson. Assistant Secretary Carson is currently in Uganda meeting with President Museveni discussing a number of issues including how to stop Kony and the LRA. We told Ambassador Yamamoto about the Citizens Arrest Warrant petition and I even gave him a stack of signed CAW cards that the Northern California Roadie team had given me from some recent screenings that they had done. He told me to keep it up and get as many people to sign that as possible. He agrees with us that Kony is evil and that he needs to be stopped. We left the meeting encouraged that because of our actions, our leaders are responding.
After the meeting in the State Department, I spoke at the United Nations Foundation. During a two hour presentation to approximately 40 of their staff members and guests, I showed the film Together We Are Free and discussed our model of grassroots mobilization. They were pretty blown away to see how many young people around the country have sacrificed their time and money on behalf of Invisible Children. They were particularly impressed (and jealous) of our roadies and interns. It made me appreciate how special it is that we have so many people eager and willing to volunteer their time and energy both in our office and on the road to make everything that we do possible.
We ended the day in meetings with our partners Resolve Uganda and The Enough Project to discuss our November 18th day of action. We need to use that day to rally in a huge way and keep the momentum moving towards passing the LRA Disarmament Bill later this year or early next year.
All in all, it was a good day in the Nation’s Capitol.
- Ben
New photo exhibit at UN conveys distress in Congo
This photo montage captures a bit of the dire circumstances occuring as a result of the LRA
A current display at the United Nations reveals what life is like as civil war continues to tear through eastern Congo. Check out some of the images on the New York Times’ Lens blog.
Viewer’s note: Some of the images are fairly graphic… but that is the truth of the situation.
GUESS + Vanity Fair + IC = Epic party
We love her. Period.
Our favorite human in Hollywood, Kristen Bell, hosted a party for Invisible Children last night in Beverly Hills. Along with co-hosts Rachel Bilson and the amazing Pete Wentz, the trio launched a new line of Guess t-shirts that support Invisible Children. Vanity Fair magazine also co-hosted the party, and has become a great supporter of ours. We are so insanely honored by these people!
The shirts, made with Edun Organic Cotton grown and harvested in Uganda, were the brainchild of Caroline and Olivia Marciano. These girls, both daughters of Guess CEO Maurice Marciano, have become some of Invisible Children’s strongest activists, throwing events and spreading the word throughout Los Angeles. They are heroes of ours and we are so proud of all that they have done. As usual, it is the young people that surprise the world with their capacity to do big things that make a difference.
The t-shirts will be in every Guess store across the US starting Monday, and 100% of the sale price goes to Invisible Children. It is a huge commitment from Guess to Invisible Children, and we can’t thank them enough.
Not to mention, now Rachel is totally on board to go to Uganda. She has the fire in her eyes to do something big, and we love to see our supporters get that crazy look in their eye… where nothing seems impossible, not even getting Obama. When Kristen and Rachel invade northern Uganda it’s going to be an amazing trip… those girls will leave with thousands of new friends and a new understanding for the impact Invisible Children is having on the ground in Uganda. We know it happened with Pete when he and the rest of Fallout Boy went over. We will keep you posted on the trip if/when it finally happens.
Olivia and Caroline. Our heroes.
I’ll post more pictures from the event last night as they come it.
You can find the t-shirt here on Guess’ site.
Music we love: Mumford and Sons
Because of songs like “The Cave”, Mumford and Sons is easily becoming one of our favorite bands. They somehow have the ability to transport you to Woodstock. And isn’t it funny that somehow every one of our parents went?
As THE INDEPENDENT says:
West London’s latest folk movement has already been compared by some to the Laurel Canyon scene of the Sixties and early Seventies. The Thames Valley scene, if you like. But if Laura Marling’s fragile confessionals make her the Joni Mitchell, and Noah and the Whale are the soon-to-be over-exposed Eagles, then Mumford and Sons may be the slow-burning super-group, the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
(Take a listen to the 2 aforementioned bands as well)
Al Bashir of Sudan wants a lobbyist in DC
LOBBYIST PUSHING TO REPRESENT SUDAN
U.S. Officials May Be Open to Idea if Reviled Regime Is Serious About Reform
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 10, 2009
A prominent Democratic fundraiser and ally of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) is attempting to secure a lobbying contract with the pariah regime in Sudan, which has embarked on an aggressive effort to enlist U.S. support against allegations of genocide and war crimes.
Robert B. Crowe, a partner at Atlanta-based Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, has met with special U.S. envoy J. Scott Gration and several Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks in an attempt to garner support for the deal, which would give the Khartoum government its first official U.S. representative in nearly four years.
A State Department official said Gration and his aides initially rejected the application but have since urged Crowe to seek support from Congress before they reconsider the proposal. Kerry’s office said a staff member was briefed about Crowe’s plans but that the senator, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was not aware of them.
“The Obama administration is talking about engagement, and we believe in that,” Crowe said in an interview. “If we can make a difference, we will. But if we get into this and determine we can’t, we’ll walk away.”
The prospect of a lobbying deal for Sudan, however, has alarmed human rights activists and lawmakers focused on the conflict in its Darfur region, where up to 300,000 people have been killed by government-backed militias as part of what the United States has called an ongoing genocide.
“They are on our sanctions list and have been for some time, and I see no reason to allow them to have a lobbyist,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Africa and global health subcommittee and a leader of the House Sudan caucus.
Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), another member of the caucus, agreed. “Would you represent Hitler? Would you represent Mao?” Wolf asked. “Anybody who does that ought to be blackballed in this town.”