Demagogue

Rwandan President Paul Kagame is scheduled to visit Darfur where Rwandan troops are serving in the AU force.

Peace talks are scheduled to resume this week.

Eric Reeves offers his latest analysis: "Darfur Genocide and the Current Faces of International Failure."

The Carpetbagger alerted me to this

Add President Bush, the first lady, and the cabinet to the fans of Hotel Rwanda, the film about how hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle with Hutu militia killers. Bush saw it twice and "loved it" so much, said an aide, that he hoped to meet with Rusesabagina during his trip this week to Europe. That was, until the White House found out the hero was in Washington last Thursday. So after lunch, the first family and Rusesabagina and his wife huddled in the Oval Office. "[Bush] said he was very much moved by the movie," the humanitarian told us. He also said the prez revealed his goal of ending genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. "He's very much concerned about it. He's very much committed to solving the issue."

Others are apparently "very much committed" to ensuring that Bush follows through on his goal:

Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina have joined the Save Darfur Coalition in urging people to go see "Hotel Rwanda," write "Not On My Watch" on their ticket stubs and send them to President Bush.

Africa Action wants you to send a letter to President Bush

Darfur: Not Another Hotel Rwanda!
Tell Bush: You will not sit silent while another genocide unfolds in Africa!

Dear Friends,

Despite the attention that the crisis in Darfur has been attracting recently, little to nothing has been done to stop the ongoing genocide that has claimed over 400,000 lives and displaced 2 million people in Sudan.

Despite a statement issued five months ago (September 2004) by the US State Department and the White House that the crimes against humanity being committed in Darfur constituted genocide, the Bush Administration and the US government have failed to live up to the obligation that such a statement carries.

Despite the recommendations of a the recent United Nations report urging immediate action to halt the violence in Darfur, the UN and international community have again failed to act. This is not the first time that the victims of genocide in Africa have been neglected.

While the international community has been largely silent about the genocide in Sudan, Africa Action invites you to speak out on this issue. Join us as we call for a United Nations Chapter 7 mandate for a multinational intervention to stop the genocide in Darfur and protect its innocent civilians.

Human Rights First has a petition urging Secretary of State Rice to ensure that the United States does not veto a Security Council referral of the situation in Darfur to the ICC.