Sample Letter to the Editor About China and Darfur

Dear Editor:

The human suffering in Darfur and neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic continues to worsen on a daily basis. The U.S. and the international community have sought to secure the cooperation of China to use its political, economic and diplomatic influence on the government of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to end the conflict in Darfur, which has resulted in the deaths of as many as 400,000 people and an estimated 2.5 million persons displaced to refugee camps.

China’s relationship with Sudan includes close and comprehensive bilateral economic, political and military ties, as well as diplomatic support in multilateral institutions. For example:

• China maintains a robust economic relationship with Sudan. It is Sudan’s largest trading partner and foreign investor, purchasing 71% of Sudan’s global exports. China is Sudan’s largest purchaser of oil – about $5.25 billion in 2006 – and revenues from these oil sales help fund the Sudanese military’s campaign of death in Darfur.
  
  
• China also provides extensive aid to Sudan, including interest-free loans to fund projects such as a new presidential palace.
  

• China has an extensive military cooperation program with Sudan that includes arms sales, which are now being used by the government-backed Janjaweed militia to kill and torture Darfuri civilians.
  
  
• China has been Sudan’s most vocal defender in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, and it has succeeded in watering-down resolutions and UN Security Council action on Darfur.
  

China’s inaction on Darfur is now at a crossroads. There are increasing international calls for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and these are likely to increase in the months ahead. With its own international reputation at risk, China must decide whether to continue its policy of non-intervention and risk international condemnation, or act as the responsible global, diplomatic power it desires to be. China cannot have it both ways – demanding the respect of the world community, then failing to act where it has the influence to affect one of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises.

As your newspaper considers its news and editorial reporting on both China and the Darfur issue, we hope you will give attention to this issue. Media coverage of Darfur is critical to keeping a public and diplomatic spotlight focused on the humanitarian tragedy as it unfolds daily on an unimaginable scale.

The attached graphic demonstrates the problematic partnership between China and Sudan. Additional facts and information are available on our website at www.savedarfur.org.

Please feel free to contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXX@org if I can assist you in your newspaper’s coverage of this important issue.

Sincerely,

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