In the wake of the May 10 attacks on Khartoum by the Darfur rebel group JEM (Justice and Equality Movement), the Government of Sudan (GoS)  has responded indiscriminately and disproportionately against ethnic Darfuris living in Khartoum. Hundreds of civilians were rounded up in door-to-door raids, at checkpoints, on public transportation, solely for the appearance of being ethnically Darfur, and more specifically, ethnically Zaghawa, which is the tribe that mainly makes up JEM.

STAND and the Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET) just signed onto an open letter championed by Human Rights First.  The letter focuses on the upcoming G8 Summit in July, which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US.

The letter asks the leaders of the G8 to issue a joint statement, calling for:

Adam Sterling, Director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force at the Genocide Intervention Network, is one of nine nominees for the Do Something Award, to be presented at the Teen Choice Awards by Hannah Montana on August 4th. Adam has been nominated for founding the Sudan divestment movement while in college at UCLA. Through Adam’s work, at least 25 states, 19 major U.S. cities, and 59 universities have adopted policies restricting their Sudan investments.

The powerful documentary Darfur Now has recently been released on DVD (it is available for $5.00 at various outlets, including Amazon.com). The film follows six individuals who are making a difference to end the genocide in Darfur.

For the past nine days, nine high school students from Wichita, KS, have been running to Washington, DC in order to bring awareness to past and present genocides and to raise $100,000 for GI-NET. Averaging 104 miles a day, the 1,300 mile relay, entitled Never Ignore, Never Forget, will take them about two weeks to complete.

Last Thursday, Burma’s most famous comedian, a man named Zarganar was arrested on suspicion of distributing aid to victims of the cyclone following a police search of his house, according to family members.

In a report delivered Tuesday to the UN Security Council, the ICC has expanded its list of suspects charged with crimes against humanity for the atrocities in Darfur. According to lead prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, much of the government of Sudan is responsible for the crimes—he plans to release the names of individual suspects in the the coming weeks.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is asking you to join them in signing an open letter to President Bush calling on him to not attend he opening cermony of the 2008 Olympics unless China immediately stops sending small arms to Sudan, stops supporting the government of Sudan in the UN Security Council and publicly condemns the killings in Darfur.

Anchorage, Alaska is a hotbed of antigenocide activism, led by the self-named “five musketeers”: Amy Kearns, Tamar Shai-Bolkvadze, Shawn Powers, Debbie Bock and Kelley Nixon. These five activists have been leading the Alaska divestment movement, arranging meetings with their legislators, state call in days, rallies, die-ins and more. Most recently, these five and their families have taken Darfur refugees under their wing, helping them adjust to a new city, country and way of life. Pictured here is Debbie’s son, Sam Erickson with his new friend Assim Mohammed Toto of Darfur.

A response by the Government of Sudan (GoS) to the recent joint statement by the presidential candidates on Darfur is typical of the GoS’ attempts to deflect attention from its culpability in Darfur.