PRESS RELEASE
Did you hear who is trying to get a license to lobby Congress and President Obama? It’s none other than the government of Sudan, led by indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir.
First, a former national security advisor accepted a $1.3 million contract to lobby for Sudan.¹ Now it’s surfaced that a prominent law firm requested permission to lobby for Sudan’s genocidal government.²
At this moment, the Treasury Department could still grant a waiver to lobbyists for Sudan.
Please send an email now and tell them to say “No Lobbyists for War Criminals!” Bashir doesn’t need high-priced lobbyists to bring peace to Sudan. His government can make concrete and lasting progress towards peace in Darfur, agree to full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and make significant structural, political and judicial reforms that fundamentally change the repressive systems in Sudan without spending millions of dollars to hire lobbyists.
But Omar al-Bashir doesn’t want to do what’s right. Instead, he wants to use expensive lobbyists to polish his regime’s image. We don’t yet know the full extent of the Sudanese government’s efforts to use slick PR firms to advance its agenda, but news this week confirms that it is up to no good. The Washington Post recently revealed¹ that the Government of Sudan paid disgraced former national security advisor Robert “Bud” McFarlane $1.3 million—using the government of Qatar as a flimsy intermediary—to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of Sudan. And just days ago, a follow-up investigation outlined the efforts of Robert B. Crowe, a prominent lobbyist with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, to gain approval to lobby on behalf of Sudan.²
Their scheme included efforts to get members of Congress to support a waiver of the economic sanctions that prevent U.S. firms from doing business with Sudan. If we act now, we can stop these lobbyists in their tracks. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control can grant waivers that would allow Crowe or other lobbyists to represent the government of Sudan.
Send a letter directly to the Treasury Department today saying NO to lobbyists for Sudan. Thank you for all you do for the people of Darfur and Sudan.
—Mark Mark Lotwis Save Darfur Coalition ¹
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/29/AR2009092903840.html ² http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100904365.html
