Locals urged to take part in national ‘die-in’

Saturday, June 17, 2006 | 7:42 a.m.

A group of Southern Nevadans trying to heighten awareness of the genocide in Sudan is asking people to show up at the George Federal Building at noon Tuesday for a "die-in" demonstration.

The rally at 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South is part of World Refugee Day activities that will feature similar demonstrations in Washington, San Francisco and other cities.

Organizers say participants do not have to lie down during the die-in, which is derived from the 1960s' term sit-in. The demonstration is intended to be peaceful, and organizers are asking participants to wear black to recognize those who have been slain in Darfur in western Sudan.

"We hope this demonstration raises awareness that the people of Darfur need protection now," Las Vegas organizer Pam Omidyar said. "The Darfur Peace Agreement has not led to any cease-fire, and the mass atrocities against men, women and children continue at a horrific scale."

Since February 2003, at least 200,000 black African tribesmen reportedly have been killed by janjaweed militia, acting on behalf of Sudan's Arab-dominated government.

An estimated 2.5 million refugees are living in encampments inside the Sudanese border or in neighboring Chad. Sudanese government helicopters reportedly have fired on those camps.

Omidyar and her fellow local activists - the group has no name - in March brought former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle, the ex-U.S. representative to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan, to Southern Nevada to speak.

Steidle has traveled across the United States for speaking engagements that include photographs he took of the horrors committed in the North African nation in 2004-05, such as mass murder, castrations, cutting off of ears and gouging out of eyes.

Earlier Tuesday a large demonstration is scheduled for Lafayette Park, in Washington. Sponsored by African Action, that rally will include a die-in near the White House gates.

Activists in Las Vegas, Washington and other sites want deployment of a strong multinational United Nations peacekeeping force to protect civilians and humanitarians in Darfur, and they want to underscore the need for renewed U.S. action.

In 2004, President Bush and Congress recognized the killings in Sudan as genocide.