FOR RELEASE: Thursday, May 31, 2007
Totten Discusses Darfur Situation on National Radio Show
Samuel Totten
Samuel Totten, professor of secondary education at the University of Arkansas, was interviewed about the situation in Darfur, Sudan, by Tavis Smiley for the June 1 edition of his radio program, “The Tavis Smiley Show.” An archived podcast of the show is available at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/tavis/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=480. Totten was the first guest on the second hour of the show.
Totten, a genocide scholar and author and editor of numerous books on the subject, investigated atrocities committed in the region as part of a U.S. State Department team in 2004. The team spent two weeks at refugee camps in neighboring Chad, and its investigation resulted in then-Secretary of State Colin Powell reporting to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that genocide was being committed in Darfur.
Government of Sudan troops and Arab militia known as Janjaweed have attacked village after village of black Africans in retaliation for rebel attacks on government installations, but the soldiers and militia also killed and raped innocent men, women and children. About 2.5 million black Africans have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and at least 400,000 have been killed or died as a result of the violence or of malnutrition and disease since 2003.
In May, President Bush announced new sanctions on Sudan, but some critics say the plan is too little, too late.
###
Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
(479) 575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu