mr. ishmael was born in darfur but was forced to flee sudan in 1989. thank you, gentlemen, both for being here, and i will gavel you down in five minutes so we can get to our question and answers because we have votes on the floor in a little bit. thank you. ambassador, williamson, if you could start. >> thank you very much, madam chairperson. congratulations on that. good to see ranking member berman again. and i have to note don payne has spent more time working on sudan than any other american leader, and we're all in his debt, and as congressman smith said, we've worked together in the past. glad to be here. i think in sudan you have to first start with the fact there's been marginalization for 200 years that's evolved into discrimination, politically, health, and justice. that permeates the country and that creates instability. and the south is only a small part evof the story. second, we have to recognize that unfortunately in sudan it's too common that the political leaders feel comfortable resorting to violence as a legitimate way to pursue the

mr. ishmael, who fled from darfur and has been a great advocate for justice.t me thank all of you for your commitment and self-determination to make this day a reality. today, sudan is at the crossroads. a week long referendum has just concluded. by all accounts, the outcome is clear. crossroa crossroads. the people of south sudan have chosen independence. my friends on the ground have replayed stories of remarkable moments that illustrate the hope and excitement that lies in the heart of the south sudanese. policemen looked around and told me in line, i crossed a river. come join me. a pregnant woman while online to vote gave birth and was later able to cast her vote for the sake of her new baby. as i reflect on the 20 years that i've been working with sudan, i remember many pivotal moments of my own in the congress struggle to see the people of south sudan exercise their right of self-determination. i remember my first visit to a town year the ugandan border which was the frontline of the struggle back then helped immediate negotiations between two factions.