Genocide in Sudan - Essay Example

Genocide in Sudan. What U.N. officials have termed “the worlds’ greatest humanitarian crisis” [qtd. in Reeves, inthesetimes.com], had its’ overt beginnings in February 2003. The African tribes of the Dafur region in Western Sudan, protesting their marginalization and economic neglect, rebelled against the Arab government in Khartoum. The government, led by the National Islamic Front, suffered initial reverses at the hands of the rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. Tied down by the ongoing civil war in the South, Khartoum devised a vicious counterstrategy. A tribal Arab militia, aptly called the Janjaweed [killers on horseback], was unleashed in Dafur with carte blanche to crush the rebels. Thus began one of the most diabolical campaigns in the history of mankind, aimed at wiping out the African tribes of Dafur. With a mortality rate of 450,000, this is an unequivocal instance of genocide which requires immediate action from the international community. Fact-finding missions, humanitarian agencies, and the media have all documented the atrocities. Yet the world dithers and quibbles while the extermination of a race goes on. U.N. Resolution 260, 1948 – On Genocide defines genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent birth within the group (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. [Halsall, Internet Modern History Sourcebook] The Janjaweed, in cahoots with the Government in Khartoum, has fine tuned a programme of extermination in Darfur. The Government sends in aircraft to shell the African villages. The Janjaweed then moves in with guns and machetes. The fleeing civilians are caught and slaughtered – particularly the males: from babes in arms to old men. The women and young girls are gang raped. The houses are razed to the ground, fields and crops burned and the wells poisoned. If this does not satisfy the criteria listed in Resolution 48 to qualify as genocide, then nothing ever will! However, U.N. officials on a fact finding mission to Sudan have stated that “genocidal intent seems to be missing” [qtd. in Lynch, washingtonpost.com].This would be laughable if it were not so tragic. Likewise, the European Union, China, Russia, the Arab League and the African Union, each under its own selfish compulsion of trade, political expediency or racial inclination, have confined themselves to mouthing platitudes and nitpicking with words like “ethnic cleansing” or “crimes against humanity” [qtd. in Reeves, inthesetimes.com] and refused to confront the truth staring them in the face. In July 2004, the U.S. Congress adopted a resolution stating in unequivocal terms that the carnage in Sudan was genocide. Subsequently, the then Secretary of State, Colin Powell said, “We concluded that genocide has been committed in Dafur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility” [qtd. in BBC News].President Bush called for Khartoum to control the Janjaweed. Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice recently reiterated this and threatened Khartoum with sanctions. After which, what has been done is – precisely nothing!!! The Sudanese Government has banned U.N. missions and the media from Dafur and even humanitarian aid agencies are not given free access. Despite this, the U.S. has taken the stand that a U.N. peacekeeping force will be sent to replace the woefully inadequate African Union troops stationed there at present, only with the consent of the Sudanese Government. In other words, the U.S. is content to salve its’ conscience with occasional threats of sanctions and is willing to give Khartoum a free hand under the guise of sovereignty. When we consider the magnitude of the disaster, whose toll in dead and displaced is rising daily, the indifference of the International community is mind-boggling. Sudan has no strategic importance to goad the U.S. into unilateral action when it is already mired in the shambles of Afghanistan and Iraq. It cannot leverage the dispatch of a U.N. force to Dafur as China and Russia, both trade partners of Sudan, will use their veto in the Security Council to block any such resolution. The Arab League is obviously on the side of their fellow Arabs in Sudan. The toothless African Union troops stationed in Dafur in inadequate strength, with a weak mandate and insufficient arms, serve only to maintain the pretence that something is being done by the world. The world confines itself to expressing solidarity with the Sudanese and the U.N. continues to adopt resolutions [up to 10 as of now] at regular intervals, which the Government at Khartoum blithely ignores as regularly. One is forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of Bishop Tutus’ statement that “The harsh truth is that some lives are more important than others. If you are swarthy, of a darker hue, almost always you are going to end up at the bottom of the pile” [qtd. in Goth, washingtonpost.com]. In this scenario, the only viable option continues to be the 7,000 African Union troops already on the ground. If the International Community refuses to act – and there is no indication of their willingness to indulge in anything but talk – then the least that can be done is to strengthen the African Union force in numbers and arms and extend its mandate so that it can resort to all necessary defensive measures to protect the civilian population of Dafur. Some arm twisting by Sudan’ trade partners could convince Sudanese President Al Bashir of the necessity of reining in the Janjaweed. The U.S. can press for Khartoum to open its’ doors to the humanitarian aid which the displaced Dafurians so desperately need – famine and disease are running rampant and picking off those who survived the Janjaweed. If the U.N. balks at sending in troops, it could at least insist that Khartoum accept the presence of its monitors. Hard facts, from media accounts to the heartrending testimonials of survivors, attest that what is happening in Sudan is “a government backed campaign to wipe out a race” [Pelley, CBS News].The genocide in Sudan is there for all the world to see. Over three years of indifference, prevarication and self-interest has kept the world deliberately blind. It is time to acknowledge that genocide in Sudan is a stark reality and take measures to stop the mounting casualties. If the U.N. remains ineffective, the African Union troops must be put to good use. The international community should not be held to ransom by considerations of political alignments or the dictates of the marketplace. After all, those 32,000 barrels of oil per day, which is Sudan’s output, do not have to be paid for with the blood of Dafurs’ Africans. Works Cited Reeves, Eric. Genocide in Sudan. In These Times. 6 May.2004. 2 October 2006. < http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/genocide_in_sudan> Halsall, Paul. Internet Modern History Sourcebook. August.1977.2 October 2006. < http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/UN-GENOhtml> Lynch, Colum.U.N. Panel Finds No Genocide in Dafur but Urges Tribunal. Washingtonpost.com.1 February.2005.2 October 2006. Powell declares genocide in Sudan. BBB News. 9 September. 2004. 2 October 2006. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3641820.stm> Goth, Bashir. Why No Action In Dafur? Race. Washingtonpost.com.22 September. 2006. 2 October 2006. “Darfur Conflict.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 September 2006, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2 October 2006. < http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darfur conflict&oldid=78638332> Read More