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Manitou Messenger Online, MN
Sept 30 2004
Sudan situation dire
Politicians on both sides of the aisle in Congress have suggested
that the United States should have known that the Iraqi "liberation"
effort would go sour, citing the Vietnam conflict as proof of the
inevitable failure of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Politicians who argue so vehemently that we remember history seem to
have forgotten the Armenian Genocide following World War I, the
Holocaust of World War II and the brutal ethnic cleansings in
Cambodia, Serbia and Rwanda.
In the Darfur region of Sudan, this century's first major genocide is
unfolding while the supposed defenders of righteousness stand by
powerless and unmotivated.
In Darfur, one million people have been forced to live as refugees.
Following an uprising by the oppressed African minority, roving
Pro-Government Arab militias have killed 50,000 or more of the
region's Black African population.
The government admits to forming self-defense militias against the
rebels in Darfur, but denies any links to the Janjaweed militia
groups responsible for the mass murders and rapes in the region.
Refugees, however, paint a very different story.
According to victims, the Sudanese Government Air Force is bombing
villages suspected of being rebel strongholds. Following the
bombardment, the Janjaweed militias ride through the village on
horses and camels, massacring men, women and children. The Janjaweed
themselves admit to these atrocities, claiming that men are killed
and women are raped if they stray too far from the protection of the
refugee camps in search of wood or water.
The African Union (A.U.) seems powerless to stop the violence.
Neighboring countries, like Chad, have closed their borders for fear
of spreading the battlefront of Arab-Black confrontation. Sudan
itself seems at best complacent and at worst complicit with the
slaughter of the mostly Christian Black African population by their
Arab-African countrymen.
Under massive political pressure from the United Nations and the
United States, Sudan has weakly promised to disarm the Janjaweed. The
United Nations is threatening sanctions with the United States
leading that push, yet some nations are still resisting a broader
A.U. or U.N. military presence to ensure the safety of the refugees,
including Sudan itself.
Given the remoteness of Sudan, it is not likely that a western nation
will be involved in any broad-based military action to protect the
refugees as they did in Kosovo in 1999. Despite the similarity of the
Darfur crisis to the Kosovo genocide, Darfur is considerably vaster
and much further away from NATO's main bases of operation than
Kosovo, Serbia.
Because of Africa's status in the world, an African crisis somehow
always needs to be especially gruesome for western nations to take
notice. Rwanda practically bled itself dry before the United Nations
decided to care.
While it is understandable that the West is apprehensive about
putting troops into yet another Muslim country, a multi-national
coalition featuring the United Nations or African Union would not be
there to challenge the validity of the Sudanese government. The U.S.
Congress recently declared the conflict "genocide" but only in a
non-binding resolution in the House of Representatives. The Senate
has yet to agree, but if they were to concur, such a decision would
set off intervention actions under the guidelines of the Genocide
Convention, although the depth of the resolve of such action is
uncertain.
Secretary of State Colin Powell recently visited Sudan, and in a
promising first step, stated, "Genocide has been committed in Sudan,
and the Sudanese Government and the Janjaweed militias bear
responsibility."
For all those in the government today who continue to question the
moral basis of the war in Iraq, Sudan presents itself as a clear
example of when intervention is not only necessary, but also vital to
the preservation of human rights for an entire region of the world.
To have invaded Iraq on shaky foundations with vague moral reasoning
was bad enough. For the United States to ignore Sudan as its people
die by the thousands would only further blemish a record of
righteousness already on life support.
Staff writer Byron Vierk is a senior from Lincoln, Neb. He majors in
history.
Sept 30 2004
Sudan situation dire
Politicians on both sides of the aisle in Congress have suggested
that the United States should have known that the Iraqi "liberation"
effort would go sour, citing the Vietnam conflict as proof of the
inevitable failure of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Politicians who argue so vehemently that we remember history seem to
have forgotten the Armenian Genocide following World War I, the
Holocaust of World War II and the brutal ethnic cleansings in
Cambodia, Serbia and Rwanda.
In the Darfur region of Sudan, this century's first major genocide is
unfolding while the supposed defenders of righteousness stand by
powerless and unmotivated.
In Darfur, one million people have been forced to live as refugees.
Following an uprising by the oppressed African minority, roving
Pro-Government Arab militias have killed 50,000 or more of the
region's Black African population.
The government admits to forming self-defense militias against the
rebels in Darfur, but denies any links to the Janjaweed militia
groups responsible for the mass murders and rapes in the region.
Refugees, however, paint a very different story.
According to victims, the Sudanese Government Air Force is bombing
villages suspected of being rebel strongholds. Following the
bombardment, the Janjaweed militias ride through the village on
horses and camels, massacring men, women and children. The Janjaweed
themselves admit to these atrocities, claiming that men are killed
and women are raped if they stray too far from the protection of the
refugee camps in search of wood or water.
The African Union (A.U.) seems powerless to stop the violence.
Neighboring countries, like Chad, have closed their borders for fear
of spreading the battlefront of Arab-Black confrontation. Sudan
itself seems at best complacent and at worst complicit with the
slaughter of the mostly Christian Black African population by their
Arab-African countrymen.
Under massive political pressure from the United Nations and the
United States, Sudan has weakly promised to disarm the Janjaweed. The
United Nations is threatening sanctions with the United States
leading that push, yet some nations are still resisting a broader
A.U. or U.N. military presence to ensure the safety of the refugees,
including Sudan itself.
Given the remoteness of Sudan, it is not likely that a western nation
will be involved in any broad-based military action to protect the
refugees as they did in Kosovo in 1999. Despite the similarity of the
Darfur crisis to the Kosovo genocide, Darfur is considerably vaster
and much further away from NATO's main bases of operation than
Kosovo, Serbia.
Because of Africa's status in the world, an African crisis somehow
always needs to be especially gruesome for western nations to take
notice. Rwanda practically bled itself dry before the United Nations
decided to care.
While it is understandable that the West is apprehensive about
putting troops into yet another Muslim country, a multi-national
coalition featuring the United Nations or African Union would not be
there to challenge the validity of the Sudanese government. The U.S.
Congress recently declared the conflict "genocide" but only in a
non-binding resolution in the House of Representatives. The Senate
has yet to agree, but if they were to concur, such a decision would
set off intervention actions under the guidelines of the Genocide
Convention, although the depth of the resolve of such action is
uncertain.
Secretary of State Colin Powell recently visited Sudan, and in a
promising first step, stated, "Genocide has been committed in Sudan,
and the Sudanese Government and the Janjaweed militias bear
responsibility."
For all those in the government today who continue to question the
moral basis of the war in Iraq, Sudan presents itself as a clear
example of when intervention is not only necessary, but also vital to
the preservation of human rights for an entire region of the world.
To have invaded Iraq on shaky foundations with vague moral reasoning
was bad enough. For the United States to ignore Sudan as its people
die by the thousands would only further blemish a record of
righteousness already on life support.
Staff writer Byron Vierk is a senior from Lincoln, Neb. He majors in
history.