Darfur
sourdough
Posts: 579
I did a search for topics on AMT about Darfur and the genocide occurring there and was quite surprised to find that it seems to be a very important topic here. I started one about two weeks ago that quickly died.
Genocide is a term that usually jumps out at people but for some reason Darfur is forgotten and neglected by the media, by politicians and by the general public. After the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, the international community was shamed into acknowledging their failure to act and famously pledged "Never Again" but it is happening to the tune of 300 000 dead and 2.5 million displaced and very much at risk of rape, torture, attack as well as famine and disease.
I understand that issues such as the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are huge issues for most due to direct involvement but it still frustrates me to no end that a genocide can occur openly and nobody seems to give a shit. Sorry for the rant but it is shameful that it continues unchallenged when it could/should be dealt with. I wonder how many more people will have to die guilty of nothing but being born of the wrong ethnicity before anyone objects.
Sorry for the rant, but it is something that I just cannot understand and I'll politely step off my soap box.
Genocide is a term that usually jumps out at people but for some reason Darfur is forgotten and neglected by the media, by politicians and by the general public. After the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, the international community was shamed into acknowledging their failure to act and famously pledged "Never Again" but it is happening to the tune of 300 000 dead and 2.5 million displaced and very much at risk of rape, torture, attack as well as famine and disease.
I understand that issues such as the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are huge issues for most due to direct involvement but it still frustrates me to no end that a genocide can occur openly and nobody seems to give a shit. Sorry for the rant but it is shameful that it continues unchallenged when it could/should be dealt with. I wonder how many more people will have to die guilty of nothing but being born of the wrong ethnicity before anyone objects.
Sorry for the rant, but it is something that I just cannot understand and I'll politely step off my soap box.
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Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
i've supported or been part of 3 different groups/orgs this year hoping to force our leaders to action in Sudan ... similarily to climate change - i don't see a conservative led gov't doing anything about it ...
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
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( o.O)
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If you'd like, I can find a way to blame the neocons if that would help
Africa in general is forgotten but Sudan is very important geopolitically. It has oil and that is why China/Russia is funding the Sudanese gov't and has almost always blocked UN intervention and other measures. Also the US is taking a soft stance because Sudan likes to pretend that they are important allies in the war on terror despite the fact that there are Al Qaeda training camps there and they happily housed Osama for 5 years.
Funny thing is that I've been petitioning about Darfur over the past week and people seem genuinely concerned and very supportive, however it does not seem to be translating into any tangible political pressure.
I wonder what it takes to make people care. Personally I'm beginning to think that we NEED to have a personal stake that they are aware of otherwise they don't care. any other thoughts?
The UN is only effective when the most powerfull member states, Security Council, support the UN's efforts. The lack of interest and assistance in Darfur can not be blamed on the UN. None of the powers that be care enough about a bunch of Africans dying. Look at Rwanda. The UN did all it possibly could in that situation but the Security Council just didn't give a fuck about Rwandans killing Rwandans. There was nothing to gain out of intervening. Now if there was valuable resources, ie oil for example, under that blood soaked soil I'm sure governments would start caring about those poor people. Blaming the UN is a nice cop out so we don't have to actually look in the mirror and realize that we are no different than the butchers slaughtering those people because we refuse to intervene and help them. Human lives only matter when there is money to be made by saving them.
I would support US military action in Darfur. not sure many would.
what I'd like to see is the UN take control of the situation. but can it without the US military? probably not. and thats a shame.
Many people probably would like to see us intervene but unfortunetly our government, and other governments as well, don't really care. We rush in to save the Iraqi people with the full might of our military but turn a blind eye when other people are suffering just as bad if not worse. The difference between Iraq and Sudan is that large lake of black gold sitting under Iraq.
I agree. but certainly the UN should be able to do something without US intervention????
I think the UN can operate without American troops but it's a question of getting Beijing and Moscow on board which is easier said than done. That said, China has authorized engineering support for UN peacekeepers but the bridges that they build may be as easily used by the Janjaweed as the peacekeepers :(
not if those bridges were protected by troops. but I see whta you are saying about russia and china. its too bad.
The UN can send in Peacekeeping troops but with a full binding resolution for the Security Council it is a limited presence that they can provide. The problem really isn't the US but China. The Chinese government refuses to allow any really military intervention because of their existing business relationship with the Sudanese government. So I guess the problem does lie within the UN, specifically the process in which a resolution can be passed. It is a bit moronic that the veto of one permanent memeber of the security council can basically kill a proposed resolution.
Sourdough, I don't believe that the Darfur conflict has had any impact on the Sudanese oil industry. You can bet that it if did more would be done about the problem regardless of Chinese interference.
The oil fields are secure because they are controlled by the government of Sudan who is responsible for the genocide. China has the oil contracts so that is why they are providing the Sudanese gov't with weapons and funding their military.
You're right. The oil is quite secure, however divestment and pressure has "encouraged" some oil companies to leave the area ie. CDN company Talisman Energy. There has been a lot of pressure on China to stop buying sudanese oil therefore stopping the funding towards the genocide but China doesn't exactly have a great reputation for listening to the people.
http://petitiononline.com/85208520/petition.html
Thank you!
6/30/98 Minneapolis, 10/8/00 East Troy (Brrrr!), 6/16/03 St. Paul, 6/27/06 St. Paul
exactly right. I argued the other day that sometimes war is necessary to bring peace. the people of darfur will continue to suffer without a war to stop it.
It could be somalia all over again...
Divestment can also be very effective as well.
I think there is a pretty broad consensus about the severity of the genocide but it will take ordinary citizens to mobilize out governments to be more vocally critical of China/Russia and Sudan and be willing to commit peacekeepers.
20000 UN peacekeepers have already been approved to enter Sudan, but Sudan is dragging it's feet.