Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - Update 03/06/08

The air attacks came first, then the attacks by the ground forces followed by the death squad militias on their tails, rounding up the innocent civilians, some for immediate execution others for transportation, to be used as prostitutes or child soldiers. This is not the German invasion of its European neighbors during the early stages of WWII but the recent events in Darfur. Hundreds were killed and many more disappeared. Again the question arises, what in God’s name is the international community doing to protect the lives of the innocent civilians in Darfur? The answer quite simply is nothing. International aid has been cut off from numerous refugee camps which also mean that many more innocent civilians now face imminent death not only from these murderous militias but from disease and starvation.

The European Union’s peacekeeping force (EUFOR) initiated its deployment to Chad last month after a number of delays stemming from the recent Sudanese sponsored rebel attacks on the Chadian government and the attempted coup that was thwarted by the Chadian government with the overwhelming support of the French military.

EUFOR’s mission to Chad is very important as its deployment is primarily aimed at providing much needed security for the Darfuri refugees that are being housed in camps just inside the Chadian border. Even though these refugees are inside Chad, they come under regular attack from Sudanese sponsored militia, which cross the border into Chad on a regular basis. It is hoped that EUFOR’s mandate will allow for both offensive and defensive action to be taken in order to safeguard the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Darfuri refugees that are in the Chadian camps.

Over the last the few days, French forces serving with EUFOR mistakenly drove into Sudan and came under fire. One EUFOR soldier was reported missing and on 03/05/08 his body was found by Sudanese forces in the area and upon the handover of his body to the appropriate parties, it will be shipped home to France for burial.

One issue that might prevent a successful EUFOR mission is the fact that the force is so heavily influenced by France, and with France independently providing major support to the Chadian government to protect French financial, trade and mineral trade agreements, France has become a major target of Sudanese-sponsored rebels that have withdrawn to Eastern Chad in preparation for a massive offensive to be launched in the immediate future.

We recently witnessed Steven Spielberg’s withdrawal from his role as the creative advisor of the Beijing Olympics that are due to start this coming August. If Mr. Spielberg had declined this position when it was first offered to him in 2006, the impact would not have been as great as it has now become, due to the fact that, with only a few months to go, the Chinese government will find it extremely difficult to find a notable replacement for Mr. Spielberg. The withdrawal of such a prominent global celebrity has placed the spotlight on China’s role in Darfur. China is viewed a major supporter of the Sudanese government, based primarily on economic, military and mineral trade agreements that are in place between the two nations. The details surrounding these trade agreements are considered top secret at the behest of the Chinese. The criticism of China stems from its failure to appropriately influence Sudan to stop its regime of annihilation of the native black African population of Darfur.

One item that is very important and that must not be overlooked is the fact that China is not the only country with economic ties to Sudan and it is not the only country to underutilize its influence in Sudan to stem the flow of blood in Darfur. While the safeguarding of innocent lives should be of utmost importance to the international community, it is not when to do so would interfere with global economies. No one country can be highlighted as the sole conspirator in Sudan’s mass murder of innocent men, women and children in Darfur. The international community, as a collective body is complicit in this crime. The main leaders of the international community, the group commonly referred to as the “G8” group of nations have all been silent in reference to Darfur. The main religious bodies have been extremely silent in reference to the crimes being committed in Darfur. The Vatican, under the current papacy, hasn’t been this quiet since the Holocaust and the papacy of Pious XII. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of world’s second biggest religion, has been more concerned about England’s adoption of Shira law than voicing his concern of the mass murder of the innocent civilians in Darfur.

What is causing the silence? Well, it can be said that this silence is based on the various economic and strategic ties to Sudan that are in place with most G8 nations. NATO considers Sudan an ally in the war against terrorism. Today’s strategic alliance between NATO and Sudan is in stark contrast to the views held by President Bill Clinton, when in 1996 he ordered that the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, be bombed because Sudan was viewed as a safe haven for Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden and a major support base of other global terrorists.

While the US and the EU have instituted embargos against Sudan, embargos only work if all nations participate in the implementation of those embargos and if those embargos are not selective trade embargos. Take for example the US and EU trade agreements with Sudan that allows Arabic gum from Sudan to be exported for use in the manufacture of chewing gum, soda, and other gum-based products. An embargo of Arabic gum would result in a major loss of jobs and revenues for the global economy. So we can say that the trade embargos instituted by the US and the EU are selective trade embargos, ones that will not affect their economies.

Major European and US based financial institutions have all greatly invested in Sudan. The withdrawal of these investments could be a major blow to an already shaky global economy, let alone a major catastrophic move for the African continent.

So the big question is “Is it right to highlight and criticize one country’s role in reference to its support of a regime such as that in Sudan?”

Well, the answer has got to be a resounding NO! Just to reiterate, the international community as a whole, has been negligent in allowing the crisis in Darfur to deteriorate to its current point. If we start pointing the finger at individual nations, what then can we say about other crisis areas that are even less talked about today and the roles of Western nations in those areas? Western nations have also been particularly complicit in previous genocidal events such as the French government’s support of the Hutu regime in Rwanda during the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi, the British and American support of General Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile, during the 1980’s, that resulted in thousands of innocent civilians being murdered. Most of all, if we look at the activities of American and European companies in Sudan, and the major profits that they have amassed from doing business in Sudan, they can also be accused of being complicit in the events leading to the deaths of the hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Darfur and the potential loss of millions of lives if their support for the Sudanese regime continues.

People are now talking of boycotting the Beijing games but that will achieve nothing as far as influencing change in Darfur. It will only enable smaller nations to win more Olympic medals but that is about it. If the Olympics were being held in the US this year, how many countries would be calling for a boycott of the US games based on its war in Iraq and Afghanistan and its treatment of prisoners both in Iraq and in Cuba.

The loss of lives in Darfur can only be stopped through the initiation of combined global efforts that will influence the Sudanese regime to change its course of action in Darfur. The large scale conferences, meetings, planning sessions and other accumulated rhetoric have to stop. There needs to be a fully implemented solution-based formula developed for Darfur, based on regional economic redevelopment, education, communication and most importantly, equality. This formula may also call for a self-styled autonomous independent state of Darfur. Maybe if more time was spent on action instead of talking, life might be different for millions of innocent civilians caught up in this needless conflict in Darfur.

On March 23rd, 1943 during a House of Lords debate on the Allied Declaration of December 17th that outlined a plan of action pertaining to the treatment of Jewish refugees that were trying escape from Nazis Europe, Lord Samuel, an English peer of Jewish decent, stated that “The declaration of the United Nations was made on December 17. Today is March 23rd, and, so far as is publicly known, nothing has happened except discussions, conferences and exchanges of notes. We are glad to learn that measures are afoot for securing close cooperation between this country and the United States. But there seems to be a great danger that action is liable to be lost in the sands of diplomatic negotiations…

While the governments prepare memoranda and exchange notes and hold conferences, week after week, month after month, the Nazis go on killing men, women and children.”

So as we can see, the rhetoric and lack of action is nothing new. Dialogue during the initial stages of unrest, is extremely important and in most cases it is very helpful because it has the ability to stop the progression to all out conflict. But when third party sponsored dialogue fails to encourage a strategy of communication and cooperation amongst potential warring factions, the international community has a responsibility to take action to prohibit the progress to war. When it fails to take these necessary steps, the international community then becomes responsible for this failure and any future events associated with the conflict.

Dialogue has failed Darfur. To date, no appropriate action has been taken on behalf of the innocent civilians of Darfur and it is time for action. Military intervention will not work, but the coming together of the global community, the ordinary people of the world, to voice their concerns at the progression of the conflict in Darfur will certainly be of greater help than our diplomatic leaders continuing their dialogue.

The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will stage the largest concert of its kind ever held to help enhance global awareness of the conflict in Darfur.

The response to our call for help has been incredible and we need it to continue. For information on how you can help, please email dnolan@iafhr.org or call 212.695.7022, ext. 315.