12/14/2005
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On the eve of the UN Security Council meeting scheduled for today, a stroke of
lightning hit the glass building in New York. In a report made public Sunday,
the Human Rights Watch organisation in fact openly blamed the Sudanese government of having prepared
a method for occupation and the systematic exploitation of resources in Darfur,
where for the past two years the local groups of rebels have been fighting the
Janjaweed forces. However, the major element of surprise lies in the “list of bad guys”
published by HRW. It comprises Sudanese President Omar el Bashir and Vice President Ali Osman
Taha.
Direct accusations. It is not the first time that the Sudanese government is charged with responsibility
for the crimes committed in Darfur. In particular, Khartoum is suspected of having
backed the attacks carried out by the Janjaweed forces against Darfur’s people through air raids. But it is the first time that
someone openly accuses the Sudanese political and military leaders by name. Khartoum’s
authorities immediately reacted by calling HRW’s report “ridiculous” and “highly politicized”, also denying the fact that HRW was able to conduct interviews on Sudanese territory since it allegedly has
no personnel in the country. The report however could be used by the International
Criminal Court for its investigations, seeing that Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo
– presently in Argentina – has up until now limited himself to desk work without
going to Sudan to gather concrete proof.
Insufficient methods. HRW’s report adds other elements to the heavy allegations launched against Sudanese
authorities since the outbreak of the war. In particular, the American organisation
is justly stressing how the inquiries carried out by Khartoum on the responsibilities
for the war in Darfur have not led to the incrimination of any high-ranking officer
of the army or of the Janjaweed forces. This is a sign that the inquiries were not conducted with the necessary
zeal. The problem is that the same can be said regarding the investigations of
the ICC, until now conducted only abroad. This is an insufficient method also
because the charges involved (crimes against humanity and genocide) would justify
quite another approach to the problem.
An odd war. The feeling is that a parallel media war has been fought around Darfur for the
past two years, which certainly does not help us understand the truth. PeaceReporter contacted a humanitarian worker in Sudan, whose identity shall be withheld for
reasons of safety. He shared his viewpoint with us. “In talking with humanitarian
personnel returning from Darfur, nobody mentioned genocide to me. The problem
is that since oil was discovered in the region, a war between nomad and sedentary
populations for possession of the lands has been manipulated owing to the interests
of the various companies and of the countries that support them. Otherwise, the
attention that this war has aroused would not be explained. The continent’s longest
civil war has been fought in the south of Sudan, producing millions of deaths.
But nobody has ever talked to me about that question.” Actually, the Darfur war
can boast two singular records: it is the African war most widely followed by
the media from all over the world, but without knowing much about it. Charges
of genocide and manipulation follow one another on both sides, but without concrete
and incontrovertible proof supporting one of the two theories. Today the only
sure data is that, as always, those who are paying the consequences of this odd
war are the defenceless civilians.
printsend
HRW blames the Sudanese government for the crimes in Darfur. Rightly so?
On the eve of the UN Security Council meeting scheduled for today, a stroke of
lightning hit the glass building in New York. In a report made public Sunday,
the Human Rights Watch organisation in fact openly blamed the Sudanese government of having prepared
a method for occupation and the systematic exploitation of resources in Darfur,
where for the past two years the local groups of rebels have been fighting the
Janjaweed forces. However, the major element of surprise lies in the “list of bad guys”
published by HRW. It comprises Sudanese President Omar el Bashir and Vice President Ali Osman
Taha.
Direct accusations. It is not the first time that the Sudanese government is charged with responsibility
for the crimes committed in Darfur. In particular, Khartoum is suspected of having
backed the attacks carried out by the Janjaweed forces against Darfur’s people through air raids. But it is the first time that
someone openly accuses the Sudanese political and military leaders by name. Khartoum’s
authorities immediately reacted by calling HRW’s report “ridiculous” and “highly politicized”, also denying the fact that HRW was able to conduct interviews on Sudanese territory since it allegedly has
no personnel in the country. The report however could be used by the International
Criminal Court for its investigations, seeing that Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo
– presently in Argentina – has up until now limited himself to desk work without
going to Sudan to gather concrete proof. Insufficient methods. HRW’s report adds other elements to the heavy allegations launched against Sudanese
authorities since the outbreak of the war. In particular, the American organisation
is justly stressing how the inquiries carried out by Khartoum on the responsibilities
for the war in Darfur have not led to the incrimination of any high-ranking officer
of the army or of the Janjaweed forces. This is a sign that the inquiries were not conducted with the necessary
zeal. The problem is that the same can be said regarding the investigations of
the ICC, until now conducted only abroad. This is an insufficient method also
because the charges involved (crimes against humanity and genocide) would justify
quite another approach to the problem. An odd war. The feeling is that a parallel media war has been fought around Darfur for the
past two years, which certainly does not help us understand the truth. PeaceReporter contacted a humanitarian worker in Sudan, whose identity shall be withheld for
reasons of safety. He shared his viewpoint with us. “In talking with humanitarian
personnel returning from Darfur, nobody mentioned genocide to me. The problem
is that since oil was discovered in the region, a war between nomad and sedentary
populations for possession of the lands has been manipulated owing to the interests
of the various companies and of the countries that support them. Otherwise, the
attention that this war has aroused would not be explained. The continent’s longest
civil war has been fought in the south of Sudan, producing millions of deaths.
But nobody has ever talked to me about that question.” Actually, the Darfur war
can boast two singular records: it is the African war most widely followed by
the media from all over the world, but without knowing much about it. Charges
of genocide and manipulation follow one another on both sides, but without concrete
and incontrovertible proof supporting one of the two theories. Today the only
sure data is that, as always, those who are paying the consequences of this odd
war are the defenceless civilians. Matteo Fagotto
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