Chalk up one more evil result of Hitler’s Death Camps:
In the Darfur region of Sudan, observers widely believe that a genocide
is being carried out on a massive scale. Nations are loath to make such
a judgment, because under international agreements they must intervene
to stop genocide when they officially acknowledge it. Nations do not
like to be forced to act against other nations–even to prevent
terrible tragedies. Quite often real genocides are ignored until it is
too late to save the victims.
Mass graves in Bosnia, Rwanda, and elsewhere may well be monuments to pious treaties nobody wants to live up to.
“Passion of the Present”, Moore’s new weblog in Dave Winer‘s
Harvard project, is tracking the systematic racial killings in the
Sudan, where an ethnic-Arab militia has targeted local black
communities for extinction. How can you help? Check out the links on
her site.
One piece of good news in the Washington Post (April 24): the UN now plans to investigate.
GENEVA, April 23 — The U.N. Commission on Human Rights overwhelmingly
adopted a resolution Friday expressing concern about the scale of
reported abuses in Sudan’s Darfur region and agreed to appoint its own
investigator.U.N. officials have accused Sudanese troops and Arab militias of
raping, torturing and killing black Africans in the area, equating such
abuses with ethnic cleansing. …The
United States, which slammed the text for failing to condemn “ethnic
cleansing,” was the only member to vote against the resolution.U.S. Ambassador Richard Williamson took the floor to denounce “horrific
events” in the western region of Darfur. He charged that 30,000 people
had been killed in “racial and ethnic targeting.”
Three cheers for Ambassador Williamson! I haven’t agreed with the Bush
administration on many issues, but they seem to be on the side of the
angels in this one.
Thanks to Jim Moore for letting me know about this.