June 24, 2004
Never Again
As many as 10,000 people have died and more than a million more have been driven from their homes in the Darfur region of western Sudan in a growing humanitarian crisis.
More information (and donation information):
From the New York Time's Nicholas Kristof:
Collin Powell will be visiting Darfur next week.
Posted by cradle at June 24, 2004 10:26 PMI'm sorry to be nonsequitorial, but Dave and I are looking for the video of the Irish reporter's interview w/Bush (gettin all uppity). The Post's link is 5 sec. long and seems to be an ad, nothing more. Please help.
ps we all just saw Farenheit 9/11 and are very angry.
Posted by: matt soule at June 27, 2004 1:20 AMfrom the CIA factbook on Sudan:
"Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement."
Apparently not enough momentum....
Posted by: T* at June 28, 2004 10:13 PMWhat conclusion do you draw from the CIA factbook entry?
Posted by: David at June 28, 2004 11:12 PMThat the place is pretty fucked up.
Here is something sad...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3875277.stm
France opposes UN Sudan sanctions
The humanitarian situation is worsening
France says it does not support US plans for international sanctions on Sudan if violence continues in Darfur...As was the case in Iraq, France also has significant oil interests in Sudan.
[French Foreign Minister] Mr Muselier also dismissed claims of "ethnic cleansing" or genocide in Darfur.
"I firmly believe it is a civil war and as they are little villages of 30, 40, 50, there is nothing easier than for a few armed horsemen to burn things down, to kill the men and drive out the women," he said.
Human rights activists say the Janjaweed are conducting a genocide against Darfur's black African population.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43421-2004Jul11.html
Posted by: David at July 12, 2004 12:32 PM