09 September 2004
No New U.S. Action Dictated by Finding of Genocide in Darfur
Powell says increased pressure, diplomacy, quick relief are required
By Susan Ellis
Washington File Correspondent
Washington -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell made it official September 9: the government of Sudan and its cohorts, the Jingaweit militias, have committed and are committing genocide in Darfur.
Powell cautioned, however, "no new action is dictated by this determination. We have been doing everything we can to get the government of Sudan to act responsibly. So let us not be too preoccupied by this designation; these people are in desperate need and we must help them." Whether it is called war, ethnic cleansing, or genocide, the reality remains the same, he stated: "There are people in Darfur who desperately need the help of the international community."
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Powell said that based on interviews in camps in Sudan and Chad with 1,136 refugees from Darfur, the State Department concluded that Jingaweit and Sudan government forces were involved in the pillaging, rapes and burning of villages as "a coordinated effort, not just random violence" committed against non-Arab villagers.
"We concluded -- I concluded -- that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Jingaweit bear responsibility and that genocide may still be occurring," Powell said, adding that he was supplying the congressional committee with copies of the evidence the State Department team compiled, which was posted on the State Department Web site ( http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/36028.htm ).
Amid informed and lively questioning by 13 committee members, as well as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist who sat in, Committee Chair Richard Lugar asked whether any Sudanese leaders would pay attention to the hearing and the U.S. determination of genocide.
"Is diplomacy without the backing of military force sufficient for any government to believe we mean business? You get resolutions but what does it mean? Does anybody, including the government of Sudan, pay any attention to the U.N.," Lugar asked.
Powell quickly responded: "I can assure you that the leaders in Khartoum are watching this hearing very, very carefully. They are not completely indifferent or invulnerable to the fact of international pressures. As a result of [U.N. Secretary-General] Kofi [Annan's] visit and mine, and those by members of Congress, we did succeed in the last two months in opening up a humanitarian system that had been shut down by the Sudanese."
The secretary said he expects the government of Sudan to reject the U.S. designation of genocide, adding that before they are taken to the bar of justice, "there is a simple way for Khartoum to avoid wholesale condemnation by the international community and that way is to take action. The government of Sudan should end the attacks and assure its people, all of its people, are secure; hold to account those responsible for past atrocities and assure that those negotiations taking place in Abuja and also the Naivasha Accords are successfully concluded. That is the only way to bring peace and prosperity to that poor ravaged land."
He detailed the obstacles that had been lifted to permit supplies and vehicles to get into the affected region, saying "So that pressure worked with respect to getting humanitarian aid in right now. Frankly, the more serious problem now is getting it distributed and making sure that those who promised aid actually produce the aid."
Also, he said, Khartoum relented on accepting the African Union monitoring group and "allowing protection forces to come in with those monitors. Also [they responded] in terms of political dialogue now taking place in Abuja. The threat of sanctions is still out there over them, particularly in the sector that is the greatest concern to them and that is oil, their principal source of revenue."
Pressed on the advisability of international sanctions on Sudanese oil by several senators, Powell said, "I can't predict if the Sudanese government revenue were cut, [if it] would produce the kind of change we'd like to see or other changes we don't want to see. It's a judgment call." The best approach, he stressed, is to maintain pressure on the Sudan government in a way that will not create unwanted consequences.
"We have determined the best way is to continue to apply pressure on the government of Sudan to take responsibility for its own territory and people, and they're not immune from diplomatic pressure as we have seen, but we have to increase the pressure.
"We also have to do it in a calibrated way because there are political challenges inside of Khartoum, within the government -- hardliners who resent any kind of pressure, and those who believe they have to respond to the concern and pressure applied by the international community. So we have to calibrate the pressure."
Powell said that the United States and the European Union were not prepared to send troops into Sudan, but "what we do have is a willingness on the part of the African Union and I'm very pleased that they've shown this willingness to send in thousands of monitors and protection forces for those monitors.
"I think if you get a goodly number of these folks in and their presence is felt throughout the countryside of Darfur, you have a better sense of bringing the situation under control and helping the Sudanese government or giving them greater incentive to bring it under control."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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