The washington Times July 07, 2004
Lawmakers call for U.N. to act in Sudan
By Brian DeBose
Two Republican lawmakers, after seeing firsthand the devastation of Darfur, Sudan, yesterday called for the United Nations to intervene in the war-torn nation and prevent a genocide like those in Rwanda, Kosovo and Nazi Germany.
Rep. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas visited five of the 129 refugee camps June 26-29 and walked through four villages that had been burned to the ground by a rogue Arab militia. Since February 2003, nearly 30,000 black Muslims have been killed in the western state of Darfur, and more than 1 million people have been displaced.
The East African country has been mired in a 20-year-old civil war.
"It was obvious that the people in these villages had no time to react," Mr. Wolf said. "This is ethnic cleansing. Only villages inhabited by black Muslims are being targeted."
Mr. Brownback said an entire generation has been wiped out in the region.
"We did not see any men between the ages of 18 to 45 in any of the camps," Mr. Brownback said. "I see the seeds of genocide rising in Darfur. The world must not forget the Darfurians in their time of need the way we did to the Rwandans almost a decade ago."
Sudan has been in tumult for more than 100 years. Like many African nations, the effects of European colonialism and Arab conquerors remain, according to historical data compiled by GlobalSecurity.org, an organization devoted to finding approaches to the security challenges of the new millennium.
The country has been through two civil wars since it gained independence in 1956. The British, who created the government, placed much of the country's political power in the north -- an area highly populated by Arabs. The government was destabilized before it began by southern Sudanese rebels organizing in 1955.
The war ended in 1972, but the peace lasted only 10 years. A second civil war started in 1983 after President Gaafar Mohamed Nimeiri enacted legislation to bring the country's legal system more in line with Shariah, or Islamic law.
Peace negotiations have started and faltered several times in the past two decades.
In the past year, Arabs in the northern and eastern regions have mobilized as a militia under the name Janjaweed and looted, pillaged and destroyed villages, killing the black men and raping the black women.
The two U.S. politicians followed recent visits to Darfur by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
"Religion has had nothing to do with what unfolded over the last year," Mr. Wolf said.
The Sudanese government has denied any involvement with the Janjaweed, but Mr. Wolf and Mr. Brownback said the group is too well-armed to be operating independently, boasting helicopter gunships, firearms and satellite phones.
Mr. Brownback said he and Mr. Wolf have listed 11 recommendations that should be enacted this week to prevent another Rwanda.
Their report says the Sudanese central government in the capital, Khartoum, should disarm the Janjaweed, cease blocking aid workers and supplies headed for Darfur, and begin a peace process with the Sudan Liberation Army.
They also said a strongly worded U.N. Security Council resolution and an investigation are needed to find those responsible for the genocide and bring them to justice.
Although no U.S. troops were mentioned, Mr. Wolf said the African Union, which already has 270 peacekeeping troops in the region with expectations of an additional 320 in the coming weeks, should be given the resources needed to quell the attacks.
© Copyright 2004, News World Communications, Inc.
