The crisis in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur is among the hottest African emergency issues on the table of world leaders as the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) holds in New York today.
And to add bite to the call for a complete takeover of the efforts to find lasting peace in the area, agency reports say protests are being organised in 30 countries to draw greater attention to the crisis in Sudan.
But the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported yesterday that thousands of people have marched through the Sudan capital, Khartoum, to protest against UN plans to take over peacekeeping operations in Darfur.
The marchers, including militias backed by the government, chanted slogans and held banners saying such things as "UN troops bring your coffins with you". Stirred up by violent rhetoric in Islamic newspapers, several thousands of people marched on the UN headquarters.
Some two million people are still living in overcrowded camps in Darfur, driven from their homes by the continuing conflict. The death threats against western diplomats have been published and militia groups have warned of a holy war.
The protests come as the European Union (EU) hosts talks on whether to transfer responsibility for the peace mission.
The African Union (AU) is running out of money for its 7,000 troops in Darfur. Although 10,000 UN troops are being deployed to southern and eastern Sudan, the prospect of a UN mission in the west is unacceptable to many Sudanese.
Sudan has threatened to leave the AU if the pan-African body agrees to let the UN take over, with a bigger force and a stronger mandate to end the violence.
A Sudanese envoy Mohamed Elsamani, has stressed his government's opposition to the United Nations taking over peacekeeping duties from the AU in Darfur, maintaining that Western troops in any prospective UN force were particularly unacceptable to Sudan citing the behaviour of United States (U.S.) soldiers in Iraq.
"Regarding the bad conduct or treatment of some, whatever linked with the UN or individual countries like America, how it is treating people in Guantanamo, how the allies are treating people in Iraq, in Abu Ghraib prison, or killing civilians – it is not a process which will be accepted in Sudan," he said.
On the global demonstrations, the BBC had reported further that they are being organised by groups, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Save Darfur Coalition are also scheduled from Japan to Canada and to Ghana with a theme revolving around donning of blindfolds to tell world leaders not to look away from the continuing violence in Darfur.
Recently, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told journalists in London that he wanted Darfur's proposed peacekeeping force to be in place by the end of the year.
It was the first time British Prime Minister or any head of a major western country will be pledging technical help for the UN-AU force. Brown had also warned of further sanctions if fighting continued.
On a recent visit to Rome, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said he was willing to sign a peace deal with rebel groups ahead of talks with them in Libya on October 27.
But it is understood that the AU may decide whether to hand over its mission to the UN on Friday.
Ahead of the decision, Sudan's Vice-President, Ali Osman Taha, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and the chairman of the AU Commission, Alpha Omar Konare, are attending the EU talks in Brussels.
The meeting has been organised by the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who says it is vital to find a new peace formula for Sudan.
Recently, China allowed a rare viewing of a military base where engineers and medical staff are preparing for deployment in Darfur. Analysts say China also hopes the 300-strong team will deflect widespread criticism of its reluctance to approve foreign intervention in Darfur.
From Oghogho Obayuwana, Abuja
The Guardian
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
