THE Darfur crisis has slipped temporarily from the headlines because of so many other terrible happenings which have diverted international attention. The attention, however, will return shortly. Yesterday Nigerian-hosted talks between the Darfur rebels and the Sudanese government collapsed. The UN deadline for positive action by the Sudanese government to disarm the Janjaweed militias held responsible for the deaths of up to 50,000 people and the creation of over a million refugees has passed. Critics insist that President Omar Bashir’s government has still not acted decisively to end the violence and ensure that its citizens can return safely to their homes.
In the Security Council the United States wants a resolution imposing tough economic sanctions on Khartoum. The Americans argue that what has happened in this remote part of Sudan — and what they allege is still happening — is nothing less than genocide. However, permanent Security Council member China, along with rotating members Algeria and Pakistan, are likely to resist what they regard as an unwarranted interference in the affairs of a sovereign country. Sudan has rejected an African Union offer of peacekeeping troops in order to oversee a return of stability to the area and the Arab League still supports Sudan’s position that it must be given sufficient time to sort out the crisis. On the face of it, there is stalemate. Aid appears to be flowing to the refugees who have fled across the border to Chad but the support of Sudanese who have fled to camps within Sudan is proving more difficult. International aid agencies continue to maintain that security at these camps remains poor even though the camps are guarded by government troops and police.
Washington is pushing the UN to act. Secretary-General Kofi Annan accepts the principle but is wise enough to see that unless he can carry the great majority of UN Assembly members with him, not least the Arab countries, any involvement in Darfur will be doomed to failure because it will be hugely divisive at the very time when nations have never needed to be more united.
Regardless of the confused international response, the Sudanese government itself needs to be far more pro-active in the way it handles the crisis in Darfur. Diplomatically it would be a mistake to continue to ignore world opinion. The Arab League’s support was given on the basis that if Sudan was given more time, it would act decisively. The government should heed the advice of its friends. Resisting outsiders only makes critics believe that the Sudan has something to hide. An early publication of the report from the commission set up by President Bashir’s administration to look into the origins of the crisis would be extremely useful. Hopefully by explaining the role of the Darfur rebels in apparently provoking a bloody reaction among government supporters, this document can inject some balance into the debate.
More important than anything, however, is for Khartoum to be seen to be doing everything it can to protect and support the million Sudanese who have, for whatever reasons, become refugees.
