No certainty until the genocide in Darfur ends
More than four years on, the conflict in Darfur has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable. The United Nations estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and disease. In addition, by obstructing and arresting journalists, the Sudanese government has been able to obscure much of what has gone on and has suppressed information by jailing and killing witnesses and tampered with evidence such as mass graves to eliminate their forensic values. Even the Amnesty International issued a report accusing China of supplying arms, ammunition and related equipment to Sudan (China invests heavily in Sudan's oil industry) and this hardware has been transferred to Darfur for use by the government and the militias.
In early October, BBC aired a documentary “An Atrocity That Needs No Exaggeration“ regarding the magnitude of atrocities in Darfur. This documentary misses a critical point in the debate over how many people have actually died. The real point is that, unfortunately, mortality estimates cannot be verified or updated because the Government of Sudan actively denies the international community – including diplomats, humanitarian workers, and epidemiology experts – real access to the Darfur region.
History reminds us that the full scope and scale of genocide is unknown until it has ended. Past perpetrators, most notably the Nazis and the present Chinese autocrities in Tibet, actively concealed their campaigns of mass murder from public scrutiny and accountability. When the scale of this genocide did become known, a shocked world cried out, “Never again.” The same was true in Cambodia and Rwanda. And that is what is happening now in Darfur.
The Save Darfur Coalition too believes that in this conflict as many as 450,000 Darfuris have been either killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, because there is sound analysis to support that – analysis that is impossible to confirm only because of Sudan’s willful obstruction. Ultimately, no level of genocide is acceptable. The international community must continue to press the Sudanese government and President Omar al-Bashir to provide access to both international peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and experts who can more accurately document the scale of this tragedy, as well as provide protection and assistance to Darfur’s poor civilian population.
In early October, BBC aired a documentary “An Atrocity That Needs No Exaggeration“ regarding the magnitude of atrocities in Darfur. This documentary misses a critical point in the debate over how many people have actually died. The real point is that, unfortunately, mortality estimates cannot be verified or updated because the Government of Sudan actively denies the international community – including diplomats, humanitarian workers, and epidemiology experts – real access to the Darfur region.
History reminds us that the full scope and scale of genocide is unknown until it has ended. Past perpetrators, most notably the Nazis and the present Chinese autocrities in Tibet, actively concealed their campaigns of mass murder from public scrutiny and accountability. When the scale of this genocide did become known, a shocked world cried out, “Never again.” The same was true in Cambodia and Rwanda. And that is what is happening now in Darfur.
The Save Darfur Coalition too believes that in this conflict as many as 450,000 Darfuris have been either killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, because there is sound analysis to support that – analysis that is impossible to confirm only because of Sudan’s willful obstruction. Ultimately, no level of genocide is acceptable. The international community must continue to press the Sudanese government and President Omar al-Bashir to provide access to both international peacekeepers, humanitarian workers and experts who can more accurately document the scale of this tragedy, as well as provide protection and assistance to Darfur’s poor civilian population.
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