There have been other genocides apart from the one in Sudan. There had been systematic killing of populations in Germany, Cambodia, and Rwanda. The difference with the genocide in Darfur is that Omar al-Bashir, the perpetrator of the genocide, carries on his mockery of the justice system, ignores his arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes issues by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, and continues to travel around freely. What’s more, al-Bashir persists to be president of the country.

Nearly half a million people have been killed in the Darfur war. Two million have been displaced by the fighting and the ethnic cleansing, and are now housed in refugee camps that have been declared a humanitarian meltdown as the camps are riddled with starvation and disease. al-Bashir booted out international aid groups but eventually allowed foreign aid to come back, though not from the ones kicked out earlier that happen to be the bigger and more capable relief organizations.

Before he became president, Barack Obama declared, “When you see a genocide, whether it’s in Rwanda or Bosnia or in Darfur, that’s a stain on all of us. That’s a stain on our souls.” To date, Obama does not have a clear Sudan policy. Based on the pronouncements of the Obama administration envoy in Sudan, it looks like the strategy sways towards a move to ‘build rapport with Khartoum.’ But Omar al-Bashir is a radical Islamist. He is not wont to compromise, even negotiate, his political ambition – even if it means the continued suffering of the people in Darfur.

The most logical actions to be done now, as far as mitigating the suffering and hardship of Darfuris, are bringing back the big humanitarian aid groups into Darfur and acting on a strategy whereby the refugees can safely and securely return to their homes. However, those might prove extremely difficult with an Islamist who openly and obnoxiously skirts the rule of international law. So, the next best thing is for the US to step into the picture, exert pressure on the Khartoum government, and do these three things: diplomatic pressure, tougher multilateral sanctions, and use of military force.

Image

Via The New Republic