The deliberate, implacable nature of the tragedy in Darfur is coming into more focus, not thanks to the United Nations, but through the efforts of global watchdog groups -- for example, Human Rights Watch.
A human rights group claimed Monday to have evidence that Sudan has armed, supported and given political cover to Arab militias carrying out what it called "ethnic cleansing" against black Arab tribesmen in the country's western Darfur province.Sudan's government has denied any involvement in the militia attacks. But Human Rights Watch said it had proof, and it held a news conference to release summaries of four documents, dated between November 2003 and March 2004 and obtained from the civil administration in Darfur.
The documents "incontrovertibly show that government officials directed recruitment, arming and other support to the ethnic militias known as Janjaweed," said Kenneth Roth, director of the New York-based rights group.
He said the documents, which he claimed had instructions for resettling black tribesman, also show that the Sudanese government lied to Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan when it denied recruiting and arming the militias.
Amnesty International has documented the Arab aggressors' use of rape as an instrument of intimidation.
While African women in Darfur were being raped by the Janjaweed militiamen, Arab women stood nearby and sang for joy, according to an Amnesty International report published yesterday. The songs of the Hakama, or the "Janjaweed women" as the refugees call them, encouraged the atrocities committed by the militiamen.The women singers stirred up racial hatred against black civilians during attacks on villages in Darfur and celebrated the humiliation of their enemies, the human rights group said.
"[They] appear to be the communicators during the attacks. They are reportedly not actively involved in attacks on people, but participate in acts of looting."
Pollyanna Truscott, Amnesty International's Darfur crisis coordinator, said the rape was part of a systematic dehumanisation of women. "It is done to inflict fear, to force them to leave their communities. It also humiliates the men in their communities."
Amnesty International has posted their full report (PDF).
So, when does the diplomatic world call it genocide?
Posted by Alan at July 19, 2004 09:11 PM