ARAB GOVERNMENTS CONDONE IN DARFUR WHAT THEY CONDEMN IN PALESTINE

  • by Jody Williams
  • Inter Press Service

On March 4 the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The very next day Bashir expelled international and national aid organisations from Darfur. And it has been four weeks since Arab leaders, knowing all of this, in their words, "stressed our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the ICC decision," writes Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her work to eliminate landmines and Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative.

In this article, Williams writes that rather than choosing politics over humanity and privileging the appearance of Arab unity over concern for the people of Darfur, the Arab League might have condemned Bashir's expulsion of the aid agencies and his harassment of Sudanese human rights defenders. A statement by Arab leaders acknowledging the atrocities and violence committed by government forces would have had a deep impact in Khartoum.

The Arab world has long criticised America's seeming blindness when it comes to Israel and Palestine. Responding in kind when it comes to President Bashir does nothing to end the suffering of either the Palestinians or the Darfuris. All nations should be doing everything in their power to push all parties to the table, to meaningfully include women in peace talks, and to ensure justice and reconciliation for the people of Sudan.

(*) Jody Williams, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work to eliminate landmines, is the Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative, a group founded by six women Nobel Peace Laureates in 2006.

//NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN CANADA, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM//

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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