..."the crisis in the Darfur region of Western Sudan, where an Arab campaign of terror has taken an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced a million black Africans. There could be worse to come because the rainy season is about to spread waterborne disease among the refugees and make trucking in food aid a nightmare.
Some call what is happening in western Sudan "ethnic cleansing." Others (but not the United Nations because it would then be obliged to take forceful action) use the term "genocide".
...
For a number of reasons, chances are slim that the Bush Administration will get tough with the Sudanese government.
...
The Darfur crisis in western Sudan, however, is not a war of religion. The rebellious black African farmers who are being driven from their lands by the Arab Janjaweed militia are also Muslims. Their rebellion was inspired by the concessions made to Christians in the south.
There are other factors at work in Washington?s reluctance to lean too hard on the Sudanese government, no matter how many of its subjects face displacement or death at its hands. For better or for worse, President General Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir is an Arab dictator who is now seen as an ally in the war against terror. Sudan expelled Osama Bin Laden in the 1990s and has been quietly helpful in other ways since September 11. That cuts a lot of ice in Washington.
And of course there is oil.
The United States has been trying to diversify its supplies and decrease its dependence on Middle East oil. Africa is the new horizon in the oil game."...
(CBS) Tom Fenton, in his fourth decade with CBS News, has been the network's Senior European Correspondent since 1979. He comments on international events from his "Listening Post" in London, and other parts of the world as well. cbsnews.com
Imagens obtidas:
World Health Organization (WHO)
Univ. of Texas Library Online
USAid Sudan, Radio Nederland
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário