Press Release/Commentary by ESPAC posted on June 02, 2004 at 00:58:20: EST (-5 GMT)

ALLEGATIONS OF GENOCIDE IN DARFUR: SENSATIONALIST PROPAGANDA?

The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council
Date of Publication: 1 June 2004

The Sudanese government has recently been accused of involvement in a
genocide in Darfur, a region in western Sudan. The claims have been made
in the wake of an armed conflict that has been fought in Darfur since
early 2003 between two rebel groups and the Khartoum government. The
rebels - the 'Sudan Liberation Army' (SLA) and the 'Justice and Equality
Movement' (JEM) - began the war with attacks on towns and government
facilities in Darfur. The conflict has spiralled out of control and has
caused a growing humanitarian crisis. (1) A ceasefire agreement signed
in April 2004 (2) has provided observers of the conflict with the chance
to reflect on events in Darfur.

The conflict in Darfur presents a very complex situation with very
complex problems. (3) All war, and particularly civil war, lead to human
rights violations. The conflict in Darfur has been no exception. And as
is so often the case in war, the conflict has inevitably been caught up
in the propaganda and misinformation that comes with it and that has
certainly characterised previous coverage of Sudan. Darfur is home to
some 80 tribes and ethnic groups divided between nomads and sedentary
communities. The unrest appears to have been identified within two or
three communities such as the Fur and the Zaghawa tribes. A number of
anti-government commentators have chosen to project a partisan analysis
of events in Darfur, claiming that government-supported "Arab" -
"Janjaweed" - militias have been involved in attacks upon "African", Fur
or Zaghawa, villagers (and in doing so often merely echo questionable
rebel claims). A combination of anti-Sudanese activists and lazy
journalists have sought to portray the inter-tribal violence that has
taken place in Darfur as "ethnic cleansing" and even "genocide". (4)

This has been done despite the scarcity of reliable information. United
Nations media sources, for example, have noted "a lack of accurate
information on the conflict" (5) and Reuters has also stated that "it is
hard to independently verify claims by government or rebels in Darfur."
(6) Human rights reports have consistently reported - and attributed -
human rights abuses within Darfur in circumstances in which independent
confirmation of such assertions is impossible. The 'New York Times',
while echoing many of these allegations of human rights abuses, was
candid enough to admit that "it is impossible to travel in Darfur to
verify these claims". (7)

Long-standing anti-Sudan activist Eric Reeves has alleged genocide and
ethnic cleansing in Darfur. (8) In a deliberate attempt to equate events
in Darfur with the horrific case of Rwanda, Reeves even used the term
"genocidaires" in referring to the Sudanese government. (9) He has made
these sorts of assertions despite at the same time acknowledging that
such claims are based on "second-hand accounts" and "fragmentary"
accounts. He has also acknowledged the verification of such claims has
been impossible: "There have been virtually no first-hand accounts by
journalists, and the observations by humanitarian organizations are
necessarily scattered". (10)

For all the claims of genocide and ethnic cleansing that have been made,
there would appear to be independent and credible observers who
contradict these allegations. While Human Rights Watch, for example,
eagerly chose to label the conflict as "ethnic cleansing" (11), Amnesty
International researchers have said that observers should be "cautious"
about describing clashes in Darfur as ethnic cleansing. (12) These
claims have also been directly contradicted by seasoned aid workers with
hands-on experience of events within Darfur. One such observer is Dr
Mercedes Taty, the deputy emergency director of the world-renowned
Medicines Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). Dr Taty has worked
with 12 expatriate doctors and 300 Sudanese nationals in field hospitals
set up in the towns of Mornay, El Genina and Zalinge in the heart of the
Darfur emergency. Asked if comparisons between events in Darfur and
Rwanda were justified, her answer was blunt: "I don't think that we
should be using the word 'genocide' to describe this conflict. Not at
all. This can be a semantic discussion, but nevertheless, there is no
systematic target - targeting one ethnic group or another one. It
doesn't mean either that the situation in Sudan isn't extremely serious
by itself." Dr Taty was also asked if the "ethnic cleansing" label was
appropriate for events in Darfur. She said: "That is not necessarily
accurate. There are several different tribes and clans and families and
not all of them are persecuted or executed just for the sake of their
tribe." (13) (The article in which she was interviewed is reproduced
below.)

The dangers of crying wolf on such issues are all too clear. The cynical
use of allegations of genocide or ethnic cleansing for propaganda
reasons is morally repugnant. It may also have international and
domestic consequences, inflaming an already fraught situation in Darfur
as well as misinforming international opinion.

Appendix

VIOLENCE IN THE SUDAN DISPLACES NEARLY 1 MILLION: AN AID WORKER
DESCRIBES THE GRAVITY OF THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

News Article by MSNBC
16 April 2004

In the Darfur region of western Sudan, a humanitarian crisis has already
displaced nearly one million people -- and the United Nations has warned
that the situation is getting worse. According to reports, an Arab
militia known as the Janjaweed has committed atrocities ranging from
raping and murdering civilians to burning down entire villages, all with
the aim of displacing the black Sudanese tribes. This month, the U.N.
Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs James Egeland characterized the
violence as "ethnic cleansing."

The fighting and pillaging, which began in February 2003, has driven an
estimated 700,000 black Sudanese from their homes to other parts of
Sudan and an estimated 100,000 others across the border to eastern Chad.
The apparent objective of the group -- which critics claim is backed by
the Khartoum government -- is to drive the tribes from their homes so
that the militia can take over valuable water resources and land. The
government has denied the allegations.

As he marked the 10th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide earlier this
month, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said the attrocities in Darfur
left him with a "deep sense of foreboding" and warned the international
community should be prepared to take military action, if necessary, to
prevent the attacks.

Due to the extreme violence in the region, humanitarian assistance has
been limited and the international group, Doctors Without Borders (also
known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or M.S.F.), is one of the few non-
governmental organizations that is currently operating in the Darfur
region.

Back from Sudan

Mercedes Taty, a 36-year-old Spanish doctor and the Deputy Emergency
Director for Doctors without Borders in Paris, returned last week from a
month working in Sudan. Taty worked with the 12 expatriate doctors and
300 Sudanese nationals in field hospitals set up in the towns of Mornay,
El Genina, and Zalinge.

She spoke with MSNBC.com about the gravity of the crisis.

QUESTION: Can you describe the humanitarian situation in the Sudan?

ANSWER: Just imagine almost a half a million people having to leave
their houses - homes behind, burning - subject to any sort of violence.
Living in enclaves that they are not allowed to leave because they are
afraid of being attacked - either looted, killed, raped, or beaten. And
depending on whatever can be provided to them as they left with empty
hands and depending [on aid agencies for] water supply, food
distribution, and health care as they can not produce anything on their
own, by themselves. Half a million people.

QUESTION: What is Doctors without Borders doing in the Darfur region of
western Sudan?

ANSWER: We have set up emergency service response programs. So that
means addressing priorities to prevent measles outbreaks, to provide
water, to provide food, to take charge of malnutrition, and to develop
primary and secondary health care for the displaced people we are trying
to assist. As a doctor, I have assisted wounded people - either gunshot
wounds, knife wounds, raped women - so that is the reality for this
population.

QUESTION: Compared to other humanitarian crisis you have worked with
over your last six years with Doctors Without Borders, how bad is the
situation in the Sudan?

ANSWER: In fact, I can only [call] it a huge, huge emergency. In the
sense of the population figures, when I speak about figures, I am
talking about people, persons, population - they are huge, huge numbers.
We are talking about displaced people living in miserable conditions,
displaced from their homes, just regrouped in the middle of nowhere and
absolutely dependent on any assistance that can be provided to them.

They've left their villages of origin, due to violence and burning of
these villages. So now they are gathering at some crossroad points and
they are absolutely dependent on any assistance that can be provided.

So, if no drinkable water, no drug supply and healthcare, no food is
provided, these people have very little chance of surviving. Just to
give an example, but in other situations, when we speak about 5,000
people, we estimate that is already an emergency. Right now I am talking
about almost 300,000 people that have been seen by Doctors Without
Borders teams.

QUESTION: The United Nations has launched an appeal for $115 million for
the Darfur region. Will that help?

ANSWER: Yes, that will be suitable, but it just needs to be translated
into real action in the field as soon as possible. Otherwise it will be
too late.

QUESTION: Do you think that comparisons between the crisis in Sudan and
the genocide in Rwanda are justified?

ANSWER: I don't think that we should be using the word "genocide" to
describe this conflict. Not at all. This can be a semantic discussion,
but nevertheless, there is no systematic target - targeting one ethnic
group or another one. It doesn't mean either that the situation in
Sudan isn't extremely serious by itself. But, I think it's important not
to mix things and not to standardize our words. So, I would say no, I
can not speak about genocide. On the contrary, I can speak about a huge
number of displaced people in an extremely precarious situation due to
displacement forced by violence. It is severe enough without having to
call for genocide or other words.

QUESTION: Many people are saying that the Arabs groups are driving the
black Sudanese off their land so that they can access their land and
water in a form of "ethnic cleansing." Is that label appropriate?

ANSWER: That is not necessarily accurate. There are several different
tribes and clans and families and not all of them are persecuted or
executed just for the sake of their tribe. It, in fact, looks to me like
a very effective military strategy, but I wouldn't translate that into
ethic cleansing. But, I am a doctor; I am not very good at analyzing
military strategy.

Interview conducted by MSNBC.com's Petra Cahill

Notes

1 See "Sudan: One Million At 'Imminent Risk' in Darfur, Says US
Government", News Article by Integrated Regional Information Networks,
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 3 March 2004.
2 See "Sudan government, Darfur rebels sign ceasefire deal", News
Article by Agence France Presse, 9 April 2004.
3 See, for example, 'The Darfur Crisis: Looking Beyond the
Propaganda', European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, March
2004, available at www.espac.org.
4 See, for example, commentaries by anti-Sudan campaigner Eric
Reeves, "Stopping Genocide in Darfur: What Must Be Done", 17 May 2004
and "The Data of Destruction: Accelerating Genocide in Darfur", 27 May
2004; and articles such as Nicholas Kristof's, "Will We Say 'Never
Again' Yet Again?", 'The New York Times', 27 March 2004, "Don't Let
Sudan's Ethnic Cleansing Go On", 'The New York Times', 25 March 2004,
and even "Sudan's Ignored Genocide", 'The Wall Street Journal', 17 May
2004.
5 "The Escalating Crisis in Darfur", News Article by Integrated
Regional Information Networks, UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, 31 December 2003.
6 "Pressure Seen as Key to Ending Sudan's Western War", News
Article by Reuters, 28 January 2004.
7 "War in Western Sudan Overshadows Peace in the South", 'The New
York Times', 17 January 2004.
8 See, for example, Eric Reeves, "African Auschwitz: The
Concentration Camps of Darfur; The UN and the International Community
Are Acquiescing in Genocide", 12 May 2004; "Stopping Genocide in Darfur:
What Must Be Done", 17 May 2004; "The Data of Destruction: Accelerating
Genocide in Darfur", 27 May 2004.
9 See, for example, Eric Reeves, "Rwanda Redux? As the
Catastrophe in Darfur Continues to Accelerate, There Are Still No Signs
of International Humanitarian Intervention", 22 March 2004.
10 Eric Reeves, "The Accelerating Catastrophe in Darfur (Sudan):
Khartoum Fixes Upon a Policy of War and Civilian Destruction", 24
November 2003
11 See, for example, 'Darfur Destroyed: Ethnic Cleansing by
Government and Militia Forces in Western Sudan', Human Rights Watch, New
York, 7 May 2004.
12 "Sudanese Gov't 'Largely Responsible' for Abuses in Darfur, Says
Watchdog", News Article by Integrated Regional Information Networks, UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 27 November 2003.
13 "Violence in the Sudan Displaces Nearly 1 Million. An Aid Worker
Describes the Gravity of the Humanitarian Crisis", News Article by
MSNBC, 16 April 2004.