'Global day' for Darfur
The plight of Darfur's civilian population is being highlighted by protestors
Also In The News
|
Connie Fisher has won the hearts of the British public - and landed the role of Maria in a west end production of The Sound Of Music. |  |
Sunday, 17, Sep 2006 07:33
Demonstrations took place across the world urging the United Nations (UN) to provide protection for civilians caught up in the current conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
An estimated 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million civilians displaced since fighting began in Darfur in 2003, when non-Arab villagers revolted against the Arab-led Khartoum government in protest at a lack of resources.
Khartoum mobilised Arab militias to quell the rebellion, with the government-backed Janjaweed subsequently accused of conducting a campaign of murder, rape and looting against Darfur's black African civilians.
During today's "global day for Darfur", events took place across 30 capital cities around the world to highlight the need for the UN to provide protection for Darfur's African population.
The international day of protest was held to mark the first anniversary of a commitment made by the UN to accept such a responsibility, which has yet to be fulfilled.
In London, protestors angry at the UN's failure to deploy a peacekeeping force in Darfur to protect civilians against fighting between ethnic African rebels and government-backed Arab militias, are staging a rally outside the Sudanese embassy.
In a filmed statement to be screened during the rally, international development secretary Hilary Benn will warn that things in Darfur "cannot go on as they are".
"The truth is, and all of us know it, that what we do about Darfur is a test for every single one of us in the international community - and we cannot afford to fail," Mr Benn will stress.
The need to address the current plight of Darfur's people has united politicians from across the political spectrum, with leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Amos, and shadow international development secretary Andrew Mitchell MP due to speak about the crisis during a launch of a new exhibition about it at London's Old Vic theatre.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for international development Susan Kramer will also table a motion of support for today's international day of protest at the start of the party's annual conference in Brighton.
Leading political calls for action over Darfur, prime minister Tony Blair has written to his counterparts across the European Union (EU), arguing that Europe must play a "central role" in securing peace in Sudan.
In his letter, sent to leaders in the EU's 24 member states and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, Mr Blair wrote: "The EU should play a central role in mobilising world opinion on this issue."
"We should strongly call upon the government of Sudan and non-signatories alike to stop immediately the violence in northern Darfur.
Both sides must abide by the commitments they made under previous ceasefire agreements."
Meanwhile, religious leaders have gathered outside Downing Street today to call for an end to the crisis. Prayers written by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra were read out at lunchtime.
The Sudanese government, which has repeatedly refused to accept a United Nations (UN) resolution authorising the deployment of a 20,000-strong peacekeeping force in Darfur, has claimed that demonstrators taking part in today's protests have been misled by the media about the situation in the region.
Speaking ahead of the protests, Sudan's junior foreign minister, Ali Kati, said: "Unfortunately, the people there in the west, in Europe and the United States are moved by the media and the media is unfortunately moved by political agenda."
Humanitarian groups have warned that the plight of civilians in Darfur is likely to get worse unless the UN deploys a peacekeeping force in the region to replace an existing African Union force, whose current mandate is due to expire on September 30th.
"With the African Union set to withdraw its troops on September 30th and Sudan still refusing to accept their replacement by UN peacekeepers, the threat of all-out genocide is imminent" warned Aegis Trust chief executive Dr James Smith, who says Darfur civilians are facing a situation which could be on the scale of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.