Slaughter in Sudan: UN stands idly by

OF the litany of human rights abuses taking place in the west Darfur theatre in Sudan, perhaps the greatest and the most difficult to understand is the sheer indifference of the UN security council to the plight of the vulnerable millions of innocent people.

Both casual and seasoned observers of the Third World and the broader political landscape are baffled at the reluctance of Kofi Annan and his colleagues to take any meaningful action to stop the pillage, torture, rape and murder of the innocent.

Despite millions of words spoken and written in condemnation of the atrocities being carried out by the Janjaweed militia and the Khartoum army, the persecution of the inhabitants of Darfur continues unabated.

The Janjaweed raid and kill with impunity; the suffering of the victims intensifies as each day passes.

Questions people are entitled to ask include: if the UN security council is prepared to sanction and deploy peacekeepers in Kosovo, Liberia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, etc, why has not a single soldier been sent to protect the women and children of Darfur?

Why has the international community at large refused to impose sanctions on the Khartoum government, sponsors of the genocide?

Why has the international community been afraid to use this word ‘genocide’ when describing the killings in Darfur? The public are entitled to answers to these questions.

John O’Shea

7 Hanson Street

London W1W 6TE

England