Hundreds march in London to urge governments to act on Darfur
The rally was part of a Global Day for Darfur, which saw events taking place in more than 30 countries around the world, as campaigners called for their governments to step up to their responsibilities in the war-torn region.
In London, protesters marched from the Sudanese embassy near St James’s Park to Downing Street, waving placards bearing the slogans: “Darfur: Don’t Look Away” and “Protest Darfur”.
More than two million people have been displaced since Janjaweed militias, allegedly backed by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, started reprisals against ethnic African rebels in Darfur.
According to the UN, up to 200,000 people have died from starvation, disease and killings since 2003.
Yesterday’s rally coincides with the second anniversary of the UN “responsibility to protect” agreement in which world leaders vowed to act to stop genocide and mass atrocities. But two years later, campaigners say the international community has yet to fulfil their commitments to Darfur.
A recently agreed hybrid African Union-United Nations mission, consisting of about 20,000 peacekeeping troops and another 6,000 police, is expected to start arriving in the western region of Sudan from next month.
Newly appointed British Africa Minister Lord Malloch Brown has expressed concerns that the troubled region is not ready to receive them. “As yet they have not built the base and not identified a water supply to support the troops,” he told the Observer.
While both Britain and France are working to help facilitate the movement of troops, it could be next year before the force is in place, he added.
Speaking at yesterday’s rally, Lord Malloch Brown told the crowd he had just returned from his first visit to Sudan, where he met with President, Omar al Bashir.
He said: “I sat down with the president and he told me he accepted that there needs to be peace in Darfur.”
He added: “I told him we want to believe what he told me, that we want to trust him, but we will test him every step of the way.
“We can’t take his word on trust alone.”
