Dallaire calls on Canada to send soldiers to Darfur

May 5, 2006 (OTTAWA) — Senator Romeo Dallaire, ex-commander of the UN mission during genocide in Rwanda in 1994, beseeched Ottawa to commit Canadian troops to a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

“Is the Canadian government trying to step quietly away from the tragedy unfolding in Darfur? It seems so,” Dallaire wrote in an open letter published in Canadian newspapers Friday.

He blasted Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government for taking “an abrupt backward step” in its response to the crisis in Sudan since taking office in January.

Canada must “make a comprehensive and long-term commitment to protecting these besieged and destitute individuals,” he said.

Darfur, an arid desert region of western Sudan the size of France or Texas, erupted into civil war in early 2003 when armed local movements began fighting the Arab-led government in Khartoum, demanding more autonomy for the region.

In response, the Sudanese regime unleashed the Janjaweed militia to carry out brutal attacks on Darfur’s largely black African population. The war has caused at least 180,000 deaths and left 2.4 million people homeless.

The government in Khartoum and the main rebel faction of the Sudanese Liberation Movement signed a peace deal on Friday, but other rebel groups refused, saying they would not accept the UN-sponsored deal.

Canada currently has 47 soldiers in Sudan: 32 with a United Nations mission and 15 with the African Union (AU) in Darfur.

In March, the AU agreed in principle to hand over its cash-strapped peacekeeping mission in Darfur to the United Nations, despite spirited resistance from Khartoum, which argued that the deployment would worsen the situation.

The 7,000-strong AU, which was deployed in 2004, has been suffering from poor funding and inadequate resources to contain the escalating bloodshed in Darfur.

The United States has lobbied to send a new UN-led force, backed by NATO, and probably double the current AU deployment, to take over peacekeeping in Darfur despite Khartoum’s opposition.

“A reinforced battle group of approximately 1,500 soldiers, with a sizable transport capability, should be Canada’s contribution to a robust UN mission to bring peace and stability to the region,” Dallaire said in his letter.

Canadian lawmakers debated Ottawa’s position on the situation in Darfur in the House of Commons on Monday, but Foreign Minister Peter MacKay made no firm commitments.

(ST)