US Senate leader insists “genocide” underway in Darfur, despite EU statement

NAIROBI, Aug 10 (AFP) — US Senate majority leader Bill Frist expressed disagreement on Tuesday with European Union officials, insisting that “genocide” was taking place in the Darfur region of western Sudan and that the government in Khartoum could halt it immediately if it wished.

“I disagree with the statement made by the European Union yesterday in saying this is not genocide. The international community must not turn its back on this crisis,” Frist told a news conference in Nairobi.

Unlike a EU military and civilian delegation which paid a five-day visit to Darfur last week, Frist did not enter Sudanese territory but met with some of the 200,000 refugees who, the United Nations estimates, have fled to refugee camps in neighbouring Chad.

“When I had the opportunity to talk to refugees as well as official representatives leads me to conclude that what is going on in Darfur is genocide,” he said.

In Brussels on Monday, the head of the returning EU delegation, Pieter Feith, said “it is clear there is widespread, silent and slow killing going on and village burning of a fairly large scale” in Darfur, but said: “We are not in the situation of genocide there.”

Feith, the personal representative for Sudan of EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, added that there were “considerable doubts as to the willingness of the government of Sudan to protect the civilian population”.

Pressed to justify his use of the word genocide, Frist replied: “The United States through our commander in chief and our secretary of state will make an official stance, whether it is genocide” or not.”

Last month, both houses of the US Congress adopted a resolution which declared that “the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide.”

Frist said that interviews with about 12,000 refugees and leaders in the region also justified the term.

“The raping of women, the purposeful killing of hundreds of civilians, the widespread burning of villages and the destruction of lives and the racial overtones… all of which put together qualifies as genocide,” he said.

He also rejected the claim of fellow Arab League members that Sudan needed more time than the 30 days set out in a UN Security Council resolution on July 30 to rein in the Janjaweed militia in Darfur or face unspecified sanctions.

“The Khartoum government could end this crisis immediately, I don’t think it takes 60 days or even 30 days… It is unlikely that they will and giving them additional days to pursue their policies only hurts the refugees and contributes to this ongoing tragedy,” Frist said.

He added that “unless the government of Sudan acts, sanctions will not be sufficient. The government of Sudan simply can operate without the impacts of those sanctions being felt.”

The UN estimates that up to 50,000 people have been killed since Sudanese army forces and the Janjaweed cracked down on a rebellion by minority tribes which erupted in Darfur in February 2003.

The Sudanese government strongly disputes that figure.

Frist also warned that if nothing is done, up to 300,000 people could die in coming weeks.

“I have heard again and again over the last week that there are too many barriers placed between the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Darfur region,” he said, adding that the US contributes about 85 percent of aid to Darfur.

“We need to maintain access to the refugees and be able to deliver aid in a timely version especially during this rainy season. In terms of security… Janjaweed be disarmed and the government basically saying stop to the ravaging of villages,” he added.