Sudanese refugees en Egypt Intl community urged for prompt actions
Dec 31, 2005 (ABUJA) — December 30, 2005 was a black Friday, tainted by brutality and barbarism as Egyptian police killed and wounded large numbers of Sudanese refugees.
Over 3,000 refugees including children, the old, aged and the handicapped had been forced to leave their villages in the Sudan and, like the other Sudanese refugees in Chad, Central African Republic, Kenya and Ghana, had taken refuge to the Republic of Egypt to escape cruel death at the hands of the Janjaweed and the army of the ruling elite in Khartoum. They met their brethren who got there before them from Southern Sudan, the Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan and Kurdufan (Noba Mountains) and live under difficult conditions, sleeping on bare floor with the sky as their only cover.
They feed on water and sand; and with the sufferings of these people in this Third Millennium, the UN and its Specialized Agencies, NGOs and Human Rights Organizations are bragging about human rights, protection of refugees and those affected by the war and ongoing conflicts. It is on record that our people in Darfur live through the worst forms of catastrophe ever to occur in the twentieth century.
Over 3,000 Sudanese refugees, including children, women, the old, aged and the handicapped had assembled in Mustapah “Mahmud Garden”, at muhandisina in the Egyptian Capital, Cairo, under severe cold and rains, suffering from hunger and thirst, in a clear move to call the attention of the High Refugees Co-ordination Office and world public opinion to their plight. They had also been asking for ways and means to be found to ameliorate their living conditions as human beings or to get them a third country for resettlement. This is in accordance with relevant international and regional covenants and conventions as well as human rights conventions. It should be recalled that the Republic of Egypt together with other African countries, had ratified the convention on refugees generated by natural disasters, wars and conflicts.
It would have been more appropriate to resolve this crisis by reference to the law and by dialogue, taking into consideration the fact that the concerned people are human beings. On this score, we are not oblivious of the efforts deployed by the High Commission for Refugees to solve the problem, but the efforts did not go far enough to find an equitable and just solution to the problem of these refugees.
A contingent of 4,000 police encircled the area, asking the Sudanese refugees to quit immediately. As the refugees did not comply with the order, the police resorted to force to evict them, using water canons, tear gas, batons and fire arms in a most barbaric, brutal, provocative and inhumane manner.
This is yet another negative human rights record in Egypt as clearly evidenced by the killing of unarmed civilians, women and children. In this operation, over 30 Sudanese refugees were killed, more than 100 injured and the rest detained in a military barracks. They were left without medical attention, no toilet facilities and no drinking water. Some of the wounded have already died, their only guilt being that they were refugees.
It is to be recalled that the UN law allowing the use of force by the police is governed by certain international standards.
The UN code of conduct for law enforcement agents states that law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.
In reaction to the criminal and vicious massacres, the UN Secretary General expressed sadness at the incident which he also condemned unequivocally, while forwarding a telegram of condolences to the bereaved families and those of the victims and the wounded. For its part, the USA deplored the massacres and called for an investigation; while the US Human Rights Organization (HRW) added its voice to condemn the incident.
In my capacity as a Human Rights, women and child activist, I call upon the International Community, Governments and NGOs to strongly condemn this objectionable crime, and move quickly to set up high-level commissions of enquiry comprising the UN, EU, AU, USA and all international and regional organizations to investigate the matter, shed light on the circumstances surrounding the human massacres and bring all those who collaborated in this heinous crime to justice so that another Darfur would not occur in Egypt.
We condemn all acts of barbarism and brutality perpetrated by the Egyptian Police without legal justification. We would like to stress our solidarity with our refugees wherever they may be in the world. We shall use all the available means to get hold of the criminals wherever they are, prosecute them and get them to face the punishment they deserve.
Our voice shall never be silenced for telling the truth anytime, unless and until the scales of democracy and justice are balanced all over the world.
– Amani Basheer M. Basheer
– Human rights ,woman & child activists