Canadian government don’t care for Sudan’s Darfur: Senators

By Lee Berthiaume

Sept 13, 2006 (OTTAWA) — Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire and Mobina Jaffer accuse the Canadian government of having more interest in the Middle East and Afghanistan than Darfur, but Deepak Obhrai dismisses their remarks as partisan.

“Two Liberal senators have accused the Conservative government of abandoning the people of Darfur by failing to continue Canada’s past active involvement in the region and watching the crisis fester from afar.

Senators Romeo Dallaire and Mobina Jaffer have also accused the current government of having little to no interest in Africa, and will appeal this weekend for Canadians to pressure the government into action.

“There is a trend of this government to get out of Africa,” says Lt.-Gen. Dallaire, former commander of a UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda in 1993-1994. “There is a trend not to involve ourselves in Africa.”

Approximately 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million others have been displaced since conflict erupted in Sudan’s remote western region in 2003 between rebels, Sudanese government forces and allied militia groups, according to the United Nations.

In May 2005, then-prime minister Paul Martin created a special Darfur advisory team composed of Lt.-Gen. Dallaire, Ms. Jaffer and Ambassador Robert Fowler. The team travelled to the region several times, but was disbanded when the Conservatives came to power in February.

When violence between Israel and Hezbollah exploded into open warfare in July, observers and advocates worried that international efforts in Darfur would again be delayed, and Lt.-Gen. Dallaire says recent funding and humanitarian announcements from governments for Lebanon show the worry was well-founded.

While the international community has pledged more than $1 billion for Lebanon, including $30.5 million from Canada, relief and money for Darfur has not been readily forthcoming. In fact, the African Union, which is policing the area, is understaffed and under funded.

“If they don’t get funding by the end of September, they won’t be able to stay,” Lt.-Gen. Dallaire says, noting the AU is looking for a “relatively small” $79 million to bolster its force.

“We’re talking peanuts here, and no one wants to get off the pot, Canada included.”

One positive development came two weeks ago when the UN Security Council voted in favour of sending peacekeepers to the region, but the Sudanese government has opposed the move and Lt.-Gen. Dallaire says the international community is not doing enough to pressure the government to accept.

All of this comes as reports indicate the government of Sudan has stepped up the bombing of civilian areas in recent days.

“You’ve got a perfect opportunity for the Sudanese government to feel that the pressure is off,” Lt.-Gen. Dallaire says. “We’re letting things fester. We haven’t been pushing the envelope. The [Canadian] government needs to take a far more bellicose position with the Sudanese government.”

Ms. Jaffer says Canada was leading the way when it came to Darfur, and now there is a feeling we have abandoned the country as things were being turned around.

“We were really making a difference,” she says. “Since this government came to power, we have dropped the ball. I think this is the approach of [Prime Minister Stephen Harper], he’s focused on a few issues. That’s not a way to run a country.”

Ms. Jaffer says she has been watching the government’s policies towards not only Lebanon, but also its commitment to Afghanistan, and cannot understand why Darfur, and Africa in general, are not considered priorities.

“I don’t understand why we would be more interested in Afghanistan than Darfur,” she says. “Is a black life worth less? We made a promise to these people. We made commitments, we made promises.”

Both senators will be taking their message to the public this Sunday during what is being billed as the Global Day for Darfur. Rallies will be held in 22 countries around the world, including four cities in Canada. Lt.-Gen. Dallaire is the keynote speaker in Toronto while Ms. Jaffer will do the same in Vancouver.

Both say they will be directing their messages at Canadians in general, rather than the government, in the hopes of prompting Canadians to pressure the government to take action.

Sudan’s Ambassador to Canada, Faiza Hassan Taha, said in a statement that the embassy did not have enough information about the Global Day for Darfur organizers or their objectives to comment.

She also sent a press release issued by the Sudanese government on Sept. 6 outlining its opposition to the Security Council’s resolution to deploy a UN peacekeeping force to the region as a “violation of its sovereignty” and “willingness to take its full responsibility in Darfur, to provide security and stability.”

Days after returning from a donor conference on Lebanon that was held in Sweden, Ted Menzies, parliamentary secretary for International Cooperation, says the Conservative government knows that even as the Middle East exploded into violence, “the other issues in the world have not gone away.

“I don’t think we’ve ever suggested we’re going to lower our support for Darfur,” he adds. “The day to come back and re-address Darfur” is in the near future.

Foreign Affairs parliamentary secretary Deepak Obhrai also disputes the senators’ claims, alleging they are partisan. He points to a recent trip to Africa as well as a presentation he made in Darfur as examples of the Conservative government’s commitment to addressing the conflict and Africa in general.

“I wouldn’t put too much credit to what they say,” he says. “It’s just that this government is not following Senator Jaffer’s route. [The government’s process] is more effective. The Liberals hadn’t done anything.”

Mr. Obhrai says Canada is working through international organizations and has repeatedly stated that the Sudanese government must accept a peacekeeping force and the African Union force.

He will not say what contributions, if any, Canada will make to the peacekeeping force because it is too early, but that the government is not pulling out of Africa.

“We will continue engaging Africa,” he says.

[email protected] (Embassy)