Hybrid force to spread “infectious diseases” in Darfur – Sudan TV
By Rashid Abdi
July 21, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s state-run TV has launched an unprecedented attack on the planned deployment of around 20,000 UN and AU peacekeepers in the troubled western region of Darfur, suggesting the troops will spread “moral decadence” and “infectious diseases” in the area.
Sudanese government officials have in the past accused Darfur-based AU peacekeepers, especially from Rwanda, of “bringing AIDS” and other diseases to the volatile area.
A lengthy commentary-style report broadcast by Sudan TV on 18 July during its prime time evening bulletin at 1900 gmt, cautioned the Sudanese people against what it unquestioningly referred to as “the deviant social behaviour” of the “alien forces”. The commentary was the last item in the bulletin.
This style of reporting – coming so soon after Khartoum reluctantly bowed to international pressure and accepted the deployment – raises questions about Sudan’s sincerity and commitment.
If Khartoum has accepted the deployment in good faith, why would Sudan TV – a government mouthpiece – mount a such an audacious campaign of vilification against the troops? Is this just rhetoric, or should one read more into this?
DARFUR SYMPOSIUM
The report in question begins as an ordinary piece of news – the opening 18 July of a symposium in Khartoum organized by the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies under the theme: The social impact of the deployment of the hybrid forces in Darfur.
The report goes on to say that several “prominent” sociologists from local universities presented their papers, all stressing the “negative impact” that would flow from such a deployment.
These experts suggest that Darfur’s “social cohesion” would be under threat. The traditions and cultures of the Darfuris would also be adversely affected, the report quotes some of the sociologists as saying.
One sociologist is shown on TV waving a copy of a book which he says has a cover picture of a Darfuri girl with “blue eyes”. This, the sociologist suggests, is an indication there is a “conspiracy” to “transform African societies to become hybrid”.
It is interesting the sociologist used the word “hybrid” deliberately, because this is the same word being used to describe the mixed UN, AU troops to be deployed in Darfur.
The report further quotes Samia Ahmad Muhammad, the minister of women and children’s affairs, who was presumably at the meeting as urging Darfuris to protect the “noble values” of the Sudanese people and to be vigilant against aping foreign values.
“HIDDEN AGENDA”
“Given that the budget of the hybrid forces for one year is estimated at 5.2bn dollars, it is clear there is a hidden agenda. It is worth pointing out that only a fraction of this budget is enough to help resolve the fundamental issues of development and reconstruction in Darfur, which is at the root of the problem,” says the reporter.
The commentator-cum-reporter ends his piece with the question: “Will the people of Darfur welcome the strangers from abroad and what would Darfur reap from the hybrid forces?” The reporter here uses an Arabic play with words or pun, which connotes “loss”.
(BBC Monitoring)