African Union calls on Sudan to ‘neutralize’ Arab militias
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 7, 2004 (AP) — African leaders pressured Sudan to “neutralize” the militiamen and others involved in human-rights violations in the Darfur region but said they don’t consider the atrocities to be genocide.
As many as 30,000 people have been killed and more than a million residents of the vast western region have been misplaced amid the attacks by Arab militiamen allied with Sudan’s government. The U.S. Agency for International Development believes the number of deaths could grow to 300,000 if aid doesn’t reach those in desperate need.
Sudan agreed to the deployment of about 300 African Union troops to protect cease-fire observers in the Darfur region. United Nations officials and human-rights groups have accused the government of backing the Arab militias, which are engaged in a campaign to violently expel African farmers from Darfur.
AU spokesman Adam Thiam said the leaders urged the Sudanese government to arrest and prosecute members of the Janjaweed militia for their role in the violence.
“Even though the crisis in Darfur is grave, with unacceptable levels of death, human suffering and destruction of homes and infrastructure, the situation cannot be defined as a genocide,” the AU’s Peace and Security Council said.
The council statement made no mention of ethnic cleansing, a term used by some U.S. officials. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the crisis is “bordering on ethnic cleansing.”
The council demanded that Sudan immediately bring to justice all those responsible for the violence and destruction, adding that Sudan’s government should consider compensating the victims. The council also said it “welcomes the commitment made by the government to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militia and urges the government to follow through with these commitments.”
Sudanese officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
In a separate statement, 48 African foreign ministers attending a summit in Addis Ababa expressed “serious concern” over the situation, AU spokesman Desmond Orjiako said. The leaders are expected to issue a further statement on Darfur later today or tomorrow, when the summit officially closes.
At a visit to the region last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell won a commitment from Sudan President Omar el-Bashir to contain the militias and allow human-rights monitors into Darfur. Earlier, Mr. Powell had said that, if Sudan refuses to take steps to cut its ties to the Arab militias, the nation can’t expect normal relations with the U.S.
Elsewhere in Africa
In other regional issues, the leaders decided to withhold publication of report harshly critical of human-rights abuses in Zimbabwe, arguing the accused government hasn’t had time to respond, an AU spokesman said.
But the organization didn’t balk at criticizing the government in Harare over allegations of human-rights abuses in the 2002 presidential election and during its seizure of thousands of white-owned farms, said spokesman Adam Thiam. It is normal AU practice for governments to be allowed to see reports concerning them in time to prepare an official response, Mr. Thiam said. In Harare, a coalition of independent human-rights groups said the government received the report Feb. 5, after it was delivered to the justice ministry.
The report, tabled Saturday at the AU summit, presents harsh allegations of a clampdown on civil liberties surrounding Zimbabwe’s 2002 presidential elections, including arrests and torture of government opponents, lawyers and pro-democracy activists.
African leaders had been expected to vote on its ratification and release today. The ballot was canceled because “Zimbabwe rejected the report and South Africa accepted that [Zimbabwe] should have time to read it,” Mr. Thiam said.
African leaders also discussed the stalled peace process in Ivory Coast. The nation, the world’s largest cocoa producer and one of West Africa’s most developed countries, remains divided into rebel north and loyalist south after a civil war launched in 2002. Late Monday, President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast agreed to meet rebels and regional leaders in neighboring Ghana to try to restart the peace process. Both sides have boycotted a power-sharing government since March, when government forces were blamed in the killings of more than 100 opposition demonstrators.
Separately, Rwandan President Paul Kagame met with Mr. Annan and the African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare to discuss easing tensions between Congo and Rwanda to further allay fears of renewed war between the two central African nations.
Tensions rose after Congo accused Rwanda of backing renegade Congolese troops who seized control of the strategic city of Bukavu for a week in June. Rwanda has denied the charges, accusing Congo of massing troops for a cross-border attack and demanding the U.N. and the AU send missions to investigate the allegations. Mr. Kagame met Congolese President Joseph Kabila and agreed to send a joint mission to investigate.