Rebels welcome U.S. genocide verdict in Darfur, call for prosecution

ABUJA, Sept 9 (AFP) — Rebel leaders on Thursday welcomed the US view that “genocide” has been committed by the Khartoum government and its proxy militia in Sudan’s Darfur region, saying they have been vindicated.

“It is a welcome development. This has been our position all along that the Sudanese government and its militia, the Janjaweed, have continued to kill innocent civilians in Darfur,” spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) Abdelhafiz Mustafa Musa told AFP at the peace talks here.

“We believe the international community will now take more practical and decisive action against the government to compel it to stop the atrocities,” he added.

“The verdict has debunked the lies, the insincerity of the Sudanese government to the peace process,” he said.

“They can no longer take the world for a ride any more. And for us in the rebel movements, it shows that we have been fighting a legitimate cause on behalf of our people,” Musa added.

Spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEF) Ahmed Hussain Adam said the United Nations should punish the perpetrators of the genocide.

“We are very happy and appreciative of the report. The US should go a step forward by helping to bring the perpetrators to book,” he said.

“Genocide is crime against humanity according to UN conventions which Sudan is a signatory. The law must apply and the Sudanese government and its proxy the Janjaweed must be disarmed and punished,” he said.

“We also expect the African Union to include it in its new protocol for discussion here,” he said.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday classified the atrocities in Darfur as “genocide” and called on the UN to launch a thorough probe into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Powell told a Senate hearing that evidence compiled by the United States “concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be occurring.”

The government in Khartoum has been accused of arming and backing Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, that have rampaged through Sudan’s western Darfur region.

An estimated 50,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million more uprooted in a campaign against black Africans that started out as an attempt to put down a rebel uprising launched in February 2003.

Powell said the United States “will propose that the next UN Security Council resolution on Sudan request a UN investigation into all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur, with a view to ensuring accountability.”

But Sudan’s Ambassador to Nigeria Abdelrahim Khalil rejects charges of a genocide in Darfur.

“There is no genocide in Darfur in spite of the gravity of the situation. The AU and other international observers have reported improvement in the humanitarian situation there,” he noted.

“The problem was escalated when the rebellion broke out and the government is trying its best to bring the situation under control. The people in Darfur have the same culture, they inter-marry and do things in common,” he said.

“The US is merely using the Sudan’s crisis to score cheap political points. You know there is going to be a presidential election in the US and the Bush government wants to use that to win reelection,” he added.

Earlier on Thursday, Sudan urged the UN to support the AU-brokered peace efforts to restore peace to Darfur rather than impose sanctions on Khartoum.

The UN Security Council was due Thursday to discuss a new resolution with possible sanctions on the Sudanese government for failing to pacify the western Darfur region

Sudan’s deputy Foreign affairs minister Najeib Abdelwahab told AFP at the resumed talks between the government and two rebel groups that Khartoum has made some progress in meeting the UN demands.

“What is needed from the UN at this point is to monitor and support the efforts which we have deployed,” he said.

“The Security Council should not take any action which obstructs the quest for restoration of peace and stability in Darfur,” he added.