Congressman calls for action after touring Sudan camp

By RAWYA RAGEH, Associated Press Writer

AL-FASHER, Sudan, Sep 18, 2004 (AP) — A U.S. congressman who toured camps of displaced people in the troubled Darfur region called on the international community Saturday to “stop dragging its feet” and pressure Sudan to end the 19-month conflict.

“This is overwhelming,” U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said after touring Abou Shouk and Zam Zam, camps that house a total of 58,000 people in the al-Fasher area of North Darfur.

“Obviously, I’ve been following up the situation from the States but to see this — it is only one of 300 others — This is a major crisis,” the Illinois Democrat told The Associated Press.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since conflict erupted 19 months ago when rebels with their base among Darfur’s ethnic African farmers rose up, accusing the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum of neglect and discrimination.

The government is accused of trying to put down the rebellion by backing armed Arab herdsmen known as Janjaweed who long have competed with villagers over Darfur’s scarce resources.

The World Health Organization has estimated 50,000 deaths from violence, disease or starvation in Darfur.

The escalating violence has been described by the United States as genocide and Washington has pushed for U.N. action to pressure Sudan to end the conflict. On Saturday, German Defense Minister Peter Struck said in published remarks that the atrocities in Darfur amounted to “genocide” and that he would not rule out sending peacekeeping troops.

The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote later Saturday on a Darfur resolution.

The latest draft, which diplomats at U.N. headquarters in New York said appeared likely to pass, threatens sanctions if the Khartoum government fails to rein in militias ravaging western Darfur. It also calls for an international commission to investigate alleged human rights violations and whether acts of genocide occurred.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, whose country currently chairs the U.N. Security Council, said Saturday in Khartoum that Sudan has adopted measures on security in the camps and on humanitarian assistance but more was needed.

“Still, we have to tell our friends that there is a need for more action and more results,” he told reporters after meeting with his Sudanese counterpart, Mustafa Osman Ismail. While Moratinos said the international community should not expect 100 percent results from Sudan “what we want is to have and to be convinced that there are 100 percent efforts being exerted.”

Ismail said Spain played a positive role in improving the latest draft U.N. resolution, but his country still has concerns about two points that he did not specify. He said Moratinos promised to take those points into consideration.

“We expect to have a balanced resolution that the government of Sudan could implement,” Ismail said.

Jackson said Saturday it’s about time the world acts.

“The international community should stop dragging its feet and start doing more to place much pressure on Khartoum to end this,” he said.

Government forces, including military and police, should be replaced by international units, he said. Jackson called for a larger role by the African Union, which has sent monitors and is mediating peace talks, saying Darfur was “a test for Africa to rise up for Africa.”

The African Union late Friday appealed to Sudan’s government and rebel groups to refrain from attacks on civilians despite the breakdown of three-week talks in Nigeria on a peace deal for Darfur.

The displaced people who spoke with Jackson on his camps tour echoed similar complaints made by others throughout Darfur that the government had backed the Janjaweed with military aircraft.

One man in Camp Zam Zam who would only identify himself as Ramadan told Jackson that his mother was killed when a military helicopter shelled their village.

Amkhier, a 20-year old mother of five, said people feel threatened even in the camp “and dare not leave its parameters or else will be beaten and raped.”

Sudanese officials say they are being unfairly vilified, maintaining that Khartoum is doing its best to protect the camps and improve living conditions. The government has sent 2,000 policemen to secure West Darfur state. But camps residents and aid officials complain that attacks and intimidation continue. The displaced say they have no trust in a government to help them while it backs their attackers.

Al-Fattah Abdel-Aziz, a Sudanese official at camp Abu Shouk told Jackson Saturday that “conditions at the camp are just fine, and the only complaint is that people are deprived from a variety in their food basket.”

But Jackson was unimpressed.

“It’s hard to believe that … I had not met anyone so far who said they trust the government,” he said.

“He took a very terrible picture and attempted to paint it with rose color and a fresh scent.” Jackson said of the Sudanese official. “He had no answer to the question of what the government was doing to return these people to their homes, and this is the crux of the problem.”