Genocide in Sudan

The long-drawn-out civil war between the Arab Muslim North and the Black Christian and Animist South has claimed two million lives so far among the black and animist minorities. Hundreds and thousands have become refugees in their own country. What sort of government it is that deliberately ignores the minority rights and sees it violated by the Arab militia? We strongly condemn the maltreatment meted out to the minorities which has not only a racist dimension but also that of actual human rights violation.

That said, we turn to the Sudanese government's panicked reaction to what they perceive as the US raring to use the Darfur crisis to topple the Khartoum regime. The Sword of Democles hangs on them with the UN and EU looking set to slap sanctions on Arab League member Sudan.

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The perceived American threat may not be ruled out, given the Bush administration's track-record in regard to Afghanistan and Iraq and its proclivities towards militaristic solutions. But does the Sudanese government have any claim to sympathy after the abominable things they have done in their treatment of the minority communities? No, not until they put a stop to their brutalisation campaign. The Arabs have a crucial role to play in bringing the Sudanese government to senses.