Western Courier

Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: Opinion

Last Monday, about 15 Western Illinois University students took part in a silent protest in an effort to raise awareness about the crisis in Sudan.

It is unfortunate that such protests are necessary for people to wake up and pay attention to such a dire situation, responsible for so much death and suffering. It also is curious that the Bush administration, which was so quick to "rescue" the Iraqi people, have little to do with a situation that could use some help.

Since the 1970s, there has been violence and tension between Arabs and Africans in Darfur, Sudan. The conflict mainly stems from competition over natural resources. According to the Washington Post, rebel groups of African Muslims started to act out against inequalities between Africans and the ruling Arabs. In retaliation, the government started arming local militias called "Janjaweed" to combat certain ethnic groups, mainly Africans. The result has been government-backed genocide. The Janjaweed systematically attack villages, killing men, raping women, destroying food supplies and preventing any assistance to reach them.

According to a United Nations report, the local government is creating "forced starvation" by having the militias block food supplies, all the while denying that such actions are occurring.

On Sept. 9, 2004, Colin Powell, then secretary of state, said the situation was, in fact, state-sponsored genocide. Yet since then, American assistance has been meager and publicity concerning the violence has been rare.

On Friday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met government leaders, visited a former rebel stronghold in the south and toured a refugee camp in Darfur, in the west.

According to the Washington Post, Zoellick prepared extensively for the trip, and also spent a great deal of time talking to the press, spending nearly six hours on media briefings over five days, almost all on the record.

He said he wanted "transparency" about his meetings, so that the press could understand and report about what happened.

We hope that Zoellick's attitude toward the press rubs off on his peers. Perhaps Americans could better understand the government's pursuit of war if it were explained to us, instead of decided behind closed doors.

We hope this trip was one of many to come. If the United States continues to act as a "big brother" to the world, wanting to "stop injustice and spread democracy," as President George W. Bush says, then Sudan would be a good place to start.

At a time when America is hated throughout the world, we must take a stand where it matters, not just where there is oil.

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