Action on Darfur 'long overdue'
2007-10-03 08:44
Blackpool - Western action is long overdue to halt the violence and human suffering in Sudan's Darfur region, says Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
Kagame, a fierce critic of Western inaction over the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, urged world powers to use their might and influence as quickly as possible to put a stop to the unrest in the troubled western region of Sudan.
Rwandan troops formed part of an African Union deployment in Darfur, but in March Kagame threatened to pull them out, citing the strain on the tiny central African nation's forces amid a lack of international support.
In Blackpool, north-west England, Kagame drew comparisons between the ethnic violence in Darfur and Rwanda, where at least 800 000 people, mainly minority Tutsis, were massacred in a 100-day killing spree.
Human suffering
Kagame said: "Evidently, when we talk of Darfur we understand there is human suffering going on.
"Therefore, it's not just an issue for Sudan to sort out, but it is also the international community to support Sudan and work within the mainly African framework to deal with these issues.
"There is no question about the need for this problem to be sorted out, for the people of Darfur to be helped and in fact it's long overdue.
"The fighting has to be stopped, the suffering has to be stopped and different contributions to help the needy people of Darfur have to be carried out as fast as possible."
The war in Darfur erupted in February 2003 after armed rebels from minority tribes in the region - where people of black African origin were dominated by the Arab population - called for an equal share of power and national resources.
200 000 people killed
That prompted a brutal crackdown from Sudanese government forces and their Janjaweed proxy militia which, according to United Nations estimates, had killed 200 000 people and forced 2.5 million people from their homes.
Kagame said he thought Western powers were responding too late. He emphasised: "It's long overdue.
"We have been dealing with this problem for quite a long time now and the West, I believe, has the capacity - enormous capacity - of a different nature to bring to bear in dealing with the problems of Darfur.
"If they put together the effective political will to deal with it, they should be able to deal with it. Africans will also play their part in concert with the rest of the world."
The under-equipped AU force of about 7 000 troops from 26 countries patrolling Darfur was due to begin being replaced later this year by a 26 000-strong joint AU-UN force.
Kagame was at the Conservative conference in return for a visit to Rwanda by the party's leader David Cameron in July.