Darfur: Enough is enough
2007-06-26 07:54
Paris - Saying "silence kills", French
President Nicolas Sarkozy urged delegates to a Darfur meeting on
Monday to find a way to stop the violence that has ravaged
Sudan's vast west for more than four years.
France gathered senior officials from 18 countries at a
Paris meeting aimed at galvanising international efforts to
stabilise the western Sudanese region, where the United States
has declared genocide has taken place.
"As human beings, and as politicians, we must resolve the
crisis in Darfur," Sarkozy told the officials gathered at
France's Elysee presidential palace.
"Silence kills," he added. "We want to mobilise the
international community to say 'enough is enough'.
Delegations from the world's top aid donors, members of the
Group of Eight industrialised nations and powerful Sudan ally
China met to help find a political solution to the conflict and
provide cash for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid.
Several delegates, however, said they did not expect a large
package of immediate measures to be agreed, though some
countries could pledge troops and funds for a planned "hybrid"
United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force.
Sudan, which did not attend the meeting, agreed earlier this
month to the combined UN-AU force of more than 20 000 troops
and police but many diplomats doubt it will keep its word.
The aim of the force is to stop the violence in Darfur,
where international experts estimate 200 000 people have died and 2.5 million have been expelled from their homes in more than four years of strife. Sudan says 9 000 people have died.
Sarkozy said the existing force of 7 000 AU troops, which is
widely seen as ineffective and is to be reinforced by the
proposed hybrid force, must get more funding. He said France was
willing to contribute roughly €10m.
Focus on Chad
The European Union pledged an extra €31m of
humanitarian funds for "the coming months".
France has shown greater interest in Darfur since Sarkozy
took office and has proposed sending an international force to
neighbouring Chad to provide stability for refugee camps there,
which house tens of thousands of people who have fled Darfur.
French financial aid to Darfur remains low compared with
other European powers. It gave €3.9m in 2006, with
€2.5m this year, UN figures show.
The Darfur problem dates to early 2003 when non-Arab rebels
took up arms, accusing the government of not heeding their
plight in the remote, arid region. Khartoum mobilised Arab
militia to quell the revolt.
Some militia members, known locally as Janjaweed, embarked
on a campaign of killing, pillage and rape. Sudan denies it
supported the Janjaweed, and calls them outlaws.
Rebels in Darfur, who have split into more than a dozen
groups since a 2006 peace deal signed by only one of three rebel
factions, have been blamed in recent months for attacks on
civilians, including aid workers.
An AU-UN mediation initiative hopes to have all factions
in the dispute ready to begin talks around August, and China
said Khartoum was prepared to take part.