History Genocide Alert in Sudan Essay

Recently, newspapers and journals discussed the plight of the millions of people of Sudan as there has been the government sponsored genocide. This victimization of a few people has been discussed in the press as well as in the various websites. These various forums have condemned the atrocities committed against the innocent people. Hence, at different levels one can find the call for alert regarding the indiscriminate killing of large number of the people in Sudan. The Sudanese government has indirectly and sometimes directly sponsored the atrocities committed against the civilians. The government has encouraged the local militias to loot, murder and rape the innocent people in the southern region of Sudan. They have attacked the churches, buildings providing relief to the victims, and the market places. Ethnic and tribal warfare in the southern Sudan has been encouraged in order the keep the south divided. The government has destroyed the food supplies which have led to the death of large number of people due to starvation. People are persecuted based on their race, ethnicity, and religion. The main reason for this atrocity is that these people have opposed the imposition of extreme form of Islamic law. The government has been persecuting non Islamic and non Arabic people in an attempt to destroy those people who were politically opposed to the plans of the government. An important reason for this persecution is the attempt to control the oil fields which have been owned by the victims of the genocide atrocities. In fact, after the government signed agreements with the foreign oil companies, the atrocities against the civilians have increased. The government has used all the armaments and military vehicles to destroy the villages and areas inhabited by those people who opposed the government policies. Consequently, many civilians have been forced to leave their land as their villages, lands, churches, and schools have been destroyed due to the bombings. This government attempt to clear these lands has been termed as â€Å"scorched earth strategy†. (Survivors’ Rights International, 2001) However, the new settlements of displaced Sudanese have been earmarked for the future oil exploration which would imply that in the future the government may attack the people in this region. With the help of this genocide, the government has been able to multiply its oil revenues. However, a major part of this revenue has been spent on military machinery. Unfortunately, the government of Sudan believes that it can win the war with the help of oil money. This has led to killing of more than 2 million people. In addition to this, 4 million people have suffered internal displacement. Another 3 million people are facing starvation. In such a situation, international community including USA should pressurize the Sudanese government to stop its atrocities. (Survivors’ Rights International, 2001) The victims have argued that the government of Sudan has targeted the â€Å"blacks† as there is attempt to destroy the all the black population. This shows the racial and ethnic discrimination of the government actions. In the region of Darfur, even now thousands of people are dying due to the military attack and food shortage. This genocide has been noted by the US government agencies, international human rights bodies, and the United Nations. The displaced people are afraid of returning to their homeland because they are afraid of persecution. The Sudanese government has mainly attacked the Africans belonging to Fur, Zaghawa, and the Masaalit ethnic groups. The government sponsored militia is also termed as the Janjaweed who belong to the Arab tribes. Due to the ethnic wars, the civilians are suffering. This crisis has continued to bother the international human rights activists. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2005) Many international government and non-government organizations have established their associations to fight against the atrocities committed against the particular ethnic and racial component in Sudan. For instance, one can notice the establishment of Genocide Intervention Fund (GIF) which is a non government association of the civilians. GIF has supported the UN supported African Un ion Mission in Darfur. The main aim of this association is to support the peace keeping forces to protect the life of the innocent civilians in Darfur. In fact, African Union needs greater funding in order to manage the financial requirements to send the troops, supply food, and equipments to the peace keeping soldiers fighting for the lives of the people in Sudan. GIF has started the campaign to protect the lives of the Sudanese from the government attack. In fact, it aims to send 100000 letters to the government officials urging them to take action against the Sudanese government. This organization has requested the support of the government officials and civilians to raise $100000 to fight against the atrocities of the Sudanese government. The UNO has commissioned few committees to submit report regarding the nature of atrocities committed by the Sudanese government. In January 2005 International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur report was published. This report gave information regarding the recent developments in Darfur. This report can be used by the international agencies to take action against the government of Sudan. However, there is difference of opinion among the permanent members of the Security Council. The US government wants to create an ad hoc tribunal for Darfur. However this can delay action for many months. Further, Russia and China, which have strategic trade ties with Sudan, also halted the decisive action against the Sudanese government. However, the US senior officials have accepted that genocide is being committed in Sudan. In spite of this realization, international organizations are reluctant to take action against the government of Sudan. (Preventgenocide. org, 2005) In spite of the statistics available regarding the genocide in Sudan, media did not give much importance to these events. However, the film maker Jen Marlowe decided to present the human face of the disaster in Sudan. This film is given the title: â€Å"Darfur Diaries: Message from Home†. Marlowe visited Darfur and the refugee camps in the neighboring region of Chad. Marlowe obtained information by interviewing the victims of the government sponsored genocide. The filmmaker has discussed with the children regarding their sufferings. Marlowe considers that children are the most vulnerable groups in the society. Further, it is necessary to provide protection to the lives of large number of civilians who face the threat of losing their lives and properties due to the government policy. The attempt of Marlowe has succeeded in providing a human face of the genocide in Darfur. This has also showed the failure of the journalists to cover this topic as very few journalists have covered the story narrated by the refuges in Chad. (Ellis, 2005) Recently, attempts have been made to redress the grievances of the victims. However, most of these attempts have failed due to the increase in the intensity of the conflicts and the international organizations have failed provide aid to the victims. Ellis, 2005) I learnt from the above research that greatest importance should be given to protect the lives of millions of people in Darfur. To achieve this objective, the members of the international organizations such as UNO should take immediate action against the Sudanese government. Secondly, the associations should increase the funding to help the peacekeeping forces to provide aid to the victims of genocide in Darfur. The media also should give more coverage to the developments in Darfur.