Darfur Hypocrisy

Around the world millions have rallied or expressed their demand that the humanitarian disaster continuing in Darfur stop (Council on Foreign Relations, 9/19/06). President Bush is supposedly concerned about the situation in Darfur, and urged the UN to take action. However, he can't be that serious as he blocked legislation that would have exerted financial pressure on the Sudanese government. Clearly, business interests trump humanitarian interests yet again.

The hypocrisy is pretty clear from these two different reports.

Reuters

"President George W. Bush challenged world leaders on Tuesday to move quickly to get peacekeepers into Sudan's Darfur region, saying lives are at stake as well as the credibility of the United Nations."

...

"Nevertheless, Bush sounded a note of frustration at the U.N.'s inability to get a peacekeeping force into Sudan's devastated Darfur region.

Under pressure from human rights groups and the U.S. Congress to do more for Darfur, he named Andrew Natsios, former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as U.S. special envoy for the region."

Versus this ...

Independent: " The Bush administration and big business interests have been accused of undermining efforts to exert financial pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the killing in Darfur.

A bill that passed the US Congress endorsing state legislation to force publicly owned entities to sell off holdings in companies that do substantial business with Sudan, or sell Khartoum weapons, has now been blocked in the Senate, with campaigners blaming the White House. They say the long-delayed draft put forward last week by the Foreign Relations Committee had removed a clause known as Section 11 that would have thrown its weight behind a celebrity-backed campaign requiring publicly owned entities to dump stock. "

And under it all, what no one will mention very loudly is ... oil ... and who will control it.

I won't boor you with the details, but the following sources tell the real connections and conflicts that are behind the genocidal process in Sudan.

The protest chant against the invasion of Iraq was "No more blood for oil." Well blood for oil is not confined to Iraq. Ask the people of Sudan or Niger about the true price of oil - and control of it.

8/07/04 Enver Masud. The Wisdom Fund. Sudan, Oil, and the Darfur Crisis

8/09/04 Norm Dixon. WorldPress. Oil Profits Behind West's Tears for Darfur

4/03/05 Sudan Watch. Oil found in South Darfur - Oil issues threaten to derail Sudan hopes for peace

4/19/05 CorpWatch. SUDAN: Rebels Say Oil Drilling in Darfur Must Stop

6/10/05 Leigh & Gatton, Guardian. Briton named as buyer of Darfur oil rights

Posted by rowan at September 19, 2006 4:22 PM | [eMail this article!] |