Daily Darfur: Hypocrites - Takes One to Know One

by Michelle . · 2009-04-01 04:35:00 UTC
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The Washington Post comes down hard on the Arab League this morning, condemning the organization's unwavering support for the "Butcher of Darfur" and throwing the oft-lodged protest of bias right back at the AL member states:

"‘We must also take a decisive stance of solidarity alongside fraternal Sudan and President Omar al-Bashir,' said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.Mr. Abbas is hoping that the Obama administration will pressure Israel to stop building ‘illegal' settlements in the West Bank; the next time he utters the phrase ‘double standard' in the presence of a U.S. diplomat, we suggest a query about Mr. Bashir."

WaPo goes on to compare the scale of atrocities in Gaza and Darfur, contrasting the 1,409 people killed in the recent Israeli offensive against Gaza with the estimated 300,000 deaths in Darfur --- which I think misses the point. Civilian deaths in war are always tragic, and when civilians are specifically targeted, or when reasonable efforts are not made to avert civilian casualties, those behind the transgressions should be held responsible.

But the overarching point of the Post's editorial is spot on: Arab League cries of hypocrisy against the West are fundamentally rooted in hypocrisy themselves. The lives of Darfuris are of equal worth to those in Gaza --- and civilians everywhere should be protected from violent transgressions, not used as pawns in some sort of unbalanced international political game.

Other items of note...

William H. Taft IV, a former deputy secretary of Defense, and  Patricia M. Wald, a former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, argue that the U.S. should reconsider its position towards the International Criminal Court.

A UNAMID official warned yesterday that peacekeeping troops cannot fill the gaps left by expelled aid groups.

[Photo: A displaced Sudanese woman carries a child while seeking medical treatment at the clinic of the expelled aid group International Rescue Committee, IRC at al Salam refugee camp, out side the Darfur town of al-Fasher, Sudan Thursday, March 26, 2009.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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