The latest post on the official Save Darfur blog...
As the opening of the United Nations General Assembly draws near, world leaders will begin to finalize their stance on how their countries will contribute to the success of the newly approved United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Speeches are being written and policies [are being] set, and the world awaits its first glimpse of what the international community will do [in order] to ensure UNAMID's swift and successful deployment. Special attention will rightly be placed on members of the Security Council, which unanimously created the UNAMID mission on July 31.
While these preparations are made, it is critical that world leaders do not fall victim to the potential smoke and mirrors of Sudanese obstruction, which have doomed attempts to deploy UN peacekeepers to Darfur in the past. While Sudan has promised its cooperation, world leaders must not take that cooperation for granted. In fact, there is already evidence of further illegal activities on the part of the Sudanese government, in violation of its previous agreements and of several Security Council resolutions.
As photos within the latest Amnesty International report unequivocally illustrate, the Sudanese government continues to deploy banned offensive military equipment to Darfur. When our world leaders prepare for New York, it is these images, rather than Sudan's questionable promises, that they should keep in mind. With more than a hint of tragic irony, it is exactly these types of aviation assets - namely attack and transport helicopters - which are currently being sought by the UN for inclusion in the UNAMID mission.
To quote AI's press release following the report, "the Sudanese government is still deploying weapons into Darfur, in breathtaking defiance of the UN arms embargo and Darfur peace agreements." Since the beginning of August, Sudanese government Antonov bombers are reported to have carried out several raids on Ta'alba, near the town of Adila, as well as the villages of Habib Suleiman and Fataha. Reports indicate that an Antonov capable of such raids was transferred from Russia to Sudan in September 2006. Time will tell whether Russia will be similarly generous in providing needed military equipment to the UN mission which it itself voted to create.
It is sadly predictable that the Government of Sudan continues to attack civilians and violate an arms embargo while simultaneously professing cooperation with the international community. How world leaders will respond, however, remains anybody's guess. For the sake of Darfur, and their own credibility, they should use the opening of the UN General Assembly to affirm their commitments (of troops, police, funding, and equipment) to the success of the UNAMID force which they have created. They should also make clear, in no uncertain terms, that obstruction of UNAMID's deployment, or of a renewed peace process, will not be tolerated, from governments or rebels alike.
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