Sudan: a Third Front?

How much teeth will the U.N. have this time? There is no way the Sudanese terrorists are going to back down. More to the point, is it possible most of the Sudanese people approve of what the militants are doing?

Thousands Protest U.N. Deadline in Sudan

By Ibrahim Ali Suleiman
The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 4, 2004; 9:03 AM

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- More than 100,000 people marched through Sudan's capital Wednesday in a state-orchestrated rally opposing a U.N. Security Council deadline for the government to disarm Arab militias blamed for killing thousands of people in western Darfur province.

Demonstrators also presented a memorandum to the U.N. envoy in Sudan demanding that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan apologize for "misleading" people on the nature of the situation in Darfur, which the world body has described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Annan visited the region last month.

Over 100,0000 Sudanese in Khartoum Wednesday march to the office of the United Nations to protest a security council resolution. (Abd Raouf - AP)

• Q&A: Darfur A brief explanation of the issues and current humanitarian situation in Western Sudan.
• Evangelicals Urge Bush to Do More for Sudan (The Washington Post, Aug 3, 2004)
• Powell Warns Sudan: Act on U.N. Demands (The Washington Post, Aug 1, 2004)
• U.N. Adopts Resolution on Sudan (The Washington Post, Jul 31, 2004)
• Annan to Appeal for Aid to Address Sudan Crisis (The Washington Post, Jul 28, 2004)
• E.U. Threatens Sanctions On Sudan if Crisis Persists (The Washington Post, Jul 26, 2004)
• World Opinion Roundup: Online media ask who is responsible for letting the situation in Sudan go unchecked until now.

"You, as the secretary-general of the United Nations, hold all the responsibility for escalating the crisis in Darfur, as your remarks formed the basis of the misleading, antagonistic Western propaganda against Sudan," the memorandum said in Arabic.

Annan issued a statement after his visit accusing "government security personnel" of threatening displaced people and expressing grave concern about "reports of continuing intimidation, threats and attacks against refugees."

The demonstrators' statement also accused Annan of collaborating with the United States and Israel in "expressing enmity to Sudan." It was signed by the Popular Association in Defense of Conviction and the Nation.

"No to America and its followers!" the protesters chanted.

In a resolution passed Friday, the Security Council said Sudan had 30 days to disarm the pro-government Arab militia known as Janjaweed, who have been accused by the United Nations and international aid organizations of waging a brutal campaign to drive Sudanese citizens of African origin out of Darfur.

If the militiamen are not disarmed, the council could impose a range of diplomatic and economic penalties against Sudan, a country almost the size of the continental United States.

An estimated 30,000 people have been killed in the 17-month conflict, while 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes. An estimated 2.2 million people are in urgent need of food, medicine and other basics.

A senior member of the ruling party, Mohammed Ali Abdullah, told the crowd Wednesday their protest was a warning to President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair against invading Sudan.

"Targeting Sudan means you will fall into a third swamp -- after Afghanistan and Iraq. There are lions here in Sudan which would like to confront the Americans," Abdullah said.

No Western government has threatened to invade Sudan, but France has deployed a few hundred troops along Chad's border with Darfur to stop Arab militia from crossing over.

After delivering the statement to U.N. envoy Jan Pronk, the demonstrators -- led by Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, the secretary general of the ruling National Congress party -- walked to the presidential palace in Shuhada Square.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39039-2004Aug4.html