Powell calls atrocities in Sudan genocide
He urges U.N. Security Council to take urgent action
Friday, September 10, 2004
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell declared yesterday that the United States views the killings, rapes and destruction of homes in the Darfur region of western Sudan as genocide, and he called on the U.N. Security Council to recognize that the situation required urgent action.
While the declaration has no immediate effect on the role or obligations of the United Nations, said Fred Eckhard, spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, it could be viewed as tantamount to invoking Article 8 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide -- the first time that any nation had invoked that provision calling upon the United Nations to take action,
In toughly worded testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Powell said he had concluded that genocide had occurred after studying the findings of experts who had interviewed victims of violence in western Sudan, where attacks have been carried out by government-backed militia known as the Janjaweed.
"When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team," Powell said, "we concluded -- I concluded -- that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility, and that genocide may still be occurring."
After Powell's testimony, the White House released a written statement from President Bush echoing his determination that the violence in Sudan amounted to genocide. "We urge the international community to work with us to prevent and suppress acts of genocide," Bush said in the statement.
But even as Powell delivered the administration's verdict on genocide, there were signs of trouble for a draft Security Council resolution on Sudan threatening penalties if Khartoum did not rein in the militias and permit an outside force to secure Darfur.
Objections were raised by the ambassadors of both Pakistan and China, two countries that have warned that threats of sanctions will backfire and make Sudan more intransigent.
Powell's call for action was aimed at underscoring a sense of urgency at the United Nations, State Department officials said. But there was also a political dimension to his testimony.
Some critics of the Bush administration, including Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, have called on the United States to take a more assertive role in ending the conflict in Sudan. There has also been criticism from African American groups, including a group of ministers who support the White House on other matters.
Congress has passed a resolution declaring the Sudan situation genocide, and last week Kerry called on the administration to follow suit. But until now, Powell has said that he did not want to use the word without examining the facts, and further that using the word would not by itself accomplish very much.
Talks to bring about a solution to the Darfur crisis, including the sending of at least 3,000 troops led by Nigeria, have been taking place in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
The Sudan conflict, which erupted last year, has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of 1.5 million people.
The term "genocide" has long been a sensitive and emotional one in international conflicts.
In 1994, in a situation that some critics say was similar to the current one in Sudan, the Clinton administration at first resisted using the word "genocide" to describe atrocities in Rwanda. It was only after 800,000 people had been killed that the word was applied. President Clinton later expressed regret for not acting more quickly.
Last night the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Danforth, expressed impatience with the resistance of China, Pakistan and others to place sanctions. Any country that vetoes a resolution calling for sanctions, he said, "would have to explain the continuing tragedy of Darfur" and explain why it favored "stepping back and letting people die and be shot down by helicopters and raped."
-----------Pray for Sudan.
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