Fragile Calm Holds in Darfur after Years of Death

A surprising report in the New York Times by Jeffrey Gettleman in January 2010 reported that, "The rebel groups that started the war in Darfur in 2003, catalyzing a conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, almost seem to have gone into hibernation. So, too, have the infamous janjaweed, the marauding bandits who raped, killed and terrorized countless civilians," Gettleman wrote.

The Rwandan commander of the 20,000 peacekeepers in Darfur, Lt Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba said, "Frozen. That is a good word for the situation. It is calm, very calm at the moment, but it remains unpredictable."

Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College and one of the leading voices on Darfur is quoted by Gettleman: "There is no doubt that violence has diminished significantly in the past two or three years -and many, including myself, have been slow to recognize how significant this reduction has been."

According to Gettleman, 2.7 million Sudanese are still "stuck" in refugee camps afraid to go back to their homes.

Sudan has a hybrid African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission that is today described as the most expensive in the world, at $1.6 billion per year, which took years of negotiation to put in place. Mohamed B. Yonis, a top United Nations official in Darfur said, "The possibility is that they could be here forever."

It should be noted that in the background of the above report are other reports at the same time that in southern Sudan violence continues and is building. According to United Nations officials, more than 2,000 people were killed in 2009, many more than in Darfur.

Sources:
Gettleman, Jeffrey (January 12, 2010). Fragile calm holds in Darfur after years of death. New York Times.
Charbonneau, Louis (April 23, 2009). UN warning about Darfur is 'a big lie' - Sudan envoy. Reuters, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23360523.htm

Read full text......

Charles Taylor, Former Liberia President on Trial at the Hague

A New York Times report tells that Charles G. Taylor, the former president of Liberia, has appeared as a confident witness at his war crimes trial "casting himself as a man striving for peace - not the warlord who brought death and havoc in West Africa, as prosecutors portray him."

Taylor claimed the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity brought against him at his trial in The Hague "are all lies." He said "he had nothing to do with enslaving child soldiers or killing or hacking off limbs of villagers outside Liberia's borders. Rather, he claimed, he had "settled disputes between warring factions and obtained the release of abducted United Nations peacekeepers."

Another New York Times report describes Taylor as "a warlord during his country's civil war in the 1990's… [whose] forces dragooned children into combat, killed thousands of civilians and made the hacking off of limbs their signature."

On June 4, 2007, Taylor became the first African head of state to be brought before an international court on war crimes allegations when his trial opened in the Hague. Graham Bowly wrote in the New York Times that Taylor is "a descendant of the freed slaves who returned from North America to found Liberia in the 19th century. He became notorious during his years in power for the treatment of the children who were pressed into the armies he raised. Prosecutors have said they were often brainwashed or drugged into killing their own parents or relatives."

Taylor is also accused of a number of crimes stemming from the parallel civil war that raged in Liberia's neighbor, Sierra Leone, where he is also accused of sponsoring and aiding an especially brutal rebel group. AllAfrica.com reported that Taylor denied all prosecution charges. One witness at the trial described how government forces carried out summary executions of suspected rebels and collaborators, the witness explained that "anybody they see, they just say one, two, three, four, five - you come out. Then they take them to the cemetary and give them summary execution without going through any judiciary process and I witnessed that.

The U.K. has said that Taylor could serve any sentence he might receive in a British prison. BBC/UK News has described Taylor as "a frustrated showman" who "would like nothing more than to strut the African stage but he is now on trial for alleged war crimes."

Sources:
Simons, Marlise (December 20, 2009). Test for a court as prosecuters face Liberia's ex-ruler. New York Times.
Sesay, Alpha (March 12, 2010). Liberian witness says Sierra Leonean rebel forces were trained in Liberia. AllAfrica.com
Doyle, Mark (July 13, 2009). Charles Taylor - preacher, warlord, president. BBC UK News.

Read full text......