Open Letter to the Public of New Zealand on the Plight of Darfur
Thursday 28th July 2008
Dear fellow New Zealanders,
I call upon you all to do your bit in applying pressure on the appropriate parties when it comes to the plight of the
Darfur region and its people.
Immediate action is needed as the situation in Darfur is grave and continues to deteriorate by the day. It is not good
enough that we stay silent while there are people massacred, butchered, tortured, raped, pillaged, dying of hunger,
fearing for their lives.
African aid agencies are stating that the UN/African Union Mission to Darfur is failing the civilians of Darfur:
“African aid agencies say the African-UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region is failing to provide adequate
protection to civilians.”
“A report published by a group of mainly African relief and advocacy groups, the Darfur Consortium, said the force was
too small and inadequately funded.
It said six months after the mission began, only about a third of the 26,000 personnel promised had been deployed. The
five-year-old Darfur conflict has left some 300,000 people dead.”
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/7528050.stm
Published: 2008/07/28 00:58:38 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
This is really a sense of De Ja Vu. We have witnessed these failings before. In 1994, it was estimated that over 1
million Rwandans were massacred during their genocide. The UN mission lacked support from their headquarters in New York
and the International Community turned its back. The mission was too small and was inadequately funded and as a result
failed to prevent the worst genocide since World War Two.
We cannot allow this to happen again and yet it is happening again because the international community has turned its
back and buried its head in the sand. It is prepared to be indecisive while thousands are been massacred, tortured and
raped.
We must call for the American, British, Chinese, Russian and South African governments to actively and directly assist
the United Nations and the African Union bring about democracy and peace to Darfur and its people by financially and
logistically aiding the mission.
President Omar-al Bashir's regime and the Janjaweed Militia must be brought to justice and be held accountable for their
gross crimes against humanity which in my belief is outright genocide.
For more information about what is happening in the Darfur Region or if you would like to take some action, go and visit
the following sites:
• http://www.alertnet.org/
• www.amnesty.org.nz
• www.hrw.org
• www.bbc.co.uk
• www.cnn.com
• http://www.un.org/english
• www.icrc.org
ENDS