Tuesday, July 24, 2007



my second letter to 'time magazine' concerning darfur' first one was published in time in december 2006. Pictures are the 'Road to Masalani from Garissa' and the entrance of the al-urabi hotel, Masalani, ijaara'.

Letter to Time magazine.

During the Democratic debate on Tuesday (you tube questions) the question of Darfur was raised. After listening to various contenders’ response I must say that with regard to US foreign policy it becomes clear that the reason the US is no longer recognized as the world leader in international mediation is they have put policy and US interests above the direct interests of the peoples concerned. What was the real reason the US intervened militarily in Iraq? To help the Iraqi people or the pursue their own selfish agendas including the consolidation of influence in the oil producing countries in the Gulf.

In a similar vein while the UN and the US dither in foreign policy and diplomacy, on a daily basis more and more lives are lost in Darfur.

I wrote to you in October 2006 and you published exerpts of my letter in December 2006.

My challenge then to the US and the UN was to intervene now, immediately. To date 8 months later, nothing. Senator Bidden was the only one who came out straight to the point when he said that while a diplomatic solution was being pursued the children in the video clip would be dead or dying. What a poignant statement simply because everyone on earth knows that what he was saying is true. Its no use saying the African Union (AU) don’t want American or UN intervention. That’s not good enough. If it is clear that the AU do not have the financial, logistical, and motivational competency to protect the people of Darfur then it’s the overlying responsibility of the US and UN to make this clear to the world, if only to escape blame when the situation explodes as it is likely to. If the AU realize that they will be held responsible for what happens in Darfur then they will be more likely to accept help and to recognise their supposed role in African affairs . In any case as I have said before the AU can only be as effective as its member countries make Darfur a priority. This they are not doing.

Kenya, in particular should be the most active and be playing the leading role in bringing this terrible situation to an end. Sudan is a neighbour of Kenya with long standing historical ties. The long standing war in Sudan has negatively affected Kenya in the proliferation of arms in KenyasNorthern provinces. It is also directly in Kenyas interest to have a stable and safe Sudan as they would constitute top trading partner. But purely on humanitarian grounds, Kenya is by far the most resourceful country in the region and having the strongest economy, is shortchanging the Sudanese people and in particular the people of Darfur by giving little more than lip service to this impending tragedy.

No comments: