Over four dozen boy slaves have been freed from cattle camps near the border between northern and southern Sudan.
According to Christian Solidarity International, the operation to free the 56 boys was a joint effort of CSI and the Arab-Dinka Peace Committee. The boys had been abducted during jihad slave raids sanctioned by the Khartoum government that targeted non-Muslim communities in northern Bahr El Ghazal.
The boys, who were rescued at the end of April, had been serving as slaves in cattle camps of Arab nomads.
Though the head of one camp claimed the boys were happy with their masters, affectionately calling them "father," interviews with the former slaves painted a different picture, CSI said in a statement.
The organization says the boys revealed a clear pattern of physical and psychological abuse. They reported cases of beatings, stabbings, rape, racial insults, death threats and forcible conversion to Islam.
My master (Ibrahim Mohammed) told me not to ask about my mother and father, and ordered me to call him "father." Whenever I displeased him, he beat me. Once he hit me on the head with a cow's horn. Another time, he burned me on the arm. Sometimes he refused to allow me to eat. Ibrahim's son, Khalid, also bullied me. He threw stones at me, and called me "dog," "bastard" and "slave." Ibrahim made me go to Quranic school. The teacher, Mohammed Razik, said that we should forget about the religion of our people and become Muslims. Otherwise, we would be infidels. Slavery is an internationally recognized crime against humanity, CSI explained. In the spring of 2002, a U.S. government-sponsored international Eminent Persons Group charged Sudan's Islamist regime of using slavery as a weapon of war against southern Sudan. At the beginning of his mission, the U.S. special envoy for peace in Sudan, former Sen. John Danforth, identified the eradication of slavery as a pre-condition for a just and lasting peace. The issue of slavery, however, has not yet been placed on the agenda of the peace talks between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
CSI's president, the Rev. Hans Stuckelberger, has pledged that "CSI will continue its campaign to eradicate slavery in Sudan until the last slave is free".
Ironically, just yesterday, Sudan was voted in as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The representative from the United States walked out of a session of the U.N. Economic and Social Council to protest the move.
Slavery isn't a weapon. It's promoted in the Qur'an. Every serious Muslim is for it.
Does the fact that Sudan is on the human rights commission of the UN bother anyone? So we walked out the meeting..we should be walking out of the UN altogether.
I'm sure we'll see all the self-appointed civil rights "leaders" in the U.S. decry this terrible incidence of slavery of black African boys. Not!
It hasn't happened, with the partial exception of Al Sharpton. You would think here is a made to order issue for the Congressional Black Caucus. Go figure.
I bet Curtis Sliwa was on fire today at WABC radio NYC. His sister, Maria is a huge advocate for the Christians being put into slavery in the Sudan.
It just goes to show that the members of the CBC and other civil rights organizations don't really care about the living conditions and dignity of blacks around the world, just about their own good publicity and financial well being.
Why should Jesse Jackson care that one can buy a human being in Sudan for about $10 if there's no money in it for him?
Good point. Did you see the 7th Heaven episode Monday night about the Lost Boys? I was so touched by it. I thought one of the characters, Jacob, had such a fitting name. The ancestor of my people had a life full of hardships, was tricked into marrying the sister of the woman he loved, saw his beloved Rachel die in childbirth, and for awhile thought his son Joseph was dead. This Jacob's life was full of travails and woe too. And you can see how grateful people like these children, who lost their parents and put up with unimaginable hardships to seek freedom and sanctuary, are to this country. This ought to be a lesson for Americans who don't stop to think how special our country really is. In my faith, we are taught to celebrate Passover, as though we were slaves, now we are free men. And we should not forget what President Bush rightfully said about freedom being God's gift to humanity.
I actually don't watch television. But it sounds like an episode that I probably would have enjoyed.
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< < Back to Start of Article Ethnic cleansing in Darfur
WASHINGTON The world cannot continue to tolerate the slaughter of innocent civilians in the state of Darfur, western Sudan, or the duplicitous acts of the Sudanese government that let the perpetrators turn their backs on justice and saunter away. Arab militias, called the Janjaweed, are being used to terrorize groups of African origin - the Fur, Zagawa, Berti, Massilite, and Tunjur - to drive them off their land.
.
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, has called for a humanitarian cease-fire in Darfur and has warned that outside military action may be needed to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
.
Indeed, in light of escalating violence in Darfur and a deteriorating humanitarian situation, immediate intervention by the international community is required. Ten years ago, we failed to act in a timely fashion in Rwanda, and the consequences were horrendous. Preventive intervention now may keep a similar tragedy from befalling Darfur.
.
While Sudan uses stalling tactics to delay a "north-south" peace agreement with the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, it is simultaneously waging a ferocious campaign against the indigenous African groups of Darfur. In little more than a year, Khartoum's regular military forces and government-sponsored Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have killed thousands of civilians, forced more than 100,000 into exile in neighboring Chad and displaced more than one million people.
.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Sudanese government has supported indiscriminate killings of civilians, gang rapes, looting of private property and humanitarian aid, burning of villages, abductions, forced migration and general intimidation. The acting assistant secretary of state for Africa, Charles Snyder, said that the violence and suffering in Darfur have made it "one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa."
.
Despite growing pressure for intervention, Khartoum is mounting a campaign of intimidation against the UN Human Rights Commission. More troubling, Khartoum also is engaged in efforts to conceal evidence that might implicate its officials and allies in the militias for gross human rights violations.
.
Members of the Janjaweed militia, already identified as human rights offenders, are being issued official death certificates so that they do not have to stand trial for their crimes. There are reports that Janjaweed members are being flown to the Red Sea Province on the return routes of the planes that bring humanitarian supplies to Darfur and are issued military identification for the Sudanese Army to prevent human rights investigators from identifying them as perpetrators.
.
The U.S. government should have no illusions that what is taking place in Darfur is ethnic cleansing. The Sudanese government is determined to use every opportunity, whether through peace negotiations or war, to expand its grip on local resources, impose Sharia law on non-Muslims, and propagate a hateful racial and cultural ideology to maintain political hegemony over the diverse communities in Sudan.
.
The United States must lead the international community to pressure the Sudanese government to halt the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, open access to humanitarian aid and agree to a strong monitoring mechanism for the cease-fire agreement.
.
This must include a robust role for the entities that have played key roles in the peace negotiations: the United Nations, the United States, the African Union and the European Union. Further, the government of Sudan must engage in substantive political dialogue with the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement, as agreed in an early April cease-fire accord, in order to find a lasting peace in Sudan.
.
If the Khartoum regime resists international pressure, the international community must be prepared to counter the intransigence of the regime. Anything less puts a lie to the often repeated call for "never again" to tolerate the targeted persecution of an entire people. Khartoum must stop this tragedy now and prevent the further destruction of innocent lives.
.
Until the issue of Darfur is settled, America should withhold normalization of relations with the Khartoum regime. If it fails to respond, the U.S. government must consider targeted sanctions for those individuals most responsible for the crisis in Darfur, freezing their personal assets and denying them entry to the United States. America and the international community need to act quickly to bring to justice the perpetrators of these heinous acts and to end the climate of impunity for future human rights violators.
.
Representative Tom Lantos of California is the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe. Ethnic cleansing in Darfur
WASHINGTON The world cannot continue to tolerate the slaughter of innocent civilians in the state of Darfur, western Sudan, or the duplicitous acts of the Sudanese government that let the perpetrators turn their backs on justice and saunter away. Arab militias, called the Janjaweed, are being used to terrorize groups of African origin - the Fur, Zagawa, Berti, Massilite, and Tunjur - to drive them off their land.
.
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, has called for a humanitarian cease-fire in Darfur and has warned that outside military action may be needed to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
.
Indeed, in light of escalating violence in Darfur and a deteriorating humanitarian situation, immediate intervention by the international community is required. Ten years ago, we failed to act in a timely fashion in Rwanda, and the consequences were horrendous. Preventive intervention now may keep a similar tragedy from befalling Darfur.
.
While Sudan uses stalling tactics to delay a "north-south" peace agreement with the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, it is simultaneously waging a ferocious campaign against the indigenous African groups of Darfur. In little more than a year, Khartoum's regular military forces and government-sponsored Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have killed thousands of civilians, forced more than 100,000 into exile in neighboring Chad and displaced more than one million people.
.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Sudanese government has supported indiscriminate killings of civilians, gang rapes, looting of private property and humanitarian aid, burning of villages, abductions, forced migration and general intimidation. The acting assistant secretary of state for Africa, Charles Snyder, said that the violence and suffering in Darfur have made it "one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa."
.
Despite growing pressure for intervention, Khartoum is mounting a campaign of intimidation against the UN Human Rights Commission. More troubling, Khartoum also is engaged in efforts to conceal evidence that might implicate its officials and allies in the militias for gross human rights violations.
.
Members of the Janjaweed militia, already identified as human rights offenders, are being issued official death certificates so that they do not have to stand trial for their crimes. There are reports that Janjaweed members are being flown to the Red Sea Province on the return routes of the planes that bring humanitarian supplies to Darfur and are issued military identification for the Sudanese Army to prevent human rights investigators from identifying them as perpetrators.
.
The U.S. government should have no illusions that what is taking place in Darfur is ethnic cleansing. The Sudanese government is determined to use every opportunity, whether through peace negotiations or war, to expand its grip on local resources, impose Sharia law on non-Muslims, and propagate a hateful racial and cultural ideology to maintain political hegemony over the diverse communities in Sudan.
.
The United States must lead the international community to pressure the Sudanese government to halt the indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, open access to humanitarian aid and agree to a strong monitoring mechanism for the cease-fire agreement.
.
This must include a robust role for the entities that have played key roles in the peace negotiations: the United Nations, the United States, the African Union and the European Union. Further, the government of Sudan must engage in substantive political dialogue with the Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement, as agreed in an early April cease-fire accord, in order to find a lasting peace in Sudan.
.
If the Khartoum regime resists international pressure, the international community must be prepared to counter the intransigence of the regime. Anything less puts a lie to the often repeated call for "never again" to tolerate the targeted persecution of an entire people. Khartoum must stop this tragedy now and prevent the further destruction of innocent lives.
.
Until the issue of Darfur is settled, America should withhold normalization of relations with the Khartoum regime. If it fails to respond, the U.S. government must consider targeted sanctions for those individuals most responsible for the crisis in Darfur, freezing their personal assets and denying them entry to the United States. America and the international community need to act quickly to bring to justice the perpetrators of these heinous acts and to end the climate of impunity for future human rights violators.
.
Representative Tom Lantos of California is the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee. This article first appeared in The Boston Globe. Ethnic cleansing in Darfur
WASHINGTON The world cannot continue to tolerate the slaughter of innocent civilians in the state of Darfur, western Sudan, or the duplicitous acts of the Sudanese government that let the perpetrators turn their backs on justice and saunter away. Arab militias, called the Janjaweed, are being used to terrorize groups of African origin - the Fur, Zagawa, Berti, Massilite, and Tunjur - to drive them off their land.
.
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, has called for a humanitarian cease-fire in Darfur and has warned that outside military action may be needed to protect civilians and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
.
Indeed, in light of escalating violence in Darfur and a deteriorating humanitarian situation, immediate intervention by the international community is required. Ten years ago, we failed to act in a timely fashion in Rwanda, and the consequences were horrendous. Preventive intervention now may keep a similar tragedy from befalling Darfur.
.
While Sudan uses stalling tactics to delay a "north-south" peace agreement with the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, it is simultaneously waging a ferocious campaign against the indigenous African groups of Darfur. In little more than a year, Khartoum's regular military forces and government-sponsored Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have killed thousands of civilians, forced more than 100,000 into exile in neighboring Chad and displaced more than one million people.
.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Sudanese government has supported indiscriminate killings of civilians, gang rapes, looting of private property and humanitarian aid, burning of villages, abductions, forced migration and general intimidation. The acting assistant secretary of state for Africa, Charles Snyder, said that the violence and suffering in Darfur have made it "one of the worst humanitarian crises in Africa."
.
Despite growing pressure for intervention, Khartoum is mounting a campaign of intimidation against the UN Human Rights Commission. More troubling, Khartoum also is engaged in efforts to conceal evidence that might implicate its officials and allies in the militias for gross human rights violations.
.
Members of the Janjaweed militia, already identified as human rights offenders, are being issued official death certificates so that they do not have to stand trial for their crimes. There are reports that Janjaweed members are being flown to the Red Sea Province on the return routes of the planes that bring humanitarian supplies to Darfur and are issued military identification for the Sudanese Army to prevent human rights investigators from identifying them as perpetrators.
.
The U.S. government should have no illusions that what is taking place in
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