60 years after the UN Convention - Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

is there a south perspective on genocide? 281
The preferred narrative of Darfur fi ts nicely with that of the Israel
lobby in the US. Although all the antagonists are Black Africans and
Muslims, the aggressors are classifi ed as ‘Arabs’. A regional inter-African,
inter-Muslim confl ict is made to appear part of the ‘clash of
civilisations’.
It is a matter of racism. Darfur has been made into a stage-set of anti-Arab
confl ict, which perfectly suits the pro-Israel and right-wing
Christian lobbies in the US. Congo, where far more people have
died, remains a gargantuan killing fi eld, not covered by the corporate
media and ignored by the Congressional Black Caucus and the array
of Democratic presidential candidates.
In his seminal article, ‘The Politics of Naming’, Mahmood Mamdani 2
points out how many opinions on Darfur call for ‘force as a fi rst-resort
response’. ‘What makes the situation even more puzzling,’ Mamdami
writes, ‘is that some of those who are calling for an end to intervention
in Iraq are demanding an intervention in Darfur.’ Journalist Bryan
Hunt points to the duality between the US Pentagon’s recent installation
of a new unifi ed Pentagon command center in Africa to be established
next year gaining acceptance as a humanitarian eff ort and not as
part of the drive to control African’s oil and extend the war on terror,
as is actively being fought in Somalia, for example, with operations carried
over from US bases. At the same time, calls grow for humanitarian
intervention in Darfur. How coincidental that this opens up the possibility
for military engagement to deliver regime change in another
Islamic state rich in oil reserves. Does the defi nition and practice of
genocide depend on who is doing the killing? Apparently. 3
We need to be informed and make the connections
On 3 October 2007, Human Rights Watch presented testimony on
the Ogaden before the Foreign Aff airs Committee of the US Congress.
The focus was on the conduct of the Ethiopian military, not
only because the Ethiopian government’s military forces have systematically
committed atrocities and violated the basic laws of war,
but because Ethiopia is a key ally and partner of the United States in
the Horn of Africa. HRW stated, and let me quote this long passage
for you:
2 Mamdani, Mahmood, ‘The Politics of Naming’, London Review of Books, 8 March 2007.
3 Ford, Glenn, ‘A Tale of Two Genocides, Congo and Darfur’, Black Agenda Report, 18
July 2007. Ford is the editor of Black Agenda Report.