U.S Special Envoy to the Sudan: It’s Genocide! No, it isn’t!

By Mark Hoerrner

It’s like watching a sick comedy routine. U.S. Special Envoy Andrew Natsios addressed students at Georgetown University on the situation in Darfur and voiced opposition to the U.S. administration using the term "genocide" to define the actions of the government-backed Janjaweed militia’s campaign to systematically eradicate the non-muslim residents of Darfur.

The next week, he issued a public media call for the action in Sudan to guard the humanitarian aid missions present as he expected the government and the Janjaweed to escalate vicious attacks on the refugees and any aid workers found in the camps.

"The government has lost control. There is anarchy in large parts of Darfur. The risk is that if the NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) leave, the U.N. humanitarian agencies leave ... there will be no one to care for these people in the camps who can be trusted," he told Reuters in an interview.

Since 2003, more than 450,000 people have been slaughtered by the Janjaweed and possibly, if eyewitness reports are correct, by the Sudanese government itself. Currently, nearly 3 million live in refugee camps along Sudan’s border with Chad. While some humanitarian aid makes it to the camps, that still doesn’t ensure the refugees’ survival. Women must often walk miles to gather firewood to cook the grain and rice delivered by humanitarian organizations. During these treks, the women are often assaulted, raped or killed. There are many who won’t leave the camps.

While the Sudanese government in Khartoum has denied any official involvement in the killings, eyewitnesses report that prior to a Janjaweed attack, government forces would lob artillery attacks into villages. The Janjaweed then strike, fast and vicious, killing men, women and children. Women are gang-raped. Men are dismembered and used to poison local water supplies. Villages are burned to the ground.

President Bush signed legislation authorizing more than half a billion dollars in aid for Darfur, but it’s questionable as to whether the Sudanese refugees will ever see that aid. Natsios said that the Janjaweed and the government in the capital city of Khartoum may seek to oust aid organizations.

"There is a potential for an explosion if the agencies leave that would match the risk to people of the 2003 and 2004 time period," he said.

At the beginning of the conflict, hundreds of thousands were killed in a short period of time. Reuters reported that the U.N. said recently that attacks on aid workers there almost doubled in 2006. The government in Khartoum has also imposed bureaucratic measures to delay aid operation. Presently, about 14,000 aid workers are in Darfur.

The comments made to the Georgetown students were a perfect representation with the confusion over Darfur. With the U.S. embroiled in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the administration is reluctant to spearhead another military mission which is likely the only solution to the rising violence in Darfur.

While Natsios does not think genocide is the right word to describe the terror in Sudan, the state department has classified it as such. However, there’s still a debate over national sovereignty for the government of Sudan. In the meantime, groups like the Genocide Intervention Network and Save Darfur are adamant that a peacekeeping mission of no less than 15,000 U.N. troops is required to restore order.