 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded speedy prosecution of Sudanese officials and militiamen guilty of crimes against humanity in Darfur, as members of the Security Council came under renewed pressure to tackle the issue at last.
| "But it's not genocide! No, no! It's... ummm... something else!" |
The push to end what has been labelled the world's worst humanitarian crisis gained impetus after a UN panel released a report Monday that said government-backed militias were still conducting rape, mass killing and wanton destruction in Darfur. The Security Council, and by extension the United Nations, have been dogged by allegations that they are standing by and doing little as thousands of people die in Darfur. Annan said Wednesday that on a recent trip to Abuja, Nigeria, he warned Sudanese leaders to rein in the so-called Janjaweed militia or face punishment — possibly including sanctions.
| Oh, no! Not sanctions! Think of the children! |
He said that leading suspects in the killings, whose names were provided to him in a secret annex to the report, must be tried urgently. "I think the commission was right in saying that it is important that urgent action be taken, and the perpetrators be brought to justice," Annan said. "They have to be prosecuted."
| That implies somebody is going to round them up and bring them to court. And that the Sudanese gummint is going to stand by with its Islamic thumb up its butt while that's happening. Is Jimmy the Greek still around? I need somebody to figger the odds on that happening... |
|