Crisis in Darfur

cork | anti-capitalism | event notice Monday August 20, 2007 19:35 by Joe Moore - Socialist Workers Party mapuche at eircom dot net 087-2994796

Is UN Intervention a Solution?

The Cork Branch of the Socialist Workers Party will hold a public forum entitled "Crisis in Darfur, Is UN Intervention a Solution?" on Thursday 30th August, at 8.00pm in the Victoria Hotel, Patrick Street, Cork. The meeting will be addressed by Donal McGarry.

Following the international clamour to send troops to Darfur in western Sudan, the United Nations has voted to send in troops.
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur in the last three years and around 2 million have been displaced. This is the result of fighting between government forces and rebel groups. Many civilians have suffered and, quite rightly, people across the world want the horror to end.
But it is a huge leap from those tragic facts to supporting the right of Western troops to invade Sudan. Far from aiding the suffering people of Darfur, experience shows that intervention may in fact make matters worse.
Back in 1992 UN troops went to Somalia. The invasion that began with promises of ending a famine and saving people from warlords, ended with Somalis in revolt against the occupiers and atrocities being committed by US, Canadian and Belgian forces against the Somalis.The warlords were strengthened and progress in Somalia hurled back over a decade.
Despite Western governments protestations that their role in Sudan would be purely "humanitarian" an invasion of Sudan by the West would have the added benefit of clearing the way for US and European oil firms to grasp more of Sudan's oil.
Sudan has two billion barrels of recoverable oil and currently produces 250,000 barrels a day. Much of that oil is likely to be trapped by Chinese firms and the US wants to challenge them.
Sudan has become a frontline in the clash between US and Chinese imperialism. An invasion would also put in place a pro-US government on the shores of the Red Sea, opposite Saudi Arabia.
The NGO Action Against Hunger said in May of this year that UN military intervention "could have disastrous consequences that risk triggering a further escalation of violence while jeopardising humanitarian assistance to millions of people".