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RSS FeedIs Holocaust history repeating itself with the genocide occuring in Darfur, Sudan
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| Disagree | 38% | 144 votes | Total: 379 votes | |
| Agree | 62% | 235 votes |
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Add to FavoritesIn taking the position of disagreement, I suppose that I am in general in accord with Robert Grason who wrote the opening article here: the planning and systems used by the Nazis involved makes their crime unique to the best of my knowledge. Its uniqueness, I stress, is not related to the staggering scale of the killing it is certain that the great cynics Stalin and Mao tse Tung were responsible, each of them, for more murders and misery than were the Nazis. No, it is I repeat, in the intense and detailed planning and logistics and as Grason points out, the enormous resources used in the programme, ironically to the detriment of the war effort.
Consider the infamous top-secret Wannsee conference of January 1942, held under the chairmanship of Himmler to discuss the "Final Solution (Endlsung) of the Jewish Problem". I doubt that at any recent time in any country has such a conference taken place. Remember that the Third Reich had an elaborate and well-organised civil service; complex orders and instructions on a vast scale were well within the capacity of the relevant institutions to carry out. I cannot imagine that such a situation pertains today in the Sudan, where the murder and brutality appear to be carried out more or less by state-licensed bandits whilst the appalling Sudanese government no doubt funds and equips these vermin and indeed its members probably discuss the "progress". I should add in the interests of balance, that a UN panel has ruled that the Sudanese Government is not guilty of genocide in Darfur but mysteriously goes on to add that "[] there was the deliberate targeting of civilians in Darfur using murder, torture and sexual violence []" One is tempted to add "So that's all right then."
This is not to suggest, however that the machinery of state has not been involved in mass-murder elsewhere. A good example is the disgusting message sent to a USSR regional governor in 1937 by Nikolai Yezhov, head of the dreadful NKVD (forerunner of the KGB). The message ran: "liquidate 10,000 enemies of the state report results by telegram." This was of course driven by Stalin's paranoia*. Needless to add that the victims were probably selected largely by means of denunciations from jealous neighbours and other such wickedness the inevitable result of a society governed by fear. I doubt anyone will ever know how many deaths may be attributed to Mao, I have heard up to 60 million, presumably for "re-education" reasons. Equally, one might consider the misery and murder that prevailed in former Yugoslavia in the early-to-mid 1990s; there was arguably a racial basis, but it appears largely to have had mostly cultural or religious origins unfortunately with a very long history; Northern Ireland is another example.
It is my opinion that the killings in Darfur follow an age-old problematic tradition in Africa: that of tribal conflict, following on from previous horrors in Angola, Uganda and Rwanda for example. Indeed just recently, another tribal conflict has erupted in Kenya, until recently perceived as one of the more stable of the African nations.
The idea of one tribe endeavouring to destroy another is certainly genocide, but it is in no way the "Holocaust" and neither can it be likened to it.
*Stalin famously once remarked: "Ideas are much more dangerous than guns; we don't let them have guns, so why should we let them have ideas?"
Source: BBC: http://news.bbc.co.u k/1/hi/world/africa/ 3853157.stm
Learn more about this author, Paul Leclercq.
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Agree
Despite the promise of "never again" following the Nazi Holocaust and over 140 signatories to the Genocide Convention, instances of mass massacre and genocide have continued to occur numerous times since World War II without adequate intervention from the global community.
It does not matter whether if it is Holocaust or the Armenian Genocide or the Rwandan Genocide or even the Yugoslavian Genocide. A Genocide is an atrocity committed against the very spirit of humanity and it should never be tolerated.However, even though the world has promised to never let this happen, it is happening.
The genocide in Darfur region is one of the latest genocides in a string of failures of the United Nations and the global community to stop such events from occurring. Out of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the United States of America, United Kingdom and France are the only strong advocated calling to end the genocide in Sudan and they are the only countries calling for sanctions and other tougher methods to deal with the government of Sudan, who knowingly sponsored a state-run agenda of ethnic cleansing and systematic Genocide. In fact, United States of America, under the Bush administration was the first main international leader to term the ethnic cleansing of Darfur region as a Genocide and crime against humanity.
Countries and people in power like China and the Russian Federation are not doing enough to push Sudan into stopping such criminal activities. These nations continue to strongly oppose sanctions, provide arms and weapons to Sudan and trade in oil revenues with Sudan. Sudan uses the money form this oil trade with China and Russia to fund more state sponsored killings and massacres and uses the weapons and arms from their dealings with the Chinese and the Russians to kill innocent children in Darfur region and the neighboring Chad.
Thanks to China's and Russia's unwillingness to take tougher stance against this despicable acts of violence and hatred, Sudanese government is allowed a free reign to do whatever it pleases, including Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing. Some say the African Union troops are there, but do you really think that a multi-national troop force of poorly equipped afflicted low-morale, under-staffed and under-payed bunch of men in rags are going to stop a militant organization bend on killing civilians and funded by a national government? Do you even seriously think that some two-thousand men, who don't even want to be there, are going to patrol and control the violence throughout Darfur region?
Why did you think the Sudanese government would not allow a UN peace-keeper force but only wanted an African Union force? Why? Because African Union troops does not have what it takes to curb the violence in Darfur, they are corruptible and ill-equipped to deal with the situation in Darfur.
So for the time being, the World watches on as the war continues in Darfur. Rape, murder, killings, beheadings, destruction, death and slaughter continues unchecked and rampant throughout the Darfur region in Sudan and is now threating to spill over into neighboring countries such as Chad. The same thing that happened in the Holocaust is happening in Sudan and in the Darfur region. In the Holocaust, we failed to take timely action and now in Darfur, we are now failing to take action.
Is it not time yet for us as an international community to get involved? To say no with a multi-lateral force that sends a message to Sudanese government? Please get involved, press your senators, your elected officials and international leaders and organizations to get involved and pay heed to Darfur region. Call for a comprehensive resolution, stop the trade with Sudan until Sudan complies with international mandates. Lets take some action instead of sitting back while countless millions get murdered in a continent where peace comes at a heavy price.
Learn more about this author, Ebey Soman.
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