U.N. Allowing Evil to Triumph
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Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Kathleen Antrim
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005

On January 24, the United Nations commemorated the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps and the holocaust during World War II.

At this event, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan proclaimed, "Such an evil must never be allowed to happen again." But it's hard to take Annan and the U.N. seriously when their lack of action regarding the genocide in Sudan speaks so loudly as to render Annan's words useless. To the 800,000 who were killed in 100 days in Rwanda in 1994, and the more than 70,000 who have been slaughtered in the Darfur region of Sudan, the U.N.'s feeble hand-wringing and verbal admonishments have meant nothing but more death and destruction.

A recently released U.N. report found that both the Sudanese government and Arab Janjaweed militias are responsible for the horrific crimes in Darfur. But the U.N. decided that these actions did not reflect an official "policy" of genocide. So even though 70,000 have been murdered, with the U.N. estimating another 1,000 more being killed every day, and 1.85 million having been displaced … well, it's not "officially" genocide.

The U.N. News Centre reported that "the Commission found that Government forces and militias ‘conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement.'"

Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had no compunction in labeling the slaughter in Darfur as genocide, a term never used lightly in diplomatic circles. Why? Because it's the truth. However, if the U.N. were to acknowledge this crisis for what it is, they might actually have to do something meaningful. When you compare the U.N. response to the tsunami in Asia to the ongoing slaughter in Sudan, it makes one wonder if the U.N. cherry-picks the disasters in which to become involved.

Within weeks of the tsunami, millions in aid had been raised. And the U.N. held a conference in Kobe, Japan, to propose a $30 million tsunami alert system, reported Kenji Hall of The Associated Press.

Such quick action in Asia is admirable, but it highlights the selectivity of the U.N.

So, why is a natural disaster like the tsunami given a rapid, productive response whereas manmade disasters like the 800,000 deaths in Rwanda and the genocide currently happening in the Sudan are paid only lip service?

The cynic in me points out that the photo op isn't nearly as dramatic as it is in the wave-destroyed area. Man killing man isn't nearly as unusual as Mother Nature's wrath. And the political implications of stepping into another country's business to stop the atrocities is messy.

Like the Oil-for-Food debacle and Rwanda, Sudan is another example of U.N. failure. It calls into question whether the scandal-plagued U.N. has outlived its useful life.

Of course, problems like those in Sudan provide job security to U.N. bureaucrats, because they can spend years meeting, intellectualizing and pondering options all in the name of trying desperately to find a peaceful solution. Meanwhile, thousands die.

"Truly it has been said, ‘All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing,'" said Annan. It is time for the secretary-general and the U.N. to heed Annan's own words. For, while the U.N. dodges its responsibilities with semantics, it's obvious to any reasonable individual that the atrocities in Darfur are, in fact, genocide.

Kathleen Antrim is a weekly columnist for The San Francisco Examiner and author of the political thriller "Capital Offense." She appears every Monday at 3 p.m. (EST) on Radio America-Alan Nathan's "Battle Line" (www.radioamerica.org), and on alternating Mondays at 8 a.m. (PST) on KSFO 560 AM, on 'The Lee Rogers and Melanie Morgan Show." For more information go to www.kathleenantrim.com.

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