Human rights activist speaks about genocide atrocities in Darfur

For a little more than an hour Tuesday, IU students, faculty, staff and visitors gathered together to listen to a human rights activist speak about his experiences witnessing genocide unfold in Darfur. \nJohn Prendergast, a leading human rights advocate and author of more than eight books about Africa, has worked for the State Department, the United Nations and human rights organizations. He is co-founder of the Enough Project, a campaign aimed at ending the genocide in Darfur and raising awareness about other conflicts in Africa. He spoke about his experiences in Darfur, and about genocide prevention, Tuesday in the Oak Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.\n“This is a genocide where people are being targeted on the basis of ethnicity. ... This is simply unacceptable,” Prendergast said. \nThree million people have been driven into refugee camps and displaced from their villages, which have been burned by rebel forces, the Janjaweed army, Prendergast said. In addition, 1,500 villages have been destroyed. \nThe history of the Darfur genocide is a complex one, involving the Khartoum government’s involvement and support of the violent Janjaweed army, he said. \nPrendergast said this is a situation where forces are “mobilizing and using ethnicity as a basis for political opportunism. The (Khartoum) government arms and supports the Janjaweed ... to kill anyone, keep what you steal and you won’t be prosecuted.”\nThis is not only the first genocide of the 21st century but also the first time in history in which a president has declared the existence of a genocide while he was in office, he said. \n“The irony ... the tragic irony of not doing all that we can is that experience shows ... when they (the Sudanese dictatorship) have been pressured hard, there have been changes in the Sudanese army,” Prendergast said. \nWith the right mix of intelligence and government policy, the Sudanese government can move in a different direction, he said. \n“There are three ingredients to a successful crisis response,” Prendergast said. “The three P’s of genocide prevention are peacemaking, prevention and punishment. You put peacemaking, prevention and punishment together and we can, I think, get some progress.” \nBut three obstacles prevent success in Darfur: Iraq, counterterrorism and energy security, he said. \nPrendergast said because American intervention in Iraq occurred at about the same time as the beginning of the genocide in Darfur, “the resources given to Iraq make it hard to mobilize support to Africa. It is hard to get attention ... and resources (to Africa).”\nHe also said because the Sudanese government holds important information about Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaida, it will give the U.S. information about terrorists in exchange for being left alone to pursue its own agenda. \nDespite these obstacles, Prendergast sees an optimistic future for Darfur. Among the many efforts to be made, such as raising awareness and support for ending the genocide, Prendergast emphasized the importance of individual action. \n“We have, since the word genocide was invented, the first mass mobilization of people in the U.S. to take on genocide while it’s going on,” Prendergast said. \nJunior Emily Roberts attended the lecture and said she found it compelling. Roberts, the co-founder of the IU student organization Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, said she thinks “it’s always good for people to be educated on this issue. Prendergast is really encouraging and a great resource.” \nOther students shared a similar sense of responsibility toward ending the genocide. \n“I think it’s really great how people have responded to this. ... I hope this mobilization keeps up,” sophomore Dani Walker said. \nPrendergast said most of the major social movements are led by students.\n“It’s the people who are willing to see beyond the critics and challenges and believe they can make a real contribution are the ones that end up helping to change the world,” he said.