Arab League complicit with Sudanese regime in the Darfur crisis

During his Highness’ visit to IU on Oct. 13, the Ambassador of Jordan to the U.S. met informally with a group of students to discuss the political situation in the Middle East and the Islamic world.

As a Sudanese citizen, the question of Darfur is always present in my mind. Recently, and after the International Criminal Court announced its possible indictment of President of Sudan Omer El-Bashir, the Arab League stepped up and proposed peace talks to solve the conflict in Darfur. During his talk, I sensed some sincerity in the ambassador’s answers, unlike what is taking place now in the political discourse, especially in the presidential debates in the U.S. Therefore, I immediately thought of the complicity of the Arab League with the Sudanese regime.

Keeping in mind that the conflict in Darfur came in 2003, and that the Arab League proposed this initiative for peace talks, I asked him about the reason behind the delayed response five years later, from the Arab League to the tragedy in Darfur, and that they only woke up when Luis Moreno-Ocampo, ICC prosecutor, considered charging El-Bashir. His answer, although it did not address the question fully, was a good one.

He did not try to side with the Arab League. He acknowledged that the Arab League did not get involved immediately, a position he described as “shameful.” He then talked about how killings, rape and other types of violence became the norm in Africa, with the Congo being his point of reference.

Absent in his analogy and reasoning, however, was the Palestinian predicament. The norm, I argue, has been the shame and disgrace brought upon us by the Arab League’s complicity with regimes that commit crimes against humanity and kingdoms that monopolize the authority, wealth and resources of their countries. Thus, the Arab League’s initiative for peace talks was rejected by the rebel groups of Darfur, a position that I do not agree with but I find as highly plausible.

Aymen Elsheikh
IU graduate student