Mick Hartley

Eric Reeves at the Guardian’s CiF:

More than a million human beings have no access to basic humanitarian aid – food, medical care and clean water. Oxfam International reported in December that more than a third of Darfur’s worst-affected population was “effectively out of bounds to aid agencies.” This news came as Unicef reported that nutritional studies revealed over 70% of the population is experiencing food insecurity, and localised studies found acute malnutrition affecting 20% of children under five.

There were eight emergency evacuations of humanitarian workers in December alone, involving 400 personnel throughout Darfur. The same number were also evacuated from aid operations in eastern Chad, the scene of rapidly accelerating ethnic violence, most of it by Khartoum’s Janjaweed proxies or Chadian rebel groups supported by the National Islamic Front regime.

Humanitarian access is at its lowest ebb since early 2004, the most violent phase of the Darfur genocide. Withdrawals by major humanitarian organizations continue, with a steady erosion of relief capacity. In turn, there are fewer international witnesses to the ethnic crimes that define the conflict in Darfur. Khartoum’s crackdown on journalists traveling to the region has also reduced the means of chronicling the accelerating genocide.

This is the context in which to understand President Omar al-Bashir’s insistence that Khartoum will not allow UN troops into Darfur – indeed, that Darfur doesn’t need UN troops. Asserting that Khartoum’s “experience with UN operations in the world is not encouraging,” al-Bashir went on to declare: “There are sufficient forces in the Sudan from African countries to maintain order and they can provide order. All we need is funding for the African troops.”

It is a political and moral failure of the first order that this mendacity should be the obstacle to deployment of the UN forces needed to protect the collapsing humanitarian operations and vulnerable population. Acquiescence to al-Bashir’s defiance makes a mockery of the world’s “responsibility to protect” civilians in places such as Darfur. This responsibility was a centerpiece of the September 2005 UN World Summit and was unanimously reaffirmed in UN Security Council Resolution 1674 of April 2006.

All of which produces this – not untypical – comment.

So, Eric Reeves, as a proven liar and accessory to mass murder, how do you live with yourself as you continue to peddle the same lies that produce yet more deaths and misery in Sudan? Drugs, I imagine?

A belated New Year’s resolution: never, ever, read the comments threads at CiF.