Save Darfur!

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Arrian
Serb,

In the case of Kosovo/Serbia, I think our intervention was well-intentioned, but poorly thought-out and executed. The idea was to protect civilians who were being "ethnically cleansed." The problem, it appears, was that there wasn't enough research done concerning what was really going on (KLA, who they? ). That was a mistake. I was personally against military action in Kosovo. I wrote a paper in highschool arguing against it.

That being said, I do see differences between the images you posted. I just don't see any point in discussing them, because you will dismiss those differences as immaterial.

As for Iraq, that's well-covered ground. No need to have that discussion again.

-Arrian

Arrian Im not going to argue with you now about Kosovo. Dont take that for agreement, or concession.

[Arrian]

That's fine, LotM. I don't really want to have the discussion right now anyway. Let's consider all rights reserved

-Arrian

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Serb

Thanks to you there are no NATIVE Serbian population in Kosovo NOW.

"Kosovo: UN envoy calls on Serbia to end boycott policy in province

10 April 2006 – The United Nations administrator of Kosovo today called on Serbia to reverse its calls to ethnic Serbs to boycott institutions in the Albanian-majority Serbian province which the world body has run ever since the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 after grave rights abuses.

“I am deeply disturbed by Belgrade’s continued policy to urge Kosovo Serbs to boycott and now to leave the institutions in Kosovo,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Søren Jessen-Petersen told a two-day workshop on the new ‘Strategy and Action Plan on Communities and Returns for Kosovo’ in Pristina, the provincial capital.

“We are here today to lay the foundation for return. Belgrade’s policies work in the opposite direction. I appeal to Belgrade to act in the interest of the people of Kosovo,” he added.

The return of Serbs who fled Kosovo, where Albanians outnumber other minorities 9-1, and the establishment of confidence between the communities are considered essential steps for restoring stability to and deciding the final status of the province.

It is vital that “the painful chapter of displacement must be closed for the families, for the society and for Kosovo,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen said, calling for a “rights-based approach” that allows free and informed decisions for all displaced people.

Actions and initiatives must instil confidence into each and every person, irrespective of ethnicity, to remain in Kosovo or to return to Kosovo in safety and dignity, he added.

He stressed the importance of addressing the key concerns of the displaced in such areas as their own personal and family security, housing, access to commercial and agricultural property, jobs, education, healthcare and access to water and electricity.

He thanked Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Çeku, who inaugurated the workshop along with him, for his unequivocal support to solving the plight of displaced Kosovars, particularly the special needs of minorities who want to return to a peaceful life.

Final status talks have already begun with delegations from Kosovo and Serbia meeting in Vienna under UN auspices to discuss decentralization. Independence and autonomy are among the options. Serbia rejects independence."

[Guardian]

The Sudanese government has launched a new military assault in southern Darfur, according to a leading human rights group, attacking villages and displacing thousands of civilians before a deadline for the conclusion of peace talks. The report comes as the actor George Clooney has added his voice to calls for action to stop the violence. He joined US senators in Washington yesterday to call for more international efforts to stop the violence. The actor and his father recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Darfur. Human Rights Watch said the Sudanese military had used planes and helicopter gunships to attack several villages. The New York-based group believes the Sudanese authorities may be attempting to consolidate territory before the end of the talks in Nigeria.

I say, this sounds more like the actions of a terror organization than a legitimate government. Personally, I fail to see any good reasons why we should listen to any government allowing such atrocities to be committed against its own people.

Last month in a village on the Chad-Sudan border, I interviewed a man who told how a Sudanese militia had grabbed his baby boy, Ahmed Haroun, thrown Ahmed to the ground and shot him in the chest.

This is the kind of thing we're dealing with here. Yet some people say we have no right to act. If that's international law, then international law can go to hell as far as I'm concerned.


Oh, and by the way, the quotes are taken from the news section of the Save Darfur web site (http://www.savedarfur.org/news/latestnews).