China and Darfur

Yesterday afternoon, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas D. Kristof delivered a lecture on the current human rights violations in Sudan and China’s controversial involvement in the continuation of the civil conflict. The New York Times columnist has visited the war-torn region of Darfur in Sudan on several occasions and urges the international community — especially Americans — to focus their attention on providing more aid, including political relief, in hope of ending the genocide.

Kristof began the lecture by presenting a slide show of pictures taken during his visits to the Darfur region. The images depicted scenes of horror and turmoil. With each picture, Kristof related personal accounts from victims and stories of torture, forced slavery, mutilation, rape and murder. He explained that the Janjaweed, an Arab militia supported by the Sudanese government, has been committing genocide against many African tribes due to ethnic differences and conflicts over the scarce primary resources in Darfur.

“You drive around hour after hour and you don’t see live people besides the Janjaweed. Rural parts of Darfur have been completely obliterated. This year alone, 1,000 people a day have been displaced,” Kristof said.

He went on to describe his experiences and observations as a journalist in Darfur. He was particularly angered by the Sudanese government’s support of the Janjaweed and its denial of involvement in the genocide.

“The Sudanese government acknowledges that tribes are burning and people are being killed, but they say it's tribal conflict. However, at the various road blocks and checkpoints, there were Janjaweed militants that were just being waved straight through. This isn’t just tribal warfare, this is government warfare,” Kristof said. Read more >>>>>>>>