On
Darfur, Araud
Says Council
Divided As on
Syria, Growing
Difference in
Focus
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 15 --
How far down
the UN food
chain Darfur
has
fallen was
shown against
on Wednesday,
when after
Security
Council
president
Gerard Araud
of France read
out a Press
Statement on
the
killing of a
UNAMID
peacekeeper,
the first five
questions
taken were
all about
Syria.
Ultimately
Inner
City Press
asked Araud
about the UN
Peacekeepers
inability to
protect
civilians in
the Kassab
camp and the
Kutub town,
about the
shooting of
students in
Nyala on July
31, and the departure
of envoy
Ibrahim
Gambari,
which the UN belated
confirmed
24 hours after
Inner
City Press reported
and asked
about it.
Araud
began by
saying he's
not sure the
deterioration
is linked to
Gambari's
departure,
which had not
been Inner
City Press'
point. He
went out to
describe a
split in the
Security
Council,
between those
who think
things are
going well in
Darfur, except
that the
government
does not have
money to pay
for a
political
process, and
those who
think there
are human
rights
problems.
Then
Araud turned
back to Syria,
saying that on
that topic too
the Council
is divided,
and on Israel
and Palestine.
But
look at the
difference in
focus and
attention,
between
replacing
Gambari and
replacing Kofi
Annan. The
US is putting
in some energy
on Sudan, but
almost
entirely in
support of its
ally South
Sudan, as we
can report
more on
soon.
25,000
people were
just forced
out
of the Kassab
camp, right
under the
noses of a $1
billion UN
peacekeeping
mission, and
nothing is
said. This is
how far Darfur
has fallen and
been used.
Watch this
site.
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