Nick Smith, September 12, 2004

In a past column, I praised the Administration’s progress in Sudan. Continuous diplomacy by the President and Secretary Colin Powell’s personal involvement had brought peace after 18 years of war between the Arab Muslims in the North and Christian Blacks in the South. Yet, I also noted the separate and thorny issue of Sudanese government suppression of Muslim Blacks in the western province of Darfur.

Darfur is a historic crossroads for trade between the West African Sahel and the Nile Valley. English explorer Samuel Baker, pushing his way up the Nile River in the 1870’s, met rich caravans coming from Darfur. Recently, the Sudanese government has sought to curtail traditional Dafuri autonomy and Zingaweit Arab militia have tried to push people off their ancestral lands. Traditional homelands have been depopulated as militia pillaged, raped and burned their way through Dafuri villages. 1.1 million people have fled to Sudan and over 200,000 more to borders areas in Chad. Amongst refugees in Chad and displaced populations in Sudan, up to 39 percent of children under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition. Hepatitis C and other diseases are taking a daily toll.

The American people, in typical generosity, have led in the humanitarian effort in the region. Over $194 million of official U.S. funds have been spent on the Darfur emergency, not to mention the heroic efforts of American private voluntary agencies like World Vision and Care. U.S. surplus commodities have stocked World Food Program’s relief feeding programs. Humanitarian access to the trouble region has improved; food and medicine pipelines are in better shape.

But the emergency is far from over. As Secretary Powell has said, we bring relief to suffering Sudanese so they can return to their homes, plant their farms and begin a new life. The Secretary insisted that the Sudanese government must stop Zingaweit depredations on Darfuri people. Though security is a Sudanese government responsibility, we should not depend on their good will. Recently, Sudanese forces closed camps to humanitarian workers as they conducted security sweeps; Zingaweit still raid in some areas. More African Union monitors and troops must deploy in camps and Darfuri homelands to keep Sudanese forces from returning to old predatory ways.

At our House International Relations Committee, I have testified on behalf of a greater international response to the Darfur emergency. The European Union, which has just announced a $22 million grant, must quickly ratchet up its engagement on the ground. In this most inaccessible of regions, recent rains have cut rudimentary roads, requiring costly air transport of food commodities. The European Union can help keep the flow of food and medicine coming. I am please to note that, as I recommended back in March, Libya is now providing a corridor for humanitarian relief. The first overland shipment of food started from Benghazi last month.

As the UN Security Council reviews the situation, it should keep pressure on the Sudanese government. Meanwhile, African leaders, at peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria must realize that the Sudanese government’s claim to sovereignty cannot override the Darfuri people’s need for humanitarian care and a secure environment. Of this the international community, with the African Union in forefront, must be the effective guarantor.

Congressman Nick Smith, a Republican, represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District, which includes Battle Creek and the counties of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Calhoun, and Washtenaw in south-central Michigan.