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Topic: Darfur food rations cut in half
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scribblet
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4706
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posted 28 April 2006 12:48 PM
quote: Originally posted by RookieActivist: That's a tricky question, but I think the real problem right now is just a lack of aid. We don't need to invade to increase aid. So Harper just got a $4 billion dollar windfall from the US? Maybe half of that should go to Sudan?
Whoa, not a bad idea, but I doubt the softwood industry would go for that - but 2B ? I'd go for increased aid from that money, but how do we ensure it gets to the needy and not into the hands of the wrong people? Always a problem, and who would distribute it and ensure that it got there - the U.N. ? Considering how corrupt the U.N. is that might not be a good idea. The U.N., needs to get off its collective butt and do something right here - it needs to go in, stop the killings and distribute food and medicine.
From: Canada | Registered: Nov 2003
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Pride for Red Dolores
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 12072
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posted 01 May 2006 07:42 PM
Scriblet- I'm all for getting off of "the collective butt" as you put it, but the UN is what its members make of it. Depending on the actions proposed, the general assembly or the Security council have to agree with it. The problem with that is that A)states will do what is in their own interest and block that which is not-i.e politics B) memebers have to pay for aid and/or troops. Personally, I'm for sending over troops for a well equiped, well funded mission- but this is a gigantic pipe dream. Canada has ( as I understand it) most of resources and its troops commited in Afganistan.The US is in Iraq, and according to]MADRE, they have been getting info about terrorists from the Sudanese government, producing a conflict of interest. . The other big power- China, has been making deals for oil with the federal government there : "The UN Security Council is divided on Sudan because different member states have divergent interests. Russia and China have often supported the Sudanese government due to their economic interests--the Chinese, for instance, import 5% of their oil from Sudan." (HRW-see coming link) . Russia apparently has good business selling the Sudanese army weapons.As for the Arab league, according to Human Rights Watch, due to the fact that Sudan is close to various important memebers- like Egypt for example, they've done little apart from acknowledge something bad has been going on, and little else.As for the African Union force that is there, African armies are notorious in being undertrained, underfunded- I've read stories of some African soldiers showing up at UN missions with little more than the clothing on their backs. Public attention from this genoicide-i.e mass organized extermination campaign- has wavered, and this I believe is the reason that governments and in extention the UN (vice versa)has been agonisingly slow (3 years, little done).If it's not an election issue, politicans and governments won't move on it, won't put resources to it- as reflected in the non-appearance of promised funds attests- the same thing happened with Rwanda, and look what happened..and now this conflict has spread into Chad, making me wonder if this will blow out into a regional conflict.I think giving to the UN refugee agency and others present there would be a good thin to do, and I urge all of you to do so, and to urge your friends as well. [ 01 May 2006: Message edited by: Pride for Red Dolores ] [ 01 May 2006: Message edited by: Pride for Red Dolores ]
From: Montreal | Registered: Feb 2006
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