The Arab League has been pretty quick {in comparative terms} to vote on a resolution favoring a "no fly zone " in Lybia and I support it , but has yet to make a similar move when it comes to the well recorded atrocities committed against civilians in Darfur Sudan .
http://www.sudantribune.com/Arab-League ... rfur,38263Arab League SG says Darfur conflict ’exaggerated’ compared to Libya
March 12, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa said that people cannot draw comparisons between the situation in Libya and that of Darfur which lies in Western Sudan.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa looks on before the opening of a extraordinary Arab League meeting to discuss a response to the crisis in Libya, including the possible imposition of a no-fly zone, on March 12, 2011 in Cairo (AFP)
The remarks came as the pan-Arab body today adopted a resolution calling on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose a Non-Fly Zone over Libya to prevent Muammar Gaddafi from using his air force to crush the revolt by rebels wanting to topple his regime.
Moussa in a response to a question posed by a journalist over why the Arab League is supporting this unusual measure in Libya but not in Darfur where the United Nations said that more than 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million displaced.
"The situation in Darfur is a result of foreign intervention and there are exaggerations [about the gravity of situation in Darfur]," Moussa said at the press conference.
The secretary general pointed out that there are peace talks underway and dialogue with regard to Darfur to reach a resolution accepted by all sides.
He added that the Arab decided that "serious crimes and great violations" committed by the government of Muammar Gaddafi against his people had stripped it of legitimacy.
The foreign minister of Oman Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, who chaired today’s meeting, in response to a separate question said that the magnitude situation in Libya has not occurred anywhere in the Arab world hence warranting a strong response.
Many critics in the past have said that Arab governments have been in denial over the Darfur crisis since it broke out in 2003 and instead blamed the West for over-blowing the conflict to cover for their crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Arab governments are generally reluctant to openly criticize one another for human right abuses committed in their countries as they did with Libya. However, observers say that extensive media coverage on Libyan revolt and pressure from the streets forced them to take this extraordinary measure.
The Arab League has rallied behind the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir when the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes he allegedly orchestrated in Darfur.
Moussa has sought to convince Sudan to setup local tribunals for Darfur suspects but Khartoum ended up brushing off his initiative.
In 2009. Moussa said that crimes in Darfur are different from those committed in Gaza by Israel.
“What is happening in Darfur is a semi-civil war and its responsibility is shared by many parties” the Arab League Secretary General said at the time.
“The arrest warrant [by the ICC] is against a sitting president but what is occurring in Palestinian is a military occupation responsible for all that is committed on the ground” he added.
As with Darfur the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) referred the situation in Libya to the ICC last month putting Gaddafi in the sight of prosecutors at the Hague tribunal.
Moussa said that they have not been contacted by the ICC with regards to Libya as of yet. However, a source at the court told Sudan Tribune that they communicated with the Secretary General’s office since a week ago.
Today’s decision was taken by majority and not by consensus though some Arab countries that initially opposed the resolution ended up agreeing to it such as Yemen, Algeria and Sudan.
This week the Sudanese president voiced rejection to any “foreign” military intervention in Libya, warning that his unrest-hit neighbor has become “a stockroom of weapons” and could endanger the entire region.
He added that he rejected any foreign intervention in Libya so it would not become “a new Iraq.”
This week the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) representing states in the Arabian peninsula urged the imposition of a NFZ and said that the Libyan regime lost its legitimacy.
Western leaders including U.S President Barack Obama have raised the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent pro-Gaddafi forces from continuing air incursions against rebel forces which wrestled control of many towns in eastern Libya, including Benghazi.
The summit of the EU’s 27 member state agreed on Friday to "examine all necessary options" to protect the civilian population in Libya.
Despite this many European countries as well as the U.S. appear hesitant to apply the No-Fly zone over concern for appearing as invading another Muslim country.
The African Union Peace and Security Council on Friday expressed “deep concern” over the crisis in Libya, but declared rejection to any form of “foreign military intervention".
What do you think ? {cayda inaga daaya }
