Frustration with the fragmentation of Darfur’s anti-governnment forces may be creating a new attitude toward the troubled and troubling Sudanese region. The BBC reports today that one former U.N. envoy is accusing Western aid groups of “pandering” to armed rebels. And former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, reacting to growing evidence of violence by rebels and government alike, has declared: “There is a legal definition of genocide and Darfur does not meet that legal standard. The atrocities were horrible but I do not think it qualifies to be called genocide.” Carter is certainly no wimp when it comes to labeling immorality, so his statement deserves further reflection. The language of genocide, as I have argued elsewhere, makes pragmatic approaches to reducing conflict in Darfur more difficult, not easier. Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of the end of the “G” word in the Darfur conversation — and that could be a good thing.
Oct 04 2007