Genocide In Darfur

653 Words2 Pages

The root of the conflict that led to genocide in Darfur stems from a conglomerate of problems which involve social, economic and especially ethnic and tribal issues. Most of the blame has been directed towards British colonial policies, and as some would assume that the causation of war would be centered on religious persecution, this simply isn't the case. During the British rule in the latter part of the 19th century, a perpetuating cycle of neglect in the vast southern region of Sudan was quite evident. As they saw fit that it suited their colonial needs, the British deliberately restricted education in the whole region down to one school. With the said purpose to only educate the sons of the chiefs, as they were being conditioned to …show more content…

He states, “Political power both in colonial and post-colonial times has emanated from Khartoum and Khartoum tended to overlook its westernmost border.”(Reyes.1299) Reyes goes on to describe how the British made emphasis on land tenure. Prior to colonial intervention the sultan or Muslim leader would be in charge of allocating land to its followers. As the British stepped in they no longer saw fit to appoint land to individuals but instead allotted the territory to specific ethnic groups, sheer discrimination. Further investigation into Reyes article he expounds even more thoroughly the inequality that was being presented, he states “Tribal groups granted land were said to have dars…Fur and Masalit benefited from such allocations, which formed a basis for their prominence in Darfur in the postcolonial period. Northern Darfurians tended to lack dars.” (Reyes. …show more content…

As time progressed and several brawls with its neighboring country, Chad, ethnic cleansing by the Arab rulers in Khartoum had come into effect and eventually became national policy. Famine was used as a tactic to control and dislocate members from Sudan, especially regarding three key tribes (the Zaghawa, Fur and Masalit). Those that refused to leave the area underwent brutal persecution. From rape and torture to their land and crops being scorched and destroyed. Similarly to the Western ideology of racial supremacy, the Arabs of Sudan (preached from Libya and the Sudanese capital) practiced this method on non-Arabs (Africans) during the 1980s through the 1990s, closing in with the conflict that began in 2003. This was their justification for the ethnic cleansing of their incompetent (from their standpoint) black African Muslim brothers.
As conflict erupted in February 2003, JEM (Justice and Equality Movement), SLA (Sudan Liberation Army), and other rebel groups began to form in response to the government’s support of Janjaweed, an Arab militia. The Janjaweed which were made up mostly of the Masalit tribe served as the forerunner of this racial ideology and continues to be used by the Khartoum. In an Australian review their claims for this uprising stated “The motivation for the initial

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