United States officials, including President George W. Bush, have branded the Darfur situation ?genocide? ? a characterization that rankles with Khartoum, which claims that only a few thousand people have lost their lives in the region as a result of ?tribal disputes? and ?rebel attacks.?
According to Salah Elguneid, Sudan?s Deputy Ambassador to the US, the ?sudden cries? for action to be taken against China because of Darfur, are happening for the ?simple reason? that the word ?genocide? is being used to describe what is essentially a ?tribal conflict over scarce resources.?
?Through this false description of what is happening in Darfur, irresponsible people are sweeping up feelings and as a result China, Sudan?s close ally, is now also in the middle of the storm,? Salah explains.
As the violence has continued in Darfur, with accompanying images of death and destruction, a powerful, vocal and well-funded advocacy campaign with thousands of members has risen to the fore in America, with off-shoots throughout Europe and stronger efforts to involve activists in Africa and other parts of the developing world.
Sudan has repeatedly balked at allowing a significant force of United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur, despite making numerous agreements that it would do so. Khartoum has agreed to a force of between 20,000 and 25, 000 multinational soldiers for Darfur to protect civilians, and also appears to have agreed that the troops be under UN command. The government of Sudan had previously insisted that the proposed peacekeeping force ? agreed to in terms of a special UN resolution ? be made up mainly of African Union troops, that it should function under AU command, and that the UN troops should serve mostly in a logistical capacity and not as ?active? peacekeepers.
An AU contingent of about 7,000 soldiers in Darfur has been unable to secure peace in the region ? largely because the force is overstretched and under-resourced. But Khartoum?s agreement that the peacekeepers be controlled by the UN has opened the way for the troops to be better funded by the international body.
But activists remain skeptical, given Khartoum?s tendency to make agreements ? only to fail to implement them.
?Unless we see real, on-the-ground movement to significantly protect the people of Darfur, I?m sure calls like the one for a boycott of next year?s Olympics in China will get louder in the months ahead,? says Anita Sharma, of the Enough Campaign to end the ?genocide? in Darfur.
Given Khartoum?s apparent intransigence with regard to ending the atrocities, activist attention has shifted to China, because of the Far Eastern power?s strong economic, military and political ties with Sudan and it?s hosting of a high profile global event next year ? the Olympic Games, scheduled to begin in August 2008.
While the calls for an international boycott of the Beijing Olympics are so far only being made by a smattering of American and European politicians, the major advocacy groups around the Darfur crisis have made it clear that they support the increased pressure being brought to bear on China to act as an honest broker in helping to end what the UN has termed the world?s worst humanitarian crisis.
China is Sudan?s most important foreign ally, and is also the country?s major international trade partner. The giant of the Far East has invested heavily in Sudan?s oil industry - financing its oil pipeline, for example - and buys about 400, 000 barrels of Sudanese oil a day. This translates to China purchasing about two-thirds of all the oil produced in Sudan. China also sells weapons and ammunition to Khartoum ? in so doing, say activists, oiling the wheels of war in Darfur and directly supporting what they term ?genocide.?
Beijing has used its veto on the UN Security Council to weaken resolutions aimed at putting pressure on the administration of President Omar al-Bashir to stop the killings in Darfur. China insisted, for example, that Resolution 1706 - which authorized the UN peacekeeping force to protect civilians - be employed only ?with the consent? of Sudan. This led to months of stalling by Khartoum, and an escalation in the violence in Darfur.
Beijing has also condemned US financial sanctions on Sudanese companies designed to pressure al-Bashir with regard to Darfur.
If positive moves to bring peace to Darfur are not witnessed within the next few months, say the activists, there?s a strong possibility that they?ll join the calls for a global boycott of the Chinese Games.
?We want action, not endless agreements,? says Sharma.