United States Department of State (Washington, DC)
24 June 2004
Washington, DC — Secretary Powell to Visit Region, Meet with Sudanese Officials
By Tara Boyle
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The question of whether genocide is taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan is "not a matter of debate" for the U.S. government, a senior official in the Bush administration said June 24, it is merely a matter of confirmation.
Pierre-Richard Prosper, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, told members of Congress that U.S. officials are trying to gain access to Darfur so that they can confirm definitively that genocide is occurring.
"We are collecting all the information that we can to make a conclusive determination, so we're prepared to call it as we see it. And again, one of the things that we want to do...is to get in and do a bit of fact-finding, because once we pronounce [that genocide is taking place], it's official and it's final," he explained.
"And we're prepared to do it," he added.
Prosper's comments came during testimony before the House Subcommittee on Africa, immediately after an announcement by the State Department that Secretary Powell will travel to Darfur and meet with Sudanese officials following next week's NATO summit in Turkey.
According to estimates by international humanitarian organizations, at least 1.2 million people in Darfur have been forced from their homes and scores have been terrorized or killed by Arab militias known as the Jingaweit. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has warned that at least 320,000 people will likely die in the coming months from hunger and illness as a result of the violence.
Prosper said in his testimony that the United States is working to determine the guilt of seven alleged Jingaweit commanders and coordinators and those who support them. The U.S. has also warned Sudanese officials that they could face targeted sanctions -- including travel restrictions and the seizure of assets -- if they do not work to end the violence in Darfur.
"We're looking at this. We're looking to see what we as an administration can do. We are also looking to see what the United Nations can and should do in this matter. ... Our mind is open because when we take this action, we'll want to make sure that we do so properly and effectively," Prosper said.
In addition to the crisis in Darfur, the hearing also addressed the question of whether former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who is currently in exile in Nigeria, should be handed over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone to face a war crimes indictment.
Prosper said that the international community should "speed up the timetable" for turning Taylor over to the Court, and that he has urged Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to do so. The United States and the transitional government of Liberia also have agreed to work together on a "joint strategy" for dealing with Taylor, he said.
Howard Jeter, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria who also testified at the hearing, offered a different perspective on Nigeria's decision to offer exile to Taylor. President Obasanjo made the asylum offer to Taylor to prevent further violence in Liberia, Jeter said, and should be lauded for his actions, he said.
Jeter also said he was not concerned that Taylor still remains a threat to Liberia. "It's my understanding that Taylor is pretty isolated and pretty miserable," he said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2004 United States Department of State. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
