LENIN'S TOMB

 

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

New Labour's Heart of Darkness. posted by Richard Seymour

According to the Prime Minister, Sudan is the "world's worst humanitarian crisis" today. There is perhaps some justice in this. The Janjaweed militias, despite the government in Khartoum signing up to peace accords, continue to carry out an ethnic cleansing programme. There are millions of Sudanese wasting away in refugee camps while aid is blocked by government forces. As Human Rights Watch notes, Thousands have been slain, tens of thousands raped and brutalized, 1.2 million displaced from their homes, and at least 120,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad as refugees. The response, however, has been rather weak. The Security Council "condemns" atrocities, but does not name the culprits. Jack Straw and Hillary Benn urge "all parties" to the ceasefire to stay their hands. Their language is pathetically equivocal:

We congratulate the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in taking this further step towards a comprehensive peace that will bring an end to decades of conflict in the south of Sudan. We also applaud the role played by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and in particular General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, whose skill in mediating between the parties deserves real praise.

...

Despite the progress made at the peace talks in Naivasha, conflict and instability persist in Sudan. We remain deeply troubled by the serious situation in Darfur. Initial indications are that the new measures for processing visas and travel permits, announced by the Government of Sudan on 20 May, are starting to have an effect on humanitarian access. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. However it remains imperative that the parties to the 8 April ceasefire agreement implement it fully and that the AU-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism deploys as quickly as possible.


Congratulation is not the first gesture one would usually extend to a government busily exterminating many of its people. And one would not talk as if "all parties" to the conflict were on equal moral terms if one were not involved in some attempt at apologetic.

But this is not unusual. After all, during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Labour went so far as to arm Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Rwanda and Uganda - all parties to the conflict. In fact, the great thing about this support was that Britain was arming both sides, the former three countries taking the DRC government's side, while Rwanda and Uganda sided with the rebels. Three million people died in this war, and a large amount of that blood is on British hands. The International Institute of Security Studies in Pretoria thanked the British government for "inflaming the situation by arming both sides", while the Foreign Affairs committee noted that British hawks were being used "in the intervention in the DRC". (Mark Curtis, Web of Deceit, 2003, pp 190-1).

In Sierra Leone, too, the British government contributed to the humanitarian crisis sending Sandline International guerillas, then the Paras in to assist government forces who were often no better than the rebels. Government soldiers were often known as "sobels" because of their criminal proclivities, particularly the way they dressed up like rebels in order to loot towns, butcher the people, steal the booty and even lop off a limb or two. ("Sierra Leone: Peace at Any Price?" in Medicin Sans Frontiere's new book: Fabrice Weissman (ed.), In the Shadow of 'Just Wars', Medicins Sans Frontieres, Hurst and Company, London, 2004). Across Africa, in fact, New Labour has been eagerly exporting arms to governments eager to slaughter their peoples. In 2001, Britain exported £400m in arms to Africa, that "scar on the conscience of the world". Well, the scar deepened in Botswana, Egypt, Eritrea, Morrocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and all the other countries to whom Labour exported arms.

12:55:00 pm | Permalink | Comments thread | | Print | Digg | del.icio.us | reddit | StumbleUpon | diigo it Tweet| Share| Flattr this

Search via Google

Info

Richard Seymour

Richard Seymour's Wiki

Richard Seymour: information and contact

Richard Seymour's agent

RSS

Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

Academia

Storify

Donate

corbyn_9781784785314-max_221-32100507bd25b752de8c389f93cd0bb4

Against Austerity cover

Subscription options

Flattr this

Recent Comments

Powered by Disqus

Recent Posts

Subscribe to Lenin's Tomb
Email:

Lenosphere

Archives

September 2001

June 2003

July 2003

August 2003

September 2003

October 2003

November 2003

December 2003

January 2004

February 2004

March 2004

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

July 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

December 2015

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

Dossiers

Hurricane Katrina Dossier

Suicide Bombing Dossier

Iraqi Resistance Dossier

Haiti Dossier

Christopher Hitchens Dossier

Organic Intellectuals

Michael Rosen

Left Flank

Necessary Agitation

China Miéville

Je Est Un Autre

Verso

Doug Henwood

Michael Lavalette

Entschindet und Vergeht

The Mustard Seed

Solomon's Minefield

3arabawy

Sursock

Left Now

Le Poireau Rouge

Complex System of Pipes

Le Colonel Chabert [see archives]

K-Punk

Faithful to the Line

Jews Sans Frontieres

Institute for Conjunctural Research

The Proles

Infinite Thought

Critical Montages

A Gauche

Histologion

Wat Tyler

Ken McLeod

Unrepentant Marxist

John Molyneux

Rastî

Obsolete

Bureau of Counterpropaganda

Prisoner of Starvation

Kotaji

Through The Scary Door

Historical Materialism

1820

General, Your Tank is a Powerful Vehicle

Fruits of our Labour

Left I on the News

Organized Rage

Another Green World

Climate and Capitalism

The View From Steeltown

Long Sunday

Anti-dialectics

Empire Watch [archives]

Killing Time [archives]

Ob Fusc [archives]

Apostate Windbag [archives]

Alphonse [archives]

Dead Men Left [dead, man left]

Bat [archives]

Bionic Octopus [archives]

Keeping the Rabble in Line [archives]

Cliffism [archives]

Antiwar

Antiwar.com

Antiwar.blog

Osama Saeed

Dahr Jamail

Angry Arab

Desert Peace

Abu Aardvark

Juan Cole

Baghdad Burning

Collective Lounge

Iraqi Democrats Against the Occupation

Unfair Witness [archive]

Iraq Occupation & Resistance Report [archive]

Socialism

Socialist Workers Party

Socialist Aotearoa

Globalise Resistance

Red Pepper

Marxists

New Left Review

Socialist Review

Socialist Worker

World Socialist Website

Left Turn

Noam Chomsky

South Africa Keep Left

Monthly Review

Morning Star

Radical Philosophy

Blogger
blog comments powered by Disqus