C L O S E R

Darfur!

Posted on October 24th, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News.

Ja, juist ja, Darfur met een uitroepteken. Jan Pronk heeft nogal wat teweeg gebracht met zijn recente uitspraken. Het mooie gevolg zou zijn dat Darfur toch maar eens wat meer in de belangstelling komt te staan, maar de publiciteit gaat toch vooral over Jan Pronk zelf. Voor wie echt wat meer wil weten, verwijs ik bij deze even naar Gin van weblog The Vault. Haar stuk over Darfur staat ook op Sargasso:

Mocht u het willen weten, Darfur ligt in Oost-Afrika. Er is oorlog. Al vanaf 2003. Er zijn honderdduizenden mensen op de vlucht geslagen. Er zijn tot nu toe ongeveer 350.000 doden gevallen. Naar schatting uiteraard, want wie weet dat soort dingen nou precies? Of liever gezegd, wie wil dat soort dingen nou weten? Net zoals niemand wil weten waar het conflict nou eigenlijk écht over gaat. De media houden hardnekkig vast aan het verhaaltje dat Arabische milities de niet-Arabische bevolking wegjaagt. En dat is wel heel simpel gesteld. Want Arabische en Afrikaanse Darfurianen verschillen, anders dan in taalkundig opzicht, nauwelijks van elkaar: allen zijn moslim, zwart van huidskleur en negroïde. De culturele, raciale en religieuze identiteiten die nu een belangrijke rol spelen in het conflict zijn allerminst voor de hand liggend maar kennen hun oorsprong in de raciale staat. En daar ligt de sleutel tot de oplossing. Als eenmaal erkend wordt dat de Arabische racistische ideologie van de Sudanese overheid de reden en motor achter het conflict is, dan kan als tweede stap misschien het woord genocide geherintroduceerd worden.

Op Sargasso vindt u ook een link naar een paper met meer achtergrondinformatie over het conflict. Interessant is ook het artikel van Karin Willemse in ISIM Review 15. In ‘Darfur in War: The Politicization of Ethnic Identities’ (PDF) besteedt zij niet alleen aandacht aan het proces waardoor de strijd in Darfur etnisch gelabeld wordt, maar ook aan de positie van vrouwen daarbij. Het woord genocide kan daar in één adem genoemd worden met gendercide: met name vrouwen worden systematisch aangevallen, verkracht, mishandeld, enzovoorts.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| dossiers – Özdemir / Het is nuttiger om te zeggen: Laten we samen kijken hoe de islam vrouwvriendelijker kan

Posted on October 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Internal Debates, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| dossiers – Özdemir / Het is nuttiger om te zeggen: Laten we samen kijken hoe de islam vrouwvriendelijker kan

Posted on October 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Internal Debates, Multiculti Issues.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| overigeartikelen – Milli Görüs / ’Ik ben trots op het woord fundamentalist’

Posted on October 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands.

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Protected: Trouw, deVerdieping| overigeartikelen – Milli Görüs / ’Ik ben trots op het woord fundamentalist’

Posted on October 24th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Islam in the Netherlands.

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TROS Radar: Appie Halal

Posted on October 23rd, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

In Tros Radar vanavond aandacht voor halal vlees in de supermarkt. Uit de uitzending blijkt dat het vlees bij de Albert Heijn dat als regulier vlees wordt verkocht, ook op de islamitisch rituele manier wordt geslacht. En dan als regulier wordt verkocht.

De slachthuizen die in het item aan bod kwamen, slachten halal. Uit één van de gesprekken blijkt dat er negen personen rondlopen om dat te controleren. Tijdens de slacht mag er slechts één toeschouwer aanwezig zijn. Bij de slachtingen dient ook iemand van de VWA aanwezig zijn. Misschien heb ik het gemist, maar wat is het commentaar van de VWA hierop? Andere vraag, wie betaalt de aanwezigheid van een VWA-controleur of doen zij hun werk gratis? Als de slachter het betaalt, is de slachting dan goedkoper dan regulier slachten?
Het issue van wel of niet verdoven is natuurlijk vanuit het oogpunt van welzijn voor dieren erg belangrijk. De Partij voor de Dieren komt daarom ook met een protest-actie. Nu heeft iedereen een beetje zitten slapen denk ik aangezien al veel langer bekend is dat halal geslacht vlees en ook shechita-vlees (vlees volgens de joodse rite geslacht) in de vrije verkoop komt. Bij de joodse slacht gaat dat bijvoorbeeld om het vlees dat niet gebruikt wordt of dat ervoor is afgekeurd.

UPDATE: Reactie Albert Heijn:

(more…)

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Jamestown.org – Jihadis Provide Internet Training for Female Mujahideen

Posted on October 22nd, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Jihadis Provide Internet Training for Female Mujahideen
Jihadis Provide Internet Training for Female Mujahideen

By Abdul Hameed Bakier
The use of female suicide bombers by Islamist militant groups in countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Afghanistan and Indian Kashmir has exceeded the traditional constraints that Salafi-Jihadi ideology imposes on women. Observers of jihadi cyber activities have noticed an increase in the number of websites dedicated to mujahidat (female mujahideen), linked either directly or ideologically to al-Qaeda. The physical and spiritual preparation of the mujahidat has recently spread to many jihadi websites. (more…)

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Four Stone Hearth – The Anthropology Blog Carnival

Posted on October 21st, 2006 by .
Categories: Blogosphere.

Four Stone Hearth – The Anthropology Blog Carnival
What is the Four Stone Hearth?

The Fourth Stone Hearth is a blog carnival that specializes in anthropology. Anthropology is the study of humankind, throughout all times and places. This discourse focuses primarily on four lines of research:

* socio-cultural anthropology
* bio-physical anthropology
* archaeology
* linguistic anthropology

Each one of these subfields represent a stone in our hearth, a blog carnival aims to publish content from all aspects of the blogosphere.

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Hirsi Ali on owls and ostrichs

Posted on October 21st, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Multiculti Issues.

In the German daily Die Welt an essay (in German) by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. In this essay she states that if we want integration to succeed, we must be tough on immigration. A false tolerance (as practiced by the ostrichs) that tolerates the repressive side of Islam should not be allowed. She thinks it ostrich politics towards the so-called ‘prada-islam’ (girls who were very hip clothes combined with fashionable headscarves) is misleading. The problems with Muslims nowadays are not just temporarily and do not go away with time. This ostrichs should listen more to the owls who recognize that not all Muslims will take part in an European future based upon European values (freedom and tolerance). These owls cannot and do not ignore the totalitarian consequences of the Islamist movement. The owls fear that the false tolerance will lead to a clash between the extreme right movement and the islamist movement. She states that allowing more and more immigrants from Islamic countries is detrimental for those people that both the owls and the ostrichs want to protect: women and children.

Since most people will agree that women’s rights should be protected, her plea sounds good and in my opinion she certainly has some relevant points but in the end her plea might be counterproductive for the women she want’s to protect.

(more…)

6 comments.

[fikra] – Blogging Tunisia: ban, censorship and more censorship… فكرة

Posted on October 20th, 2006 by .
Categories: Blogosphere.

Sami Ben Gharbia from [fikra] فكرة has written an interesting blog entry about the possibilities and impossibilities of blogging in/about Tunisia for Global Voices: Blogging Tunisia: ban, censorship and more censorship…

Sami Ben Gharbia is a Tunesian-Dutch man who has fled from Tunisia in 1998 and lives in The Netherlands as political refugee. He has written an e-book about his story of fleeing Tunisia, crossing Africa and the Middle East, to reach Europe and get asylum: Borj Erroumi XL

3 comments.

Saudis. Don't mention the war

Posted on October 19th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues.

One of the best shows ever is Fawlty Towers’ The Germans. In that episode Basil Fawlty goes at great lenght to avoid the topic of the second world war while he has german guests in his hotel:

Basil Fawlty says to Polly in conspiritorial toens “Don’t mention the war. I did it once but I think I got away with it” (which he delivers to his off-screen wife Connie Booth who plays the chambermaid who in effect runs the hotel)

He returns to the dining room and the older German says “Please stop mentioning the war, you’re upsetting the girl” (who is in tears)

Fawlty says “You started it” and then the rebuff “No we didn’t” from the German triggers the line

wait for it

“Yes you did – you invaded Poland” (cheers and applause!!!!)

I had to think about that scene while reading Gender Relations, Sex and Perversion: The Dark Underside of Saudi Arabia at SAFspace with an interesting account of her stay in Saudi Arabia:

One of the puzzles that arise out of the Muslim’s obsession with modesty is that in a rather subverse manner it breeds an over-sexualized, perverse society. Women wear the veil and stick close to home, and yet Saudi society places the imperative on women to observe modesty, to keep themselves in check so that men don’t have to do so. Well, how far will we go? There are parts of Medina where young men with gelled hair and tight shirts stand about idly and whistle at any black veil that walks by. Sadly, the only body parts visible are the eyes. So what must we do? Hide ourselves away from sight lest the men, God forbid, find themselves unable to control their insatiable urges?

This strange contradiction, a society that has become oversexualised by banning all kinds of possible references to sex (with the burden on the shoulders of women), brings disgust and fascination: (more…)

0 comments.

Saudis. Don’t mention the war

Posted on October 19th, 2006 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues.

One of the best shows ever is Fawlty Towers’ The Germans. In that episode Basil Fawlty goes at great lenght to avoid the topic of the second world war while he has german guests in his hotel:

Basil Fawlty says to Polly in conspiritorial toens “Don’t mention the war. I did it once but I think I got away with it” (which he delivers to his off-screen wife Connie Booth who plays the chambermaid who in effect runs the hotel)

He returns to the dining room and the older German says “Please stop mentioning the war, you’re upsetting the girl” (who is in tears)

Fawlty says “You started it” and then the rebuff “No we didn’t” from the German triggers the line

wait for it

“Yes you did – you invaded Poland” (cheers and applause!!!!)

I had to think about that scene while reading Gender Relations, Sex and Perversion: The Dark Underside of Saudi Arabia at SAFspace with an interesting account of her stay in Saudi Arabia:

One of the puzzles that arise out of the Muslim’s obsession with modesty is that in a rather subverse manner it breeds an over-sexualized, perverse society. Women wear the veil and stick close to home, and yet Saudi society places the imperative on women to observe modesty, to keep themselves in check so that men don’t have to do so. Well, how far will we go? There are parts of Medina where young men with gelled hair and tight shirts stand about idly and whistle at any black veil that walks by. Sadly, the only body parts visible are the eyes. So what must we do? Hide ourselves away from sight lest the men, God forbid, find themselves unable to control their insatiable urges?

This strange contradiction, a society that has become oversexualised by banning all kinds of possible references to sex (with the burden on the shoulders of women), brings disgust and fascination: (more…)

0 comments.

ISIM Review – Shades of Islamism

Posted on October 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: [Online] Publications, Important Publications.

ISIM Publications ISIM Review #18: Shades of Islamism

ISIM has released it’s 18th issue of ISIM Review; the last one I have worked on albeit my role is very minor in this one. Since June Mathijs Pelkmans is the new editor of the ISIM Review. The main theme of this issue is shades of islamism covering a wide range of topics regarding several strands of islamism. Again, a must-read-issue of ISIM Review (although I admit I’m not very objective).

Shades of Islamism

• Islamists and US Foreign Policy / John L. Esposito
• Islamic Activism and Democratization / Wendy Asbeek Brusse & Jan Schoonenboom
• Islamist-Leftist Cooperation in the Arab World / Jillian Schwedler & Janine A. Clark
• The State in Islamist Thought / Irfan Ahmad
• The “Humanity” of Radical Jihad / Jenna Reinbold
• Re-reading al-Qaeda: Writings of Yusuf al-Ayiri / Roel Meijer
• Liberal Islam: Between Texts and its Modern Condition / Abdulkader Tayob
• Mohammad Khatami: The Philosopher President / Farzin Vahdat

(more…)

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Magharebia.com – Co-producer of “Ramadan Primetime” discusses anti-terrorist television shows during Ramadan (Magharebia.com)

Posted on October 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Co-producer of “Ramadan Primetime” discusses anti-terrorist television shows during Ramadan (Magharebia.com)
Co-producer of “Ramadan Primetime” discusses anti-terrorist television shows during Ramadan

13/10/2006

Souheila Al-Jadda, a journalist and producer, talks to Magharebia about Ramadan programming, specifically the emergence of anti-terrorism serials, explaining their role in promoting peace and tolerance.

By Farah Kinani for Magharebia in Washington – 13/10/06

[File] Al-Jadda says Ramadan television series can promote peace and tolerance.

Souheila Al-Jadda co-produced “Ramadan Primetime”, a 30-minute documentary about specially-crafted Ramadan primetime programming shown on dozens of Arabic television channels.

Magharebia: Why is Ramadan starting to be related to anti-terror serials?

Souheila Al-Jadda: I believe that many Arab governments are realising they need to take a more proactive role in warning the public about terrorism. Part of their interest is security-related and another part is about public awareness. These serials reflect reality. Screenwriters are also interested in touching upon the social, political and international issues of today that affect Arabs. There is a desire by governments to fund such programmes, as many are state-funded, and there is also a desire by the media itself to touch upon these issues, which are part of Arab society. (more…)

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Magharebia.com – Moroccan bloggers discuss politics, tolerance and good neighboring (Magharebia.com)

Posted on October 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates.

Moroccan bloggers discuss politics, tolerance and good neighboring (Magharebia.com)
Moroccan bloggers discuss politics, tolerance and good neighboring

11/10/2006

Bloggers talk about the 2007 elections in Morocco, tolerance in Islam and between neighbors.

[File] Cherif would like to see Muslims more open to the “other”

Tolerance was a central theme of bloggers this week.

Moroccan blogger The View from Fes notes David Tolédano, secretary general of the Israeli community in Rabat, spoke about the unique relationship Morocco has with the Jewish community and “praised the kingdom’s efforts to achieve development in various fields” on Yom Kippur (October 1st).

“Our country will always remain an example of co-existence between Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and a land of tolerance where the faithful can freely and respectfully worship,” Samir quoted Tolédano as saying.

In his post “L’Islam: Tolérant ou intolérant – Mustapha CHERIF”, Citoyen Hmida advised everybody, particularly radical Muslims, to read the cited book and meditate on its message.

Cherif is an Algerian Islamic scholar and a philosopher who tries “to answer the question of whether Islam is closed or open to the ‘other,” explained the Moroccan blogger, adding “revisiting Muslim thinkers, from Ibn Rochd to … Al Ghazali …, the author proves the openness that characterised Muslim intelligentsia during its period of glory”. (more…)

0 comments.

De weg naar de hel…

Posted on October 17th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

…is geplaveid met goede bedoelingen. Goede bedoelingen die zitten er ongetwijfeld achter het CNV-plan om een christelijke feestdag in te ruilen voor een islamitische. Net zoals bij de Shari’a gedachte van Donner, hadden ze dit misschien even moeten overleggen met moslimorganisaties. Dan hadden ze ook de consequenties kunnen overzien. Het is sowieso vrij lastig om bijvoorbeeld het Suikerfeest vast te stellen; als moslims het daar zelf niet over eens kunnen worden moet de Nederlandse overheid dat dan maar gaan bepalen? Wat te denken over de angst van de tsunami van islamisering? Toch zit er wel iets in, alleen het plan gaat niet ver genoeg. (more…)

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Expatica – No trace of Samir A. terror suspects on seized guns

Posted on October 16th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Expatica -  No trace of Samir A. terror suspects on seized guns

13 October 2006

AMSTERDAM — In a last-minute blow to the prosecution’s case, forensics tests have failed to find any incriminating evidence on the weapons that allegedly belonged to the suspected terror network of Samir A.

One of A.’s lawyers made the claim and a spokesman for the public prosecution office (OM) confirmed the statement on Friday.

Police found the guns last month in a communal cellar of several apartment homes in The Hague.

Soumaya S. — the 23-year-old wife of one of the convicted members of the Hofstadgroep, Nouriddin el F. — was living in the apartment building.

The public prosecution suspects the guns belonged to the alleged terror network of Samir A.

A. — who has twice been acquitted on terrorism charges — will appear in court again on Monday on charges relating to the Piranha investigation. (more…)

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Expatica – Turkish youths turning to radical Islam: terror report

Posted on October 16th, 2006 by .
Categories: Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Expatica -  Turkish youths turning to radical Islam: terror report

16 October 2006

AMSTERDAM — The continued radicalisation of especially young Muslims remains concerning, the national anti-terrorism co-ordination office NCTb said on Monday.

The NCTb also said it was “remarkable” that a rising number of Turkish youths were finding their way into networks of radical Muslims prepared to use violence against western society. (more…)

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Allochtonen Weblog : Subsidiebeleid gemeente Amsterdam pakt slecht uit voor zelforganisaties van zwakste groepen

Posted on October 15th, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

Enige tijd geleden alweer was Tariq Ramadan in Rotterdam tgv de islam-debatten. Samen met enkele andere wetenschappers was ik bij enkele van de bijeenkomsten. Hoewel kritisch over de opzet van die islamdebatten, vroegen we ons toen toch wel af of het beleid van Rotterdam (dat als hard gekenmerkt werd) nu zoveel slechter was als dat van Amsterdam (dat als soft gekenmerkt werd). Het idee was dat de stedelijke infrastructuur voor stadsgerichte, wijk- en buurtgerichte organisaties in Rotterdam veel sterker was en beter geschikt was om tot een gebalanceerde praktijk te komen dan in Amsterdam. Er waren, vooral naar aanleiding van die islamdebatten, zoveel signalen van allerlei activiteiten in wijken die in Rotterdam gemakkelijk hun weg konden vinden naar de gemeente en de stedelijke organisaties (en in Amsterdam juist zo weinig) dat we alle kritiek op de daadwerkelijke praktijk in Rotterdam toch wat voorzichtiger wilden benaderen. Met andere woorden: het discours in Rotterdam was wellicht hard, maar de praktijk softer en in Amsterdam was het discours softer, maar de praktijk harder. Dat was maar een idee dat we niet echt hard konden maken op basis van onderzoek.

Ewoud Butter op zijn Allochtonen Weblog bericht nu over een onderzoek van Uitermark en Steenbergen die dat vage idee wel handen en voeten geeft:

Allochtonen Weblog : Subsidiebeleid gemeente Amsterdam pakt slecht uit voor zelforganisaties van zwakste groepen
Subsidiebeleid gemeente Amsterdam pakt slecht uit voor zelforganisaties van zwakste groepen

Het diversiteitsbeleid dat eind jaren ’90 door de gemeente Amsterdam is gevoerd, heeft desastreuze gevolgen gehad voor migrantenorganisaties en –gemeenschappen met een geringe interne cohesie en een beperkt vermogen om zelfstandig lucratieve subsidierelaties met de gemeente aan te gaan. Vooral voor veel Marokkaanse zelforganisaties is het beleid fataal geweest. Dat concluderen Justus Uitermark en Frank van Steenbergen deze week in het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Sociologie. Het artikel vormt een onderbouwing voor het eerder door Justus Uitermark gepubliceerde artikel Hoe Rotterdam de boel wel bij elkaar houdt.

0 comments.

At your service…

Posted on October 15th, 2006 by .
Categories: Blogosphere.

A must read on the web is, for a long time already (at least in terms of the internet) Abu Aardvark’s blog. You can also read his interesting observations at Qahwa Sada now, which might well be on its way to become a must-read-on-the-web as well.

Qahwa Sada aims to be a forum open to high quality work from all perspectives – no methodological or ideological litmus tests.  I want high quality, original, and insightful contributions, full stop.  I fully expect to post many contributions with which I don’t agree – so I suppose it’s worth adding a disclaimer of some kind that each author’s posts represent her or his own views and not my own, and that each author takes full responsibility for her or his arguments and evidence.  Which is as it should be, right?

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Asharq Alawsat – Speak No Evil: Muslim Experts Sound Off Over the Ongoing ‘Tash’ Controversy

Posted on October 15th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates.

Asharq Alawsat By Huda al Saleh:

Regarding the role of mosques, and the various preachers who participated in rekindling the recent controversy, Muhammad al-Mahmud believes the mosque is controlled through the exploitation of its symbolic holiness and that the power of religious reformation or progressiveness has disappeared. He believes that the mosque has become restricted to the traditional reserved religious discourse, or the provocative one, which exploits the month of Ramadan and other religious occasions by using internet websites and some satellite television channels. This discourse, he said, is only confronted by the official religious discourse (of the official religious institution), which by virtue of its official nature tries to ‘rationalize’, but does not take initiative to put an end to such discourse. Al-Mahmud added that there are points of convergence over some concepts between the two discourses.

0 comments.

Trust and Cohesion

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

In an earlier post on the Islamdebate I wrote that several forms of criticism towards Islam seem to have become mainstream now instead of being used only by extremists. Although in the upcoming Dutch elections integration is not a real issue, the feeling that Islam is not compatible with democracy or European values is still prevalent among many non-Muslims. One of things that plays a role is that many people think that if Muslims become a powerful force in society (in many do believe they already are), they will be intolerant. In other words, these people do not trust Muslims in general.

Via Amir on Austrolabe I came across this interesting research about ‘Trust and Ethno-Linguistic Heterogenity‘(PDF) by Andrew Leigh (also on Andrew Norton’s blog):

Using a large Australian social survey, combined with precise data on neighbourhood characteristics, I explore the factors that a ffect trust at a local level (‘localised trust’) and at a national level (‘generalised trust’). Trust is positively associated with the respondent’s education, and negatively associated with the amount of time spent commuting.
At a neighbourhood level, trust is higher in affluent areas, and lower in ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous communities, with the effect being stronger for linguistic heterogeneity than ethnic heterogeneity. Linguistic heterogeneity reduces localised trust for both natives and immigrants, and reduces generalised trust only for immigrants.
Instrumental variables specifications show similar results. In contrast to the USA, there is no apparent relationship between trust and inequality across neighbourhoods in Australia.

(more…)

2 comments.

"He wanted to be famous, so he urinated in the well of Zam Zam"

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Don’t know if the proverb really exists, but if it does this might be the appropriate way to characterise the Apple Cube incident, with many thanks to Tariq Nelson. What I’m talking about? Well via my email (on my internet pseudonym adress) I received several messages about reports in the Dutch media about the Apple Mecca:

This building supposedly looks like the Ka’aba and is the new Apple Store. (more…)

1 comment.

“He wanted to be famous, so he urinated in the well of Zam Zam”

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Don’t know if the proverb really exists, but if it does this might be the appropriate way to characterise the Apple Cube incident, with many thanks to Tariq Nelson. What I’m talking about? Well via my email (on my internet pseudonym adress) I received several messages about reports in the Dutch media about the Apple Mecca:

This building supposedly looks like the Ka’aba and is the new Apple Store. (more…)

1 comment.

International Crisis Group – Getting the UN Into Darfur

Posted on October 13th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

International Crisis Group – Getting the UN Into Darfur

The ICG has written a report about the UN and Darfur:

The impasse over deploying a major UN peacekeeping force to Darfur results directly from the international community’s three-year failure to apply effective diplomatic and economic pressure on Sudan’s government and its senior officials. Unless concerted action is taken against the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Khartoum will continue its military campaign, with deadly consequences for civilians, while paying only lip service to its many promises to disarm its Janjaweed militias and otherwise cooperate. No one can guarantee what will work with a regime as tough-minded and inscrutable as Sudan’s, but patient diplomacy and trust in Khartoum’s good faith has been a patent failure. The international community has accepted the responsibility to protect civilians from atrocity crimes when their own government is unable or unwilling to do so. This now requires tough new measures to concentrate minds and change policies in Khartoum.

1 comment.

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