Thanks to Borana for the tip on this story.
Turkey is hosting an economic summit for the Organization for Islamic Conference. One of the expected attendees was President Hassan Omar al-Bashir of Sudan who is currently under indictment by the ICC for crimes against humanity in Darfur. The EU, the U.S. and human rights groups within Turkey and around the world had urged the Turkish government to not include Bashir on the guest list. Not only did Prime Minister Erdogan extend the invitation, he defended Bashir by saying that no genocide had occurred nor was occurring in Darfur because no Muslim was capable of genocide.
“It’s not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide. That’s why we are comfortable with the visit of al-Bashir.”
Mr Erdogan said he himself visited Darfur three years ago. “We could not find evidence of genocide there,” he said. “It is not possible that a man who has committed himself to our religion, Islam, commits genocide.”
So, according to Erdogan, there is no genocide in Darfur; however, there is one in Gaza.
“Gaza and Darfur should not be confused with each other. Fifteen-hundred people were killed in Gaza. If there was something like this in Darfur, we would follow that to the end as well,” Erdogan said.
I guess the nearly half million people killed in Darfur don't count even though they, themselves, were Muslims.
By the way, Bashir did not attend the conference because of pressing domestic problems.
What do you think of Trukey's chances of being admitted into the EU now?
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Now let's take a step back for a minute and examine the picture before delving into the details. The setting is the 25th session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Conference which was held in Istanbul, Turkey and occurred between November 5-8. Sudan, a member of the OIC since it's inception in 1969, was extended an invitation to the conference, along with the other 56 member nations, by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. When news of this invitation broke out, the West cried foul on this tea party. They pushed for Turkey to arrest Sudanese Prime Minister Omar Al-Bashir and to bring him before the International Criminal Court to be punished on the charges of genocide. Turkey, a nation that never ratified the statute that established the ICC and bitter about its postponement for EU membership, turned the other cheek. Al-Bashir declined to stay in Sudan and deal with national issues, so it goes.
ReplyDeleteThe quote under scrutiny, "It's not possible for a Muslium to commit genocide," is out of place. The said quote was uttered on Sunday when Erdogan was speaking with party officials and he stated that he would rather meet with Al-Bashir, even with the charges held against him, than discuss the killing of Palestinians with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I cannot discuss this with Netanyahu but I can easily discuss such issues with Omar Al-Bashir. I can say to his face: What you are doing is wrong," Erdogan said. He went on to say that "It is not possible for those who belong to the Muslium faith to carry out genocide."
What Erdogan stated in that quote is simple: the Quran preaches against the use of mass violence, therefore a true believer would not participate in such an act. Erdogan's comparison of Netanyahu and Al-Bashir shows that he feels that since both himself and Al-Bashir are both members of Islamist parties, they would have more in common and be on a more level playing field than if he were try and talk to a Zionist leader like Netanyahu. With that kind of plane established, he would feel more comfortable telling Al-Bashir that what is going on in Sudan is wrong. As for the allegations on denying the occurrence of genocide in Sudan, Erdogan actually said "If there were such a thing in Darfur, we would be chasing this to the end."
As being a former Conflicter,I know that the general consensus is one that meets the standings of Nicholas Kristof and most Western leaders: Darfur is a genocide lead by the devil incarnated, Omar Al-Bashir. To the younglings still drudging the halls of good ole' Central High and to my college peers, I give you all a challenge, that probably no one has presented you before: push aside, for an afternoon, the information that you have gathered through your mainstream news outlets and peers and make room in your mind for your own self-gathered research. Spend an afternoon a library and read at least 1 book on the modern detailed history of Sudan. What you'll find will surprise you, it's not as black-and-white as it has been portrayed, kids.
I would have to say I agree with Sheherazade (Maham, is that you?). Though I would say, where do you go for alternative information? The good stuff's out there, but there's a lot of junk that also gets published and popularized because it's exciting and sexy (China will colapse in 10 years! Turkey will take over the world! Clash of civilizations!).
ReplyDeleteThat being said, even after you learn about the history of Sudan, about the civil war, about the various groups the government is trying to stop, how the rebel groups don't get along- even after learning all of that, it does not change the fact that rape is used as a weapon, and aid groups are targeted to keep help out of the area.
Palistine and Israel I will not comment on, because this is conflicts, and I would prefer to not debate such sensitive topics if it can not be done face to face.
And also, I hate to break this to you, but you are also western. And aside from actually going to Sudan yourself, all of us are at the mercy of some kind of intermediary to learn about it.
This “alternative information” does not just come from reading one or two websites; it comes from a compilation of information from a variety of books, interviews and self-examination. Reading in a variety of subjects (such as philosophy, political science and history) gives one the background to analyze any new set of information that comes their way. The point of the time that we are given now is to compile and absorb as much as information as possible, and after all, how can you truly find your own opinion if you do not know the opinion of others (even the ones that you may not agree with at this point).
ReplyDeleteAL266, as it may been see, my previous post was written in the language of standard American English and it is implied that I have not only attended Central High School but have once been a Conflictier. Therefore, a conclusion can be drawn that I am not from the moon as previously thought, but indeed from America and, more specifically, the city of Philadelphia. Simply having an unconventional point of view should not automatically classify me as an outsider looking down upon the rest for their incompetence. I am like you, a student: no more, no less. It is this treatment of other views that plants the seeds for narrow-mindedness which is a short step from ignorance and close-mindedness.
I posed that challenge to you and the rest of my fellow peers simply because I have interacted with a great deal of you and have noticed that trend taking place. To bring it back to the topic at hand, there is an overwhelming epidemic of simplistic viewing when it comes to the Darfur conflict. As the generation that will one day run this world, I feel that there should be an increased awareness of not just the current time that we live in, but the previous times and peoples that have built what we see before us. The idea to read on the history of Sudan is not to detract from the severity of the crimes taking place today but to, hopefully, bring an alternative analysis of the solutions being posed today and to bring a deeper understanding of the current situation. This war did not just start overnight, but like any war, started many many moons before either any of us were born. To clarify my previous post, any book on history is what should be looked at. The reading, however, should not be stopped at just one, multiple books should be read. As a starting point (since books maybe too wide a range), Wikipedia has a pretty good article on Sudanese history on their website. I know the argument now is that we are very busy students pursuing our respective fields of study, but to put in perspective, as undergraduate (and high school) students, this may be the most free time that we will have before joining the masses of a 9-5 day job.
I say to go out and be a sponge for information. The more you read, the more you will be able to become your own opinion-former, independent of all intermediaries, not bound to the confounds of the envelope.